Aretha Franklin on the song that became “a mantra for the civil rights movement”
Aretha Franklin left behind a multifaceted legacy. The undisputed queen of soul, one of the most gifted singers of all time and a voice for the civil rights movement both within her music and outside of it, her influence would extend far beyond her hugely impressive record sales.
Perhaps no song encapsulates her unparalleled talent and impact more than ‘Respect’. Though the track initially belonged to fellow soul artist Otis Redding, Franklin took ‘Respect’ in 1967 and infused it with new life. Creating a cover that sounds almost indistinguishable from the original, Franklin filled her vocals with intent and played around with the lyrics, introducing the iconic “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” and “Sock it to me” lines.
Franklin’s reinvention of ‘Respect’ repopularised the track worldwide, but it also became an anthem for civil rights and feminist movements. Delivered through Franklin’s powerful vocals, her demands struck a chord with those groups who weren’t being awarded the respect they deserved. In Franklin’s own words, the song became a “mantra for the civil rights movement”.
While naming her favourite songs of all time during a conversation with Rolling Stone, Franklin picked out ‘Respect’, gushing, “What can I say about this one? Well, I just love it.” She went on to note the song’s importance to the movement, suggesting that the universal nature of the lyrics allowed it to be adopted and felt by so many people.
“‘Respect’ is just basic to everyone: everybody wants it,” she explained, “Everybody wants and needs respect. It’s basic to mankind. Perhaps what people could not say, the record said it for them.” The song, quite literally, spelled out the most basic demands of the movements, but Franklin saw it as an anthem more than a trigger.
“I don’t think I was a catalyst for the women’s movement,” she stated, “As far as I know, that was Gloria Steinem’s role. But if I were, so much, the better. Women did, and still do, need equal rights. We’re doing the same job; we expect the same pay and the same respect.” Over half a century later, Franklin’s words still resonate as respect levels remain unbalanced.
Just as audiences have never stopped loving the song, neither did the singer herself, who declared that she never tired of it and always found new ways to freshen it up. ‘Respect’ was more than a mantra for the civil rights movement that surrounded its release, it still remains an anthem for respect.
Revisit the iconic song below.
