Classic hit with a dance spin! \"Respect\" is a song written and originally released by American recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. The song became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few changes in the lyrics, the stories told by the songs have a different flavor. Redding's version is a plea from a desperate man, who will give his woman anything she wants. He won't care if she does him wrong, as long as he gets his due respect when he brings money home. However, Franklin's version is a declaration from a strong, confident woman, who knows that she has everything her man wants. She never does him wrong, and demands his \"respect\". Franklin's version adds the \"R-E-S-P-E-C-T\" chorus and the backup singers' refrain of \"Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me...\".
Franklin's cover was a landmark for the feminist movement, and is often considered as one of the best songs of the R&B era, earning her two Grammy Awards in 1968 for \"Best Rhythm & Blues Recording\" and \"Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female\", and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002, the Library of Congress honored Franklin's version by adding it to the National Recording Registry. It was placed number five on Rolling Stone magazine's list of \"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time\". It was also included in the list of \"Songs of the Century\", by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. Franklin included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris (1968).
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer and songwriter. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success. Following her signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as \"Respect\", \"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman\", \"Spanish Harlem\" and \"Think\". By the end of the 1960s she had gained the title \"The Queen of Soul\".
Franklin eventually recorded a total of 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in the chart's history.
Franklin also recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, Young, Gifted and Black and Amazing Grace before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s. After her father was shot in 1979, Franklin left Atlantic and signed with Arista Records, finding success with her part in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and with the albums Jump to It (1982) and Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985).
In 1998, Franklin won international acclaim for singing the opera aria \"Nessun dorma\", at the Grammys of that year replacing Luciano Pavarotti. Later that same year, she scored her final Top 40 recording with \"A Rose Is Still a Rose\".
Franklin's other popular and well known hits include \"Rock Steady\", \"Jump to It\", \"Freeway of Love\", \"Who's Zoomin' Who\", \"Chain Of Fools\", \"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)\", \"Something He Can Feel\", \"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)\" (with George Michael), and a remake of The Rolling Stones song \"Jumpin' Jack Flash\".
Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide.
Franklin has been honored throughout her career including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In August 2012, Franklin was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
On August 13, 2018, Franklin was reported to be gravely ill at her home near Detroit. She was reported to be under hospice care and surrounded by friends and family. Stevie Wonder and Jesse Jackson, among others, had visited her. Franklin died at home in Detroit on August 16, aged 76. The cause was reported to be advanced pancreatic cancer.
