Wayback Wednesday: Aretha Franklin
On Valentines Day, 1967 Aretha Franklin went into a studio in New York, and recorded what would become the signature song of her career…Respect.
The song was written by and originally performed by Otis Redding in 1965, becoming his biggest hit up until that point. Aretha had just signed with Atlantic Records, and producer Jerry Wexler brought the song to her attention.
Wexler thought it had potential as a crossover hit, and would demonstrate Aretha’s vocal ability. Boy, was he right!! Respect spent 2 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Pop chart, and 8 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Black singles chart. It’s become a mandatory part of every Aretha concert. Here’s the Queen Of Soul performing this classic in 1990!
https://youtu.be/_DZ3_obMXwU
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