Aretha Franklin - Respect

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as the The Queen of Soul, Franklin is adept at jazz, blues, R&B and gospel music.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Franklin No. 1 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.

Franklin is one of the most honored artists by the Grammy Awards, with 18 competitive Grammys to date, and two honorary Grammys. She has scored a total of 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, one of which also became her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100: "Respect" (1967). "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987), a duet with George Michael, became her second No. 1 on the latter chart.

Since 1961, she has scored a total of 45 "Top 40" hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also has the most million-selling singles of any female artist with 14. Between 1967 and 1982 she had 10 #1 R&B albums - more than any other female artist.

In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was the only featured singer at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

"Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for Aretha.

While Redding wrote the song as a man's plea for respect and recognition from a woman, the roles were reversed for Franklin's version. 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 1998.

In 2002, the Library of Congress honored Franklin's version by adding it to the National Recording Registry.

It is number five on Rolling Stone'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.