Respect (song)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Respect (disambiguation) § Music.

"Respect"
Single by Otis Redding
from the album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
B-side"Ole Man Trouble"
Released1965
Recorded1965
GenreSoul
Length2:05
LabelVolt
Songwriter(s)Otis Redding
Producer(s)Steve Cropper
Otis Redding singles chronology
"I've Been Loving You Too Long"
(1965) 		"Respect"
(1965) 		"Just One More Day"
(1965)
Official music audio
"Respect" on
YouTube

"Respect" is a song written and originally recorded by American

crossover
hit for Redding.

In 1967, fellow soul singer

signature song.[1] The music in the two versions is significantly different, while a few changes in the lyrics resulted in different narratives around the theme of human dignity that have been interpreted as commentaries on traditional gender roles
.

Franklin's interpretation became a

Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts
.

Otis Redding original

Writing and recording

At first a ballad, "Respect" was brought to Redding by Earl "Speedo" Sims, who intended to record it with his band, the Singing Demons. No one is really sure who wrote the original version of the song. Bandleader Percy Welch said it was a guitarist at Bobby Smith's recording studio in Macon.[4] Redding took Sims' version, rewrote the lyrics and sped up the tempo. Sims went with the band to the Muscle Shoals studios, but was unable to produce a good version. Redding then decided to sing the song himself, which Sims agreed to. Redding also promised to credit Sims, but this never happened. Sims never pressed Redding on the issue, possibly because he himself had not really written it in the first place.[4] The original version of "Respect" was produced by Steve Cropper, who also played instrumentals for the hit track along with William Bell and Earl Sims on backup vocals.[citation needed]

Analysis

According to Redding biographer Jonathan Gould, "the lyrics to 'Respect' paint a starkly unromantic picture of domestic relations", revolving around a "little girl" who is "sweeter than honey" and a man who will reward her with "all [his] money". This relationship dynamic is underscored musically by a near-comically persistent groove and "celebratory blaring of the horns, which seem to be heralding a carnal reunion of epic proportions". Redding's vocals are similarly aggressive, marked by "phrasing in staccato bursts" in delivering the verses – "What you want / Honey you got it / You can do me wrong honey / While I'm gone / All I'm asking is for a little respect when I come home" – accompanied by backing male vocals in the manner of a Greek chorus adding the refrain "Hey, hey hey!" In Gould's analysis, there is "an apparent modesty of [the song's] expectations: the way it takes a word that commonly refers to personal esteem and scales it down to serve as a euphemism for sexual reward", referring to "the 'street' meaning of 'respect,' bound up with issues of deference and power."[5] "But only up to a point", as Gould concludes of the song's finale:

In the coda that follows the final verse, Otis goes to work, wresting the word free of this narrow meaning, asserting his prerogative with an insistent determination that turns the song in its final moments into a plea for simple human dignity – "Respect is what I want! / Respect is what I need! / I got-ta got-ta have it! / Just give me some respect!' – that doesn't stop at mere discretion.[5]

According to Franklin biographer Matt Dobkin, "Redding's version is characteristically funky, with his raspy-soulful singing and electric vocal charisma front and center", utilizing "playful horns and sexy, mock-beleaguered vocals".[6] According to NPR, Redding's version "reinforced the traditional family structure of the time: Man works all day, brings money home to wife and demands her respect in return."[7]

Release

The song was included on Redding's third studio album,

Monterey Pop Festival.[9]

Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, rhythmic poundin’ romancer about a fella who wants his sweetheart to treat him with 'Respect' when he comes home."[10]

Aretha Franklin version

"Respect"
Single by Aretha Franklin
from the album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
B-side"Dr. Feelgood"
Released1967
Recorded1967
StudioAtlantic, New York City
GenreSoul, rhythm and blues
Length2:29
LabelAtlantic
2403
Songwriter(s)Otis Redding
Producer(s)Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
(1967) 		"Respect"
(1967) 		"Baby I Love You"
(1967)

Recording

Producer

Ted White, the sessions continued ten days later in New York without White, recording "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", using the same engineer and the same musicians, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, affectionately known as the "Swampers", as in Alabama.[11]

During the following week, they recorded "Respect", which Franklin had been performing in her live shows for several years.[1] Her version of the song flipped the gender of the lyrics, as worked out by Franklin with her sisters Erma and Carolyn.[1] Franklin instructed the rhythm section how to perform her established arrangement of the "stop-and-stutter" syncopation, and in the studio she worked out new parts for the backing singers.[12] "Respect" was recorded on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1967.[13]

For the song's bridge, King Curtis' tenor saxophone soloed over the chords from Sam & Dave's song "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby".[14] Franklin played piano for the number; in an interview, Spooner Oldham explained it was not uncommon for Franklin herself to play accompanying piano.[1] The overall arrangement was by co-producer Arif Mardin, based on the ideas Franklin brought in. Said Mardin: "I have been in many studios in my life, but there was never a day like that. It was like a festival. Everything worked just right."[15]

Analysis and subtext

"Respect"
Aretha Franklin version of Otis Redding's "Respect" from I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Problems playing this file? See media help.

According to Dobkin, Franklin's version was refashioned as a declaration from a strong, confident woman, who believes she has everything her man wants and does not wrong him, while demanding his "respect" – in the form of appropriate levels of physical attention.[6] The repeated "sock it to me" line, sung by Franklin's sisters, was an idea that Carolyn and Aretha had worked out together; spelling out "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" was (according to engineer Tom Dowd) Carolyn's idea.[14] The phrase "Sock it to me" became a household expression.[16] In an interview with WHYY's Fresh Air in 1999, Aretha said, "Some of the girls were saying that to the fellas, like 'sock it to me' in this way or 'sock it to me' in that way. It's not sexual. It was nonsexual, just a cliché line."[17]

Franklin's version of the song contains the famous lines (as printed in the lyrics included in the 1985 compilation album Atlantic Soul Classics):

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care of... TCB[18]

"TCB" is an abbreviation, commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning "taking care of business," African-American slang for pleasing one's partner.[19] "TCB in a flash" later became Elvis Presley's motto and signature. "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and "TCB" are not present in Redding's 1965 version,[20] but he incorporated Franklin's ideas in his later performances with the Bar-Kays.

According to Detroit Free Press critic Brian McCollum, "Franklin's song has been dissected in books and academic papers, held up as a groundbreaking feminist and civil rights statement in an era when such declarations weren't always easy to make." When asked about her audacious stance amidst the feminist and Civil Rights Movement, Franklin told the Detroit Free Press, "I don't think it's bold at all. I think it's quite natural that we all want respect—and should get it."[21]

Release and legacy

The resulting song was featured on Franklin's 1967 breakthrough

Cash Box called the single a "frantic, driving, wailing, up-beat workout."[22]

According to NPR, "So much of what made 'Respect' a hit—and an anthem—came from the Franklin rearrangement (including the Muscle Shoals musician's soulful guitar hook, the background vocals, and the added sax solo/chords).

Billboard Black Singles chart. The changes in lyrics and production drove Franklin's version to become an anthem for the increasingly large Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements.[1] She altered the lyrics to represent herself, a strong woman demanding respect from her man.[23] Franklin's demands for "Respect" were "associated either with black freedom struggles or women's liberation."[16]

The song also became a hit internationally, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom, and helping to transform Franklin from a domestic star into an international one. Otis Redding himself was impressed with the performance of the song. At the

Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of the cover's release, he was quoted playfully describing "Respect" as the song "that a girl took away from me, a friend of mine, this girl she just took this song".[1] "When her hit single 'Respect' climbed the charts in July 1967, some fans declared that the summer of 1967 was 'the summer of 'Retha, Rap, and Revolt.'"[24]

"Respect" has appeared in dozens of films and still receives consistent play on radio stations. In the 1970s, Franklin's version of the song came to exemplify the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[27]

In 2021, when The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time was updated again, Franklin's cover of "Respect" was moved up to number 1.

Like A Rolling Stone", which was originally at number one, is now listed at number 4.[28]

Personnel

Chart history

Otis Redding version

Chart (1965) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[29] 35
US Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)[30] 4

Aretha Franklin version

Chart (1967) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[31] 14
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[33] 18
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[34] 3
Italy (FIMI)[35] 26
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[36] 7
Scotland (OCC)[37] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[38]
 10
US Billboard Hot 100[39] 1
US Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)[40] 1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[41] 23
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[42] 75
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 1

Certifications and sales

Aretha Franklin version

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[45] Platinum 100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46] Gold 15,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 600,000[48]
United States (RIAA)[50] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other covers

Because Aretha Franklin made "Respect" a hit, many who sample or cover the song refer to Franklin's version rather than Redding's.

Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations.[51] To accompany the release of the LP, Gordy organized a prime-time special TV program entitled TCB, a commonly used abbreviation for "Taking Care of Business".[52] Among the songs performed on the program was a cover of Aretha Franklin's version of "Respect".[53] The two groups took Franklin's message to new heights as the male versus female duet illustrated a battle in which each gender demanded their own respect.[52] Additionally, the cover highlights the Supremes’ own battle for racial equality. Much like Aretha Franklin, The Supremes’ rise to fame coincided with the civil rights movement, in which these women used their fame and status to assist the fight for racial equality. The Supremes were the Motown group which most successfully broke down racial boundaries within the popular music industry.[54] They represented racial integration, black empowerment, and black womanhood, and their cover of "Respect" with the Temptations illustrates that.[55]

Other covers of the song include

first season of The X Factor. The single peaked at #3 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart and was #42 for the chart's year-end list in 2012.[59]

References

Notes

  1. ^
    OCLC 978537907.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  2. ^ "Here are the 10 best covers of all time from here to eternity". Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Aretha Franklin, 'Respect'". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-312-26217-5
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780307453969
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 0312318294
    .
  7. ^ a b "'Respect' Wasn't A Feminist Anthem Until Aretha Franklin Made It One". NPR.
  8. ^ Guralnick 1999, pp. 184–185.
  9. ^ Len Comaratta (October 3, 2010). "Rock History 101: Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  10. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 21, 1965. p. 18. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  11. ^ "Swampers guitarist talks classic Aretha Franklin sessions". AL.com Alabama Media Group. August 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Wilson, Carl (August 16, 2018). "How Aretha Franklin Created 'Respect'". Slate.
  13. ^ "How Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' became an anthem for civil rights and feminist". Washington Post. August 14, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Aretha Franklin, 'Respect'". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003.
  15. ^ Conway, Megan (May 30, 2012). "Respect". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-061072-2
    .
  17. ^ "'Respect' Wasn't A Feminist Anthem Until Aretha Franklin Made It One". NPR. February 14, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  18. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 52 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  19. ISBN 0-312-31828-6
    .
  20. ^ Redding, Otis. "Respect", 1965, Volt Records.
  21. ^ "Aretha Franklin took 'Respect' to the top, 50 years ago this week". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  22. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 22, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  23. ^ Soeder, John (October 30, 2011). "R-E-S-P-E-C-T: The inside story on Aretha Franklin's chart topping anthem". The Plain Dealer.
  24. ISBN 0-674-00063-3
    .
  25. ^ Kembrew McLeod et al.: Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling, Duke University Press, 2001, p. 228.
  26. ^ Deborah Norville: The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success, Thomas Nelson Inc, 2009, p. 18.
  27. ^ "4: Aretha Franklin, 'Respect'". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  28. ^ "Rolling Stone updates 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list with big changes. Hint: There's a new No. 1". USA Today.
  29. ^ "Otis Redding Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  30. ^ "Otis Redding Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  31. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  32. ^ "Aretha Franklin – Respect" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  33. ^ "Aretha Franklin – Respect" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  34. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10075." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  35. ^ "Aretha Franklin – Respect". Top Digital Download. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  36. ^ "Aretha Franklin – Respect" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  39. ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  40. ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  41. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Aretha Franklin – Respect" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 28, 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Aretha Franklin"
  42. ^ "Chart Track: Week 34, 2018". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  43. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 34, 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  44. ^ "Danish single certifications – Aretha Franklin – Respect". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  45. ^ "Italian single certifications – Aretha Franklin – Respect" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  46. ^ "Hot 40 Singles 27 August 2018". Recorded Music NZ. August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  47. ^ "Aretha Franklin - Respect". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  48. ^ Copsey, Rob (August 16, 2018). "Aretha Franklin's biggest hits: Her most downloaded and streamed singles revealed". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  49. ^ "British single certifications – Aretha Franklin – Respect". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  50. ^ "American single certifications – Aretha Franklin – Respect". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  51. ^ "Diana Ross And The Supremes & The Temptations – Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations". Discogs. 1968. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  52. ^ a b Paul (March 19, 2016). "TCB – The Original Cast Soundtrack (1968)". THE DIANA ROSS PROJECT. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  53. ^ "Diana Ross And The Supremes With The Temptations – The Original Sound Track From TCB". Discogs. 1968. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  54. ^ Smith, Suzanne (2003). Dancing in the Street. Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press.
  55. ^ "Diana Ross and the Supremes Biography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  56. ^ Billboard Chart History. Accessed October 2015.
  57. ^ Reuter, Annie (August 16, 2018). "Watch Reba Perform Aretha's 'Respect' at the 1988 CMA Awards". Taste of Country.
  58. ^ "ADEVA | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  59. ^ "Dance Club Songs - Year-End". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2019.[dead link]

Bibliography

External links

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