"Respect" is a song by American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer-songwriter

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, and later rearranged by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

to become her breakout hit. It was released in 1965 as a single from Redding's third album '' Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul'' and became a crossover hit for Redding. In 1967, Franklin (the "Queen of Soul") rearranged, rephrased, and covered "Respect", resulting in one of her biggest hits and her

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

. 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 Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...

that have been interpreted as commentaries on

gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

s, relationships and "respect". Franklin's interpretation became a feminist anthem for the

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...

movement in the 1970s. It has often been considered one of the best R&B songs of its era, earning Franklin two Grammy Awards in 1968 for "Best Rhythm & Blues Recording" and "Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female", and being inducted in the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1987. In 2002, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

honored Franklin's version by adding it to the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

. It was placed number five on the 2004 version of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

," number one on the 2021 version of the list, and number four on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time." It was also included in the list of "

Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical an ...

", by the Recording Industry of America and the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Otis Redding original

Writing and recording

At first a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, "Respect" was brought to Redding by Earl "Speedo" Sims, who intended to record it with his band, the Singing Demons. There are differing accounts as to who wrote the original version of the song. Bandleader Percy Welch said it was a guitarist at Bobby Smith's recording studio in Macon. Redding took Sims' version, rewrote the lyrics and sped up the tempo. Sims went with the band to the

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

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.

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

produced the session.

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 ismoney". This relationship dynamic is underscored musically by a near-comically persistent

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

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 A Greek chorus () in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, is a homogeneous group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the action of the scene they appear in, or provide necessary insight into action which ...

adding the refrain "Hey, hey hey!" In Gould's analysis, there is "an apparent modesty of he song'sexpectations: 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." "But only up to a point", as Gould concludes of the song's finale: 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". According to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, 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."

Release

The song was included on Redding's third studio album, '' Otis Blue'' (1965). The album became widely successful, even outside of his largely R&B and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

fan base. When released in the summer of 1965, the song reached the top five on ''Billboard'''s Black Singles Chart, and crossed over to pop radio's white audience, peaking at number 35 there. At the time, the song became Redding's second largest crossover hit (after "I've Been Loving You Too Long") and paved the way to future presence on American radio. Redding performed it at the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16-18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix Ex ...

. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

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

Aretha Franklin version

Recording

The producer

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

booked Franklin for a series of recording dates in January–February 1967, starting with " I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", recorded in Alabama at

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...

by the engineer

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

. After an altercation between the studio owner and Franklin's husband and manager, 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 The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or a ...

, affectionately known as the "Swampers", as in Alabama. During the following week, they recorded "Respect", which Franklin had been performing in her live shows for several years. Her version of the song flipped the gender of the lyrics, as worked out by Franklin with her sisters, Erma and

Carolyn Carolyn is a female given name, a variant of Caroline. Other spellings include Carolin, Karolyn, Carolyne, Carolynn or Carolynne. Caroline itself is one of the feminine forms of Charles. List of notable people * Carolyn Bennett (born 1950 ...

. 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. "Respect" was recorded on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, February 14, 1967. For the song's bridge,

King Curtis Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musi ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

soloed over the chords from

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

's song " When Something Is Wrong with My Baby". Franklin played piano for the number; in an interview, Spooner Oldham explained it was not uncommon for Franklin herself to play accompanying piano. The overall arrangement was by co-producer

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

, 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."

Analysis and subtext

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. 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. The phrase "sock it to me" became a household expression. 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." 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'' "TCB" is an abbreviation, commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning "taking care of business", African-American slang for pleasing one's partner. "TCB in a flash" later became

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's motto and signature. "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and "TCB" are not present in Redding's 1965 version, but he incorporated Franklin's ideas in his later performances with the

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

. According to ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' 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."

Release and legacy

The resulting song was featured on Franklin's 1967 breakthrough

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

debut album, '' I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You''. As the title track became a hit on both R&B and pop radio, Atlantic Records arranged for the release of this new version of "Respect" as a single. It was released on April10, 1967. ''

'' called the single a "frantic, driving, wailing, up-beat workout." 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). Franklin's rendition found greater success than the original, spending two weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, and eight weeks on the ''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. She altered the lyrics to represent herself, a strong woman demanding respect from her man. Franklin's demands for "Respect" were "associated either with black freedom struggles or women's liberation." 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

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". "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''.'" "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

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

movement. Producer Wexler said in a ''

'' interview, that Franklin's song was "global in its influence, with overtones of the civil-rights movement and gender equality. It was an appeal for dignity." Although she had numerous hits after "Respect", and several before its release, the song became Franklin's

and her best-known recording. ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'' was ranked eighty-third in ''Rolling Stone''s "

500 Greatest Albums of All Time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

" in 2003. A year later, "Respect" was fifth in the magazine's "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

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

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's song "

Like A Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965, by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhauste ...

", which was originally at number 1, is now listed at number 4. In 2025, the publication ranked Franklin's cover at number 4 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time."

Personnel

* Written by

Otis Redding version

Musicians *

– lead vocals * Booker T. Jones or

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

– keyboards *

– guitar *

Donald Dunn Donald Dunn may refer to: * Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & ...

– bass guitar * Al Jackson Jr. – drums * Wayne Jackson – trumpet * Gene "Bowlegs" Miller – trumpet * Andrew Love – tenor saxophone *

Floyd Newman Floyd Newman (August 17, 1931 – May 23, 2023) was an American saxophonist, session musician and bandleader. As a baritone sax player, he was long associated with Stax Records, and as a member of The Mar-Keys’ horn section and the Memphis Ho ...

– baritone saxophone * William Bell – backing vocals * Earl Sims – backing vocals Additional personnel * Steve Cropper – producer * Tom Dowd – engineer

Aretha Franklin version

Musicians *

– lead vocals, piano * Spooner Oldham –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...

, Jimmy Johnson – guitar * Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar * Roger Hawkins – drums *

– tenor saxophone *

Charles Chalmers Charles Chalmers is an American saxophonist, backup vocalist, songwriter and producer. He has written several hit songs for many recording artists, and has also arranged and performed on many Grammy winning recordings. Seven of those recordings a ...

– tenor saxophone * Willie Bridges – baritone saxophone *

Melvin Lastie Melvin Clarke Lastie, Sr. (November 18, 1930 – December 4, 1972) was an American R&B trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. He also played jazz and was a session musician on many soul and rock records of the 1960s. Lastie was born in New O ...

–

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

Carolyn Franklin Carolyn Ann Franklin (May 13, 1944 – April 25, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter. Biography Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Barbara Siggers Franklin and C. L. Franklin. The youngest of six children, they moved to Buffalo, ...

– background vocals *

Erma Franklin Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. She recorded the original version of " Piece of My Heart", written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns in 1967, for which she was nom ...

– background vocals Additional personnel *

and

– producers *

– engineer * Arif Mardin – arranger

Chart history

Otis Redding version

Aretha Franklin version

Certifications and sales

Aretha Franklin version

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.

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

and

the Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

were the two most successful acts signed to Berry Gordy Jr.’s

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

record label. Gordy decided to pair them up on a collaborative LP titled '' Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations''. 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". Among the songs performed on the program was a cover of Aretha Franklin's version of "Respect". 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. 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. They represented racial integration, black empowerment, and black womanhood, and their cover of "Respect" with the Temptations illustrates that. Stevie Wonder also covered the song on his 1967 album " I Was Made To Love Her." Other covers of the song include

The Rationals The Rationals were an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. History The Rationals formed in 1964 and first recorded a single for a local label, A2 Records, in 1965. After scoring a local hit with the tune "Gave My Love",Richie Unterber ...

', whose version predated Franklin's and reached No. 92 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1966, and

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

's 1988 recording for her self-titled album '' Reba''. McEntire also performed the song at the CMA Awards the same year. A

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

cover version with altered lyrics was released by American R&B singer Adeva in 1989, reaching No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart and was featured on her debut album. In 2012,

Melanie Amaro Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is an American singer who won the first season of '' The X Factor USA'' in 2011, securing a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. Amaro was also the youngest contestant to win the ...

recorded an uptempo version of the song for a

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

commercial alongside

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

as a part of her prize for winning the first season of ''The X Factor''. The single peaked at #3 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Dance Club Songs chart and was #42 for the chart's year-end list in 2012.

References

Notes Bibliography * Franklin, Aretha (1967) ''I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You''. Atlantic Recording Corporation. * * Redding, Otis (1992) ''The Very Best of Otis Redding''. Rhino/Atlantic Recording Corporation. *

External links

List of cover versions of "Respect"
at SecondHandSongs.com * {{Authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles 1967 singles Songs written by Otis Redding Otis Redding songs Aretha Franklin songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles United States National Recording Registry recordings Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Stax Records singles Atlantic Records singles Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs with feminist themes Ike & Tina Turner songs Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Presidential campaign songs Feminist anthems