Welcome to our collection of quotes (with shareable picture quotes) by Aretha Franklin. We hope you enjoy pondering them and that you will share them widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Respect," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools," "Think," and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul."
Franklin continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976) before experiencing problems with her record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. She appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the Top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; later, she released an album of the same name which was certified gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards where she filled in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who canceled his appearance after the show had already begun. In a widely noted performance, she paid tribute to 2015 honoree Carole King by singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Franklin recorded 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. Besides the foregoing, Franklin's well-known hits also include "Ain't No Way," "Call Me," "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)," "Spanish Harlem," "Rock Steady," "Day Dreaming," "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)," "Something He Can Feel," "Jump to It," "Freeway of Love," "Who's Zoomin' Who," and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (1968–1975).
Franklin is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1987, she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She also was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and number nine on its list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2019 awarded Franklin a posthumous special citation "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades." In 2020, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Cause a rose is still a rose,
Baby girl, you're still a flower
he can't lead you and then take you
make you and then break you
Baby girl, you hold the power.
You have singers that are trained, and then you have natural singers: people that, in my opinion, were just born to sing. And hopefully, I am one of them.
I picked up some wonderful things just listening to other pianists that I appreciate, and that would be Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Vladimir Horowitz, and Art Tatum. Those are the pianists I really enjoy and admire.
Beyonce is very outspoken on feminist issues. So I think that's good. That could be brought to the forefront more.
Many of my friends were there at Motown. The studio was only a few blocks from where my dad's home was, where we lived.
For many years, I've wanted to do one, and I've always mentioned it to the chieftains, and they would say things like, 'Oh well. Christmas albums don't sell,' and things like that. But that's not the point. Christmas albums are important. The music is important. The season is important.
Yeah, I want a job in Barack's Cabinet. How about a job, Mr. Obama? Please? Please?
John Legend is, in my opinion, classic. He is one of the best finds that has come along in a long time.
Christmases past, my sister Carolyn and I -- we'd been waiting for Santa all night. Nothing! Where is this man?
Men don't like eating out of cans. And I don't like eating out of cans too much, either.
I've probably cried with a lot of songs -- in teenage crushes, adult crushes.
Clark Terry is an American Master. I love to listen to him, particularly 'Mumbles.' I was so delighted when we received degrees together, along with Edward Kennedy, at the New England Conservatory in 1997.
The duet with Frank Sinatra, 'What Now My Love,' is one of my favorites.
Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S. And talk about soul. This woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself.
Women have broken through the glass ceiling, and they're now more and more in the power seats.
It's so glamorous, you have to see it. (describing the $92 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).
Call in the Caped Crusader, Green Hornet, Kato, too. I'm in so much trouble I don't know what to do.
The milk of kindness flows through my body, I shall follow Jesus to the Taco Bell and give thanks.
As a parent you try to maintain a certain amount of control and so you have this tug-of-war ... You have to learn when to let go. And that's not easy.
I wanted to design a line based on Hollywood's Golden Era. I talked with Stephen Burrows and with Willi Smith and with one or two other people, but it just seems like such a hard field to break into. I need someone like Calvin Klein's manager to get behind me!
Most of what I wear, I select myself. You can't please everybody, and as long as I'm comfortable with what I wear, I think that's what's important.
'Rocking With Leroy' used to come on when I would come in from school. It was a very, very big RandB broadcast of the day when I was a young girl. And I would come in and put my books down, lie down on the floor, and listen to 'Rocking With Leroy.'
My upbringing was in the church. We had to attend regularly. And, of course, the church provided a training ground for me, so to speak, as a young vocalist and certainly gave me all of the spiritual values that I needed as a young lady.
I've met my share of guys who have insulted and assaulted my intelligence with their stories and games. I say hello and goodbye!
Beyonce is a very hard-working woman. Astrologically, for whatever it's worth, she's a Virgo -- like Michael Jackson, a hard worker.
I think you have a lot of really good artists today. You have your Beyonce, Usher, Nicki Minaj and the like. But our generation, the artists were stronger. You're talking about myself, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, The Temptations, The Four Tops.
If you disrespect everybody that you run into, how in the world do you think everybody's supposed to respect you?
You're a no good heartbreaker, you're a liar, and you're a cheat. I don't know why I let you do these things to me.
Being the Queen is not all about singing and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.
In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal -- universal and transporting.
My mentor was Clara Ward of the famous Ward gospel singers of Philadelphia. And my dad was my coach. He coached me. And just my natural love for music is what drove me.
I think it would be a far greater world if people were kinder and more respectful to each other.
When I first started, I wore Ceil Chapman gowns. I've been wondering for years what happened to the Ceil Chapman line of clothing.
You cannot define a person on just one thing. You can't just forget all these wonderful and good things that a person has done because one thing didn't come off the way you thought it should come off.
I loved going to church. I enjoyed being a part of the choir and just doing things in and around the church. But as a young girl, I certainly enjoyed watching and listening to my dad.
Everybody wants respect. In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.
I guess I could've been a prima ballerina. Or a nurse. Aretha Nightingale!
It's very satisfying. To perform the way you want to. And the way you know that you can.
President Clinton, I sang at his post-inauguration party out in Maryland.
People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you.
My American audiences are pretty mixed. I get all sorts of people, old and young. It's nice.
I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.
If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about.
I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That's the hardest thing more than anything else.
I am doing what I love to do, and you cannot beat that, especially when the audience appreciates what you prepare for them. It's very, very gratifying.
It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I've done my job.
I don't feel one's personal medical condition is everybody's business. It just isn't something you advertise, and it's not open to discussion.
I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks.
Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I'm using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I'm happy with that.
Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It's transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It's uplifting, it's encouraging, it's strengthening.
We didn't have music videos. You weren't an overnight sensation. You had to work at it and learn your craft: how to take care of your voice, how to pace your concerts, all that trial and error.
It's easy for a singer to sometimes pick up on another singer's sound, but that's just copying.
Well, Babyface brings his savoir faire to every project. He's a very easy producer to work with, very detailed in listening to everything.
I haven't had the occasion to meet Adele. She lives in England. So when I'm flying, or when she comes over here, perhaps we'll have a chance. I think she's a very fine singer, a very strong writer and performer.
He was definitely an original and a one-of-a-kind. Truly there was only one Prince.
I love producing, writing. I rarely write with other writers unless I have a real great respect for them. Like Burt Bacharach, or Carole Sager, or Stevie Wonder. Somebody like Smokey -- like that. Otherwise, I choose to write alone.
I remember singing around the house to records that were playing. All kinds of music. And the great James Cleveland was often in our house, and I grew up with his sound as well.
I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don't know that I've ever heard any geniuses.
I'm never tired of going to the studio. I enjoy recording and documenting everything and trying new things.
Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum.
And I was booked once to go on 'Ed Sullivan' and I got bumped and ran out the back door crying.
As a very small girl, I listened to Charlie Parker and loved him and Max Roach and people like that.