Aretha Franklin – Respect

Revered as the all-time “Queen of Soul Music”, Aretha Franklin was born in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Buffalo and Detroit, Aretha is the daughter of famous gospel preacher Rev. Cecil L. Franklin, pastor of Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church.  Signed to Columbia Records in 1960, Aretha had minimal chart success until she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966.  From that point on and for the next 7 years, Aretha had an incredible 13 gold singles, however the only one to hit #1 in that span was “Respect” which hit #1 for 2 weeks in 1967.  Amazingly enough, her only other #1 song was not as a solo artist but with none other than George Michael (real name: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) of Wham! fame with “I Knew You Were Waiting For Me” which also reached the top spot for 2 weeks in 1987.  Aside from being the winner of 15 Grammy’s, plus Grammy’s Living Legend Award (1990) and Lifetime Achievement Award (1994), Aretha is also the 1^st woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1987) making her the ultimate Diva and propelling the song “Respect” as one of the most definitive party/wedding songs of all-time.