Today's Crossword: How Aretha Franklin turned a masculine song into an anthem for the ages
We learn how she struck gold by changing the lyrics of the beloved song, "Respect"
Back in 1967, a song that flew to number one on the Billboard charts became an anthem for women’s rights and civil rights movements in the US. It was called “Respect”, and if you’ve heard it, you know that American singer Aretha Franklin spelled it out for all to hear. But the song didn’t start out that way.
Click start to play today’s Crossword, where we’ll share parts of song lyrics and you will have to complete them. Music videos will help you break out into song!
Legendary soul singer Otis Redding wrote the original version of “Respect”, and it was a song that was meant to be about a man demanding respect from his wife when he comes home after a day at work. An upbeat melody paid ode to the traditional family values in the 1950s and 1960s, but it had a very masculine appeal with shades of misogyny.
When Franklin – the Queen of Soul – heard the song, she was at a point in her life where she was well involved in civil rights activism, and had been on tour with American activist Martin Luther King Jr. But the song didn’t put her off – behind its masculine message, she saw the bones of a power anthem. So, she flipped the script.
Franklin had an idea of how she wanted to embellish the song, and recruited her sisters Carolyn and Erma to sing back-up and brainstorm a few changes. The sisters decided to spell out the word “respect” – a change that completely revamped the song – and added in the infamous line “sock it to me” on repeat, inspired when looking out at the streets of Detroit. The interplay of Franklin’s voice with the backup singers became a chant of female solidarity.
When “Respect” was released, it immediately became a rallying cry for women – especially women of colour. It also became part of the powerful soundtrack of civil rights movements in the US. When Redding heard the song for the first time, he ruefully said, “She done took my song.” According to US-based Rolling Stone magazine, he knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her. Later, during the Monterey Pop Festival in California, in 1967, Redding would sportingly sing Franklin’s version of the song.
Over four decades after “Respect” was released, people around the world have been singing it and reveling in its up-tempo message of empowerment.
Complete the lyrics of Franklin’s influential song, and others, in today’s Crossword and let us know if you enjoyed it at games@gulfnews.com.