About Respect

"Respect" is a song written and originally recorded by American soul singer Otis Redding. It was released in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul and became a crossover hit for Redding. In 1967, fellow soul singer Aretha Franklin covered and rearranged "Respect", resulting in a bigger hit and her signature song. 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 an anthem for the feminist 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 in 1987. In 2002, the Library of Congress honored Franklin's version by adding it to the National Recording Registry. It was placed number five on the 2004 version of Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and number one on the 2021 version of the list. It was also included in the list of "Songs of the Century", by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.