Aretha Franklin Quotes

Columbia was a wonderful label for me. Wonderful. The records I made there garnered me an audience. I won a number of polls during the years that I was at Columbia. The Downbeat Jazz Poll. Leonard Feather, who was a huge critic back in the day, different polls that he had. The Playboy poll, a number of polls. So the music was great. ~ Aretha Franklin

I think the best singers in the world, historically, are American. Britain's got its fair share, as well, but some of the greatest singers, ever, whether you're talking about Whitney [Houston] or Mariah [Carey] or Aretha Franklin, are from the legacy here. ~ Simon Cowell

Find a beautiful piece of art. If you fall in love with Van Gogh or Matisse or John Oliver Killens, or if you fall love with the music of Coltrane, the music of Aretha Franklin, or the music of Chopin - find some beautiful art and admire it, and realize that that was created by human beings just like you, no more human, no less. ~ Maya Angelou

With the '60s era and Motown, my grandparents actually introduced us to that when I was younger, so I grew up listening to the Jackson Five, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Supremes and Diana Ross' solo stuff. I just loved it. ~ Jordin Sparks

I'm never tired of going to the studio. I enjoy recording and documenting everything and trying new things. ~ Aretha Franklin

From her gospel-singing mother Cissy Houston, her legendary pop-diva cousin Dionne Warwick, and her Queen of Soul godmother Aretha Franklin, she [Whitney Houston] inherited gifts for skillfully interpreting lyrics and endowing them with new depth and jeweled nuance. ~ Aberjhani

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

Music changes, and I'm gonna change right along with it. ~ Aretha Franklin

I'm a big woman. I need big hair. ~ Aretha Franklin

We would parachute in like typical asshole Americans and be completely clueless about what kind of trip we were actually on, asking questions like, "When do we start shooting the animals? Where is the freshest sushi? When do we meet Aretha Franklin, and where are the squash courts?" I'd also insist on hunting live lobster and killing it with my handgun. ~ Chelsea Handler

On the sly, scoping for love. ~ Aretha Franklin

My heart is still there in gospel music. It never left ... I'm gonna make a gospel record and tell Jesus I cannot bear these burdens alone. ~ Aretha Franklin

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

I'm the lady next door when I'm not on stage. ~ Aretha Franklin

Darius held Stark back from launching himself at Neferet, and Duantia spoke quickly into the rising tension. 'Neferet, I think we can all agree that there are many unanswered questions about the tragedy that occured on our island today. Stark, we also understand the passion and rage you feel at the loss of your Priestess. it is a hard blow for a Warrior to-'
Duantia's wisdom was cut off by the sound of Aretha Franklin belting out the chorus from "Respect," which was coming from the little Coach purse Aphrodite had slung over her shoulder.
Oopsie, um, sorry 'bout that.' Aphrodite frantically unzipped her purse and dug for her iPhone. ~ P.C. Cast

You knew the difference between Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, straight away. Now everyone sounds like each other, and I don't think that's right. ~ Bobby Womack

I grew up loving Etta James and Aretha Franklin and Al Green and Otis Redding, and I just love old-school R&B. It's just music that moves you and grooves you, and it was very important, I think, for music. ~ Elle King

Gospel goes with me wherever I go. Gospel is a constant with me. ~ Aretha Franklin

My faith always has been and always will be important to me. ~ Aretha Franklin

People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you. And just don't let that go to your head, whatever it is they give you. ~ Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin does not like me. ~ Natalie Cole

The milk of kindness flows through my body, I shall follow Jesus to the Taco Bell and give thanks. ~ Aretha Franklin

People like Clyde McPhatter who came out of the black churches - like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin - were all church singers who became great pop singers because gospel singing is very close to the blues. ~ Ahmet Ertegun

I've always felt that rock & roll was very, very wholesome. ~ Aretha Franklin

I love 'Anne of Green Gables.' I have for years. That's one of my favourite things. She's such a can-do kind of girl; that's why I'm crazy about her. ~ Aretha Franklin

Better friends than lovers. Sugar can't you see? You need you and I really need me. ~ Aretha Franklin

People say I'm the white Aretha Franklin. I wish I was her. ~ Joss Stone

Yes, I've always been fashion conscious. ~ Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin was a teenage mom, a musician who came from an incredibly Christian background, but there was a lot of love, which is really inspiring in a feminist way. ~ Beth Ditto

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

There are many influences in my music, not only blues. R&B, Motown, gospel, old timey, jazz, even classical are all part of what I do. I started with classical, then country, then blues, and after that I started listening heavily to Motown and gospel. My earliest efforts as a songwriter were soul. Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Wilson Pickett, Gladys Knight, James Brown, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Fontella Bass are just a few of the names that come to mind as the God's of soul and Motown. ~ Rory Block

I've been getting into different gospel artists; Aretha Franklin is someone I've been listening to a lot of. ~ Jonny Lang

R&B is not a fad; it's the truth. ~ Aretha Franklin

I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don't know that I've ever heard any geniuses. ~ Aretha Franklin

Trying to grow up is hurting. You make mistakes. You try to learn from them, and when you don't, it hurts even more. ~ Aretha Franklin

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. ~ Aretha Franklin

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

Contrary to popular opinion, manners are not a luxury good that's interesting only to those who can afford to think about them. The essence of good manners is not exclusivity, nor exclusion of any kind, but sensitivity. To practice good manners is to confer upon others not just consideration but esteem; it's to bathe others in a commodity best described by noted speller Aretha Franklin. ~ Henry Alford

Aretha Franklin, she's just the most amazing singer ever. But I think there are so many singers that I just loved and sang along to on the radio. I guess I just enjoy trying out different styles along the way. ~ Corin Tucker

Hey, I'm like Aretha Franklin, I don't get no R -S -P -E -C -T around here! ~ Si Robertson

There was a time in American history when almost every white person knew who Aretha Franklin was. ~ Peabo Bryson

I saw the Supremes when they were still singing in little black skirts and white blouses. ~ Aretha Franklin

It's so glamorous, you have to see it. (describing the $92 million Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) ~ Aretha Franklin

My ultimate film role would be to play the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. ~ Jennifer Hudson

Sassafras had never wanted to weave, she just couldn't help it. There was something about the feel of raw fleece and finished threads and dainty patterned pieces that was as essential to her as dancing to Carmen De Lavallade, or singing to Aretha Franklin. Her mama had done it, and her mama before that; and making cloth was the only tradition Sassafras inherited that gave her a sense of womanhood that was rich and sensuous, not tired and stingy. ~ Ntozake Shange

Don't say Aretha is making a comeback, because I've never been away! ~ Aretha Franklin

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you're doing. If you're not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it. ~ Aretha Franklin

I love all music. ~ Aretha Franklin

I've been around long enough for people to know who I am and what my contributions are. They know me as more than just an artist. I think they know me as a woman as well. ~ Aretha Franklin

I go to the healthier foods that are less chemically treated. I am drinking lots of water to get rid of the toxins in my body. It's a natural flushing. Water flushes your system and is also very good for your skin. ~ Aretha Franklin

Soul is a constant. It's cultural. It's always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees. ~ Aretha Franklin

We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right. ~ Aretha Franklin

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. ~ Aretha Franklin

I think the important thing to understand first and foremost about Michael Jackson is that he was the international emblem of the African American blues spiritual impulse that goes back through slavery - Jim Crow, Jane Crow, up to the present moment, through a Louis Armstrong, through a Ma Rainey, through a Bessie Smith, all the way to John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone. ~ Cornel West

And I was booked once to go on 'Ed Sullivan' and I got bumped and ran out the back door crying. ~ Aretha Franklin

I'm very glad my mother didn't let me quit piano lessons at age 10. She said I wasn't old enough or good enough to make that decision, and she was right. I remember at the time I was shocked. I did not like that my mother said those things to me. But when I got a chance to play with Yo-Yo Ma or more recently with Aretha Franklin, I thought, I'm really glad she said what she did. ~ Condoleezza Rice

Growing up in Cleveland, I learned about singing from my mother, who had once sung professionally and who admired Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin. ~ Tracy Chapman

Women have broken through the glass ceiling, and they're now more and more in the power seats. ~ Aretha Franklin

Silver" is what I called girls who were natural beauties but who also smoothed on a layer of pretty from a jar. It wasn't just how they looked, it was how they were. The name came from a song my mother sang sometimes when she was getting dressed to go out somewhere special. She sang along with Aretha Franklin at the end: "Sail on, silver girl ... Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way. ~ Tayari Jones

Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum. ~ Aretha Franklin

My mom actually had a band called Six Pack - even though there were seven of them - who went around Chicago performing popular songs. Her voice was like Gladys Knight mixed with Aretha Franklin. ~ R. Kelly

I always felt rock and roll was very, very wholesome music. ~ Aretha Franklin

I'm not a singer, a walking instrument like Aretha Franklin. When you get an Iggy Pop record, you don't get "Iggy Sings." I am also a style of music, an approach. ~ Iggy Pop

It was really wonderful playing with Aretha [ Franklin]. I knew that she knew what she was doing, so all I had to do was sit in the background and vamp a little bit. ~ Condoleezza Rice

Atlantic's Jerry Wexler believes first-rate records are made by first-rate voices. He certainly has worked with enough of them: Clyde McPhatter, Joe Turner, La Vern Baker, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin. ~ Jon Landau

All private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

He is like light and wisdom is his Gabriel. ~ Franklin D. Lewis

Loyalty could come only of exchange and mutual regard. ~ Ariana Franklin

It is the eye of other people that ruin us. If I were blind I would want, neither fine clothes, fine houses or fine furniture. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Regrettable was the gallantry of great men who risked themselves for others. ~ Michelle Franklin

An extravagance is something you buy which is no earthly use to your wife. ~ Franklin P. Adams

Remember, that money is of the prolific, generating nature. ~ Benjamin Franklin

It is time to extend planning to a wider field, in this instance comprehending in one great project many states directly concerned with the basin of one of our greatest rivers. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Some men grow mad by studying much to know,
But who grows mad by studying good to grow. ~ Benjamin Franklin

What will I do when you're gone?" said Alasdair, with a faltering voice.
Bryeison placed a hand on his shoulder and said, with raging tranquility, "Do what is good and what is right. ~ Michelle Franklin

Mankind are dastardly when they meet with opposition. ~ Benjamin Franklin

The best way to help the poor is to make them uncomfortable in their own poverty. ~ Benjamin Franklin

You don't get somebody to like you by doing them a favor. That only tends to build resentment over the fact that they are needy and you are not. No, you ask them to do you a favor. ~ Benjamin Franklin

In the late 1970s, the controversial "Iroquois influence theory" posits that the Longhouse People's divinely given Great Law of Peace so inspired Franklin and others among the founding fathers that it served as the model for the Articles of Confederation, the governing document of the United States for the first decade of its existence, and the precursor of the Constitution ratified in 1787. ~ Peter Manseau

Frankly, I do not know how to effect a permanency in American foreign policy. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

All of our people all over the country-except the pure-blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over here on the Mayflower. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

In order for three people to keep a secret, two must be dead. ~ Benjamin Franklin

I don't talk ill about people I don't know," said Bartleby. "I only disparage them in silence and hope they die. ~ Michelle Franklin

All the property that is necessary to a man for the conservation of the individual and his propagation of the species is his natural right, which none can justly deprive him of; but all property superfluous to such purposes is the property of the public, who by their laws have created it, and who may therefore by other laws dispose of it, whenever the welfare of the public shall demand such disposition. He that does not like civil society on these terms, let him retire and live among savages. ~ Benjamin Franklin

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism
ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power ... Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Men's minds do not die with their bodies but are made more happy or miserable after this life according to their actions. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Venison and venery defeated me. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Virtues, of ...
Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty. ~ Benjamin Franklin

The nearest I can make it out, "Love your Enemies" means, "Hate your Friends" ~ Benjamin Franklin

In America, they do not inquire of a stranger, "What is he?" but, "What can he do?" ~ Benjamin Franklin

A light purse is a heavy curse. ~ Benjamin Franklin

There never was a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Today is Yesterday's Pupil. ~ Benjamin Franklin

It is ill-manners to silence a fool and cruelty to let him go on ~ Benjamin Franklin

And where is the Prince who can afford to so cover his country with troops for its defense, as that ten thousand men descending from the clouds, might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief, before a force could be brought together to repel them? ~ Benjamin Franklin

Many would live by their Wits, but break for want of Stock. ~ Benjamin Franklin

I have a terrific pain in the back of my head. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt