Aretha Franklin Quotes

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

Queen, Social, About, Singing

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Other, Stevie Wonder, Stevie

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.

- Aretha Franklin

I Think, Stevie Wonder, Tops, Stevie

There is no way in the world anyone else could do my wedding other than myself, along with whomever I select to do various things.

- Aretha Franklin

Other, Could, Select, Whomever

As a very small girl, I listened to Charlie Parker and loved him and Max Roach and people like that.

- Aretha Franklin

Small, Very, Charlie Parker, Max

I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.

- Aretha Franklin

Think, I Think, Groups, Older People

I guess I could've been a prima ballerina. Or a nurse. Aretha Nightingale!

- Aretha Franklin

Been, Ballerina, Guess, Prima

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

- Aretha Franklin

Door, Ed Sullivan, Booked, Bumped

Sam Cooke had a huge influence on me. He left the gospel field at one point and went into the secular, and he had this huge hit, 'You Send Me.' Irma, my older sister, and I heard 'You Send Me' on the radio while we were driving through the South one night. We had to stop the car. We got out and danced around the car out on the highway.

- Aretha Franklin

Through, Had, South, Huge Influence

I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks.

- Aretha Franklin

Church, Banks, Various, Churches

I've probably cried with a lot of songs - in teenage crushes, adult crushes.

- Aretha Franklin

Songs, Lot, Cried, Crushes

I'm not ever going to retire. That's - that wouldn't be good, for one, just to go somewhere and sit down and do nothing. Please. No, that's not moi.

- Aretha Franklin

Nothing, Go, Going, Retire

Men don't like eating out of cans. And I don't like eating out of cans too much, either.

- Aretha Franklin

Like, Either, Too, Cans

The duet with Frank Sinatra, 'What Now My Love,' is one of my favorites.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Frank, Favorites, None

I paid my dues; I certainly did.

- Aretha Franklin

Paid, Certainly, Did, Dues

I certainly enjoy Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, and there is Fantasia; these people will be around a while. They've got it. They've got the 'it' factor.

- Aretha Franklin

Enjoy, Will, Certainly, Usher

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Very, Transporting, Uplifting

It's very satisfying. To perform the way you want to. And the way you know that you can.

- Aretha Franklin

Want, Very, Perform, Satisfying

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

Love, Prepare, Appreciates, Gratifying

I had not been in the jazz environment, having been brought up in the church. But once I got to New York, and I was signed to perform at The Village Gate and the Vanguard and clubs like that, and these - the Vanguard was one of the most elite, if not the most elite, jazz club out there.

- Aretha Franklin

Jazz, Been, Brought, Gate

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

- Aretha Franklin

Never, Making, Been, Comeback

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

- Aretha Franklin

New Things, New, Studio, Documenting

I used to have hamburgers coming and going, especially when I was on the road. Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum. I am now opting for salads and just healthier lunches.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Used, Healthier, Salads

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Always, Like, Albums, Season

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Singing, I Remember, Records, Cleveland

Yeah, I want a job in Barack's Cabinet. How about a job, Mr. Obama? Please? Please?

- Aretha Franklin

How, Barack, Mr, Cabinet

When I first started, I wore Ceil Chapman gowns. I've been wondering for years what happened to the Ceil Chapman line of clothing.

- Aretha Franklin

Line, Been, Started, Wondering

Gospel goes with me wherever I go. Gospel is a constant with me.

- Aretha Franklin

Me, Goes, Constant, Wherever

I still have perfect diction!

- Aretha Franklin

Perfect, Still, Diction

I've done the Kennedy Center many times. I've sang for Marian Anderson. I've sang for Marion Williams. I've sang for Lionel Hampton.

- Aretha Franklin

Center, Lionel, Anderson, Marion

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

Love, Green, Kind, Can-Do

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Good, Thought, Just One, Good Things

I was in my dad's church, his Baptist church, and I think the first song I ever performed was 'Jesus Be a Fence Around Me.'

- Aretha Franklin

Song, Think, I Think, Fence

It's easy for a singer to sometimes pick up on another singer's sound, but that's just copying.

- Aretha Franklin

Sometimes, Singer, Pick, Copying

I like writing and don't confine myself to just the words or just the music. But I don't particularly write songs with myself in mind.

- Aretha Franklin

Mind, Like, Particularly, Confine

Men have always been gentlemen to me - responsible people with healthy attitudes.

- Aretha Franklin

Healthy, Always, Been, Gentlemen

President Bush bestowed the Congressional Medal on myself.

- Aretha Franklin

Myself, Congressional, Bush, President Bush

Falling out of love is like losing weight. It's a lot easier putting it on than taking it off.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Falling, Putting, Love Is

I sing to the realists; people who accept it like it is.

- Aretha Franklin

People, Sing, Like, Realists

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

Soul, Song, About, Experienced

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Gift, Means, Using, Highest Degree

I really don't have any shelf music.

- Aretha Franklin

Music, Any, Really, Shelf

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Listening, Doing, Certainly, Choir

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

Love, Will, Still, Occasionally

I'm a big woman. I need big hair.

- Aretha Franklin

Hair, Woman, Big, Big Hair

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

Think, Been, I Think, Contributions

I like Beyonce's music - some of it, not all of it.

- Aretha Franklin

Music, Some, Like, Beyonce

I love the Ritz.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, I Love, Ritz

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

- Aretha Franklin

Feel, Geniuses, I Feel, Talented

Everybody wants respect. In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.

- Aretha Franklin

Like, Everybody, Would, Acknowledgment

Christmases past, my sister Carolyn and I - we'd been waiting for Santa all night. Nothing! Where is this man?

- Aretha Franklin

Waiting, Past, Been, Sister

Well, Babyface brings his savoir faire to every project. He's a very easy producer to work with, very detailed in listening to everything.

- Aretha Franklin

Work, Listening, Very, Producer

I like being married. It's an institution that I like.

- Aretha Franklin

Like, Married, Being, Institution

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

- Aretha Franklin

Woman, Want, Black Or White, Basic

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

Feather, Jazz, Records, Columbia

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Work, Voice, Learn, Trial

Yes, I've always been fashion conscious.

- Aretha Franklin

Yes, Always, Been, Conscious

I just got into Mike Tyson. My security people kept saying, 'Haven't you seen him yet?' Well, I finally did, and he's got a real knockout punch.

- Aretha Franklin

Finally, Mike, Mike Tyson, Punch

I've never recorded anything I didn't like.

- Aretha Franklin

Never, Anything, Like, Recorded

Prince is gone. But the music will go on.

- Aretha Franklin

Music, Will, Go, Prince

He was definitely an original and a one-of-a-kind. Truly there was only one Prince.

- Aretha Franklin

Original, Only, Definitely, Prince

I came up in gospel.

- Aretha Franklin

Up, Came, I Came, Gospel

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Studio, Blocks, Dad, Motown

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!

- Aretha Franklin

Behind, Hollywood, Other, Era

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Here, Occasion, Very, Flying

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.

- Aretha Franklin

Business, Medical, Everybody, Advertise

Politics are not my arena. Music is.

- Aretha Franklin

Music, Politics, Arena

I love Wal-Mart, and not just because my record is there. You can get some things there that you cannot find at Saks or Bergdorf's or other upscale stores.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Some, Wal-Mart, Stores

My American audiences are pretty mixed. I get all sorts of people, old and young. It's nice.

- Aretha Franklin

Young, Old, Pretty, Audiences

I like 'Bootylicious,' 'Survivor' - my little granddaughter loves 'Survivor.'

- Aretha Franklin

Survivor, Like, Loves, Granddaughter

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

- Aretha Franklin

Singing, White, Still, Skirts

I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That's the hardest thing more than anything else.

- Aretha Franklin

Think, More, I Think, Hardest Thing

There's a lot of great singers out here.

- Aretha Franklin

Here, Singers, Lot, Out Here

President Clinton, I sang at his post-inauguration party out in Maryland.

- Aretha Franklin

Maryland, Sang, His, President Clinton

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

Very, Foods, Healthier, Rid

The love of my life? I'm much too young to answer that question.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, My Life, Question, Answer

Let's start with the church. As you know, it's my background, it's a natural setting for me and it's definitely my roots.

- Aretha Franklin

Start, Church, Natural, Background

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

- Aretha Franklin

Door, Next, Stage, Lady

As long as it's good music. I love all music. It's got to be constructed properly.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Properly, I Love, Constructed

Women absolutely deserve respect.

- Aretha Franklin

Women, Respect, Deserve, Absolutely

I don't think I was a catalyst for the women's movement.

- Aretha Franklin

Women, Think, Movement, Catalyst

Sometimes, what you're looking for is already there.

- Aretha Franklin

Sometimes, You, Looking

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

- Aretha Franklin

Rock, Always, Very, Wholesome

I don't do crazy things - I just don't.

- Aretha Franklin

Crazy, Just, Things, Crazy Things

My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft.

- Aretha Franklin

Generation, Along, Came, Craft

Intermittently in my concert format, I sing a little jazz, a little scatting.

- Aretha Franklin

Concert, Jazz, Format, Sing

I wouldn't be without Google, and I love Facebook.

- Aretha Franklin

Love, Facebook, I Love, Google

It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I've done my job.

- Aretha Franklin

Honor, Singer, Means, Younger

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

- Aretha Franklin

Change, Music, Along, Gonna

Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.

- Aretha Franklin

Birthday, Gift, Every Day, Every

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

Doing, Always, Going, Artist

Who hasn't had a weight issue? If not the body, certainly the big head!

- Aretha Franklin

Big, Head, Certainly, Body

People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you.

- Aretha Franklin

People, Give, Really, Appreciate

When God loves you, what can be better than that?

- Aretha Franklin

God, Better, Than, Loves

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