Respect (song)

"Respect" is a song by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, originally recorded and released by himself in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul. After becoming a crossover hit for Redding, in 1967 Aretha Franklin (the "Queen of Soul") rearranged, rephrased, and covered it, resulting in her breakout 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 gender roles, relationships and "respect". Franklin's interpretation became a feminist anthem for the second-wave feminism movement in the 1970s.