Top 100 Aretha Quotes
#1. 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
#2. The muse of music isn't just from Greek mythology, but living in people like the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin.
Ernie Isley
#3. You know later in life I was inspired to sing and that would've been Aretha, Chaka Khan, Mariah - the typical divas were the inspiration. I've always enjoyed all those singers.
Anastacia
#4. 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
#5. I'm telling the story, and if I can't tell the story, I'm not going to sing it. And if I don't agree with the story, and if I got to sing something that portrays me as something I'm not, then I'm not going to sing it either. I didn't even want to sing Aretha Franklin's 'Chain of Fools.'
Sharon Jones
#6. Being around people like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack, all these greats, I was taught to listen and observe.
Whitney Houston
#7. My sound comes from my inspiration, which is people like Aretha and Jay Z and Kanye, as well as everyone from the Whitneys and Mariahs to Destiny's Child and Usher. They all inspired me growing up.
Jess Glynne
#8. She's got her God and she's got good wine, Aretha Franklin, and Patsy Cline.
Trisha Yearwood
#9. 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
#10. Aretha with no goals, eternally single & one step soft of heaven/ let it be understood that she owns this melody along with her emotional diplomats & her earth & her musical secrets
Bob Dylan
#11. I was just obsessed with soul singers who had these big powerful voices. I used to listen to Aretha, Whitney, Mariah and try and imitate them, note for note and riff for riff.
Jess Glynne
#12. 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
#14. People say I'm the white Aretha Franklin. I wish I was her.
Joss Stone
#15. I'm probably the only one in the world you can name that's worked with Billie Holiday, Louie Armstrong, Ella, Duke, Miles, Dizzy, Ray Charles, Aretha, Michael Jackson, rappers. 'Fly Me to the Moon' was played on the moon by Buzz Aldrin. Sinatra. Paul Simon. Tony Bennett. I'm the only one.
Quincy Jones
#16. As a kid, I was listening to Aretha Franklin, Etta James and hip-hop as well as music my parents were listening to, like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.
Alanis Morissette
#17. My years with Aretha Franklin have been very special, as were the years making records with Dionne Warwick. Other highlights include working with Janis Joplin, who was the first artist I ever signed, as well as Patti Smith and Alicia Keys.
Clive Davis
#18. I know I'm not going to sing like Aretha Franklin or Elvis Presley or any of those people.
George Thorogood
#19. 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
#20. I love Aretha [Franklin] and I've loved her all my life. I think she's an incredible songstress, obviously. She consistently has had this incredible voice. I remember when she was singing gospel in her father's church.
Stevie Wonder
#21. In the end, the sign of Aretha Franklin's artistry is that she always leaves her mark - first, on the music, then on us.
Jon Landau
#22. I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren't too excited when I had Aretha or the Stones pumping.
Kara DioGuardi
#23. 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
#24. When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do.
Whitney Houston
#25. Don't say Aretha is making a comeback, because I've never been away!
Aretha Franklin
#26. My ultimate film role would be to play the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin.
Jennifer Hudson
#27. Hey, I'm like Aretha Franklin, I don't get no R -S -P -E -C -T around here!
Si Robertson
#28. 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
#29. I've been getting into different gospel artists; Aretha Franklin is someone I've been listening to a lot of.
Jonny Lang
#30. Aretha Franklin's 'Let Me in Your Life' is one of the few recent R&B albums that places the emphasis entirely and deservedly on a voice. Many R&B producers have been making records on which the singer is outshined by the song, the arrangement and the sound.
Jon Landau
#31. 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
#32. I want to sing like Aretha Franklin. Before her I wanted the technical ability of Ella Fitzgerald.
Lena Horne
#33. Absolutely, I grew up listening to soul music. People like Stevie, Aretha, Ray Charles, Michael and Prince. My parents' record collection was all I had when I was a little kid. If it wasn't that, it was something else in their collection.
Jesse McCartney
#34. 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
#35. My introduction of Whitney was that if there's going to be one performer for the next generation who combined the beauty and lyric phrasing of a Lena Horne with those Gospel fiery roots of an Aretha Franklin, it would be Whitney Houston.
Clive Davis
#36. There was a time in American history when almost every white person knew who Aretha Franklin was.
Peabo Bryson
#37. 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
#38. Tell Aretha I'll be praying for herBecause she needs Jesus!I love her.
Patti LaBelle
#40. I think the most-played record in our house was the 'Big Chill' Soundtrack - so Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Otis Redding. I think that's where I got my love for a good hook, a good soul hook - really smooth and warm and from the heart.
Chet Faker
#41. ...for every Aretha, there's a chorus of cat-stranglers.
Bill Eisele
#42. 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
#43. I have total respect for the self-contained rock artist. Whether you're dealing with Jerry Garcia or Lou Reed or Patti Smith or a Whitney or an Aretha, they know what they want with their career.
Clive Davis
#44. If you think about it, Aretha did basically the same things that I do.
Peabo Bryson
#45. I was determined to create my own identity. My first hits, in fact, were straight-up rhythm and blues. My voice was compared to Aretha Franklin's - though, for my money, no one compares to Aretha.
Natalie Cole
#46. 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
#47. 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
#48. I grew up in the church not being able to listen to anything but gospel. So, while [other] people grew up with their parents listening to Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, I never knew they existed until I was able to listen to what I wanted to.
Rahki
#49. I am in love with old school funk and soul music. That's what I grew up listening to, and I want to bring that style back with my music. I love artists like Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, and more!
Raini Rodriguez
#50. I saw the Supremes when they were still singing in little black skirts and white blouses.
Aretha Franklin
#53. I sing to the realists; people who accept it like it is.
Aretha Franklin
#54. 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
#55. 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
#56. I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That's the hardest thing more than anything else.
Aretha Franklin
#58. 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
#60. 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
#62. The people at large absolutely gave James Brown respect. He was an original like a Rembrandt or a Picasso
Aretha Franklin
#63. 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
#64. It's so glamorous, you have to see it. (describing the $92 million Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
Aretha Franklin
#65. And I've been hurt hurt bad. I might be just twenty-six, but I'm an old woman in disguise twenty-six goin'on sixty-five.
Aretha Franklin
#66. I've always felt that rock & roll was very, very wholesome.
Aretha Franklin
#67. 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
#68. 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
#70. As a parent you try to maintain a certain amount of control and so you have this tug-of-war ... You have to learn when to let go. And that's not easy.
Aretha Franklin
#71. My faith always has been and always will be important to me.
Aretha Franklin
#72. Music changes, and I'm gonna change right along with it.
Aretha Franklin
#73. We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right.
Aretha Franklin
#74. 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
#76. Soul is a constant. It's cultural. It's always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees.
Aretha Franklin
#77. Better friends than lovers. Sugar can't you see? You need you and I really need me.
Aretha Franklin
#78. 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
#80. 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
#81. 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
#82. 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
#83. 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
#84. 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
#86. The milk of kindness flows through my body, I shall follow Jesus to the Taco Bell and give thanks.
Aretha Franklin
#87. 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
#89. 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
#90. I'm never tired of going to the studio. I enjoy recording and documenting everything and trying new things.
Aretha Franklin
#91. 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
#92. Falling out of love is like losing weight. It's a lot easier putting it on than taking it off.
Aretha Franklin
#93. I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don't know that I've ever heard any geniuses.
Aretha Franklin
#94. If you disrespect everybody that you run into, how in the world do you think everybody's supposed to respect you?
Aretha Franklin
#95. Women have broken through the glass ceiling, and they're now more and more in the power seats.
Aretha Franklin
#97. 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
#98. 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
#100. 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
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