Aretha Franklin Quotes & Sayings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I've never recorded anything I didn't like. — Aretha Franklin

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

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

The people at large absolutely gave James Brown respect. He was an original like a Rembrandt or a Picasso — Aretha Franklin

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

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

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

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

I love all music. — Aretha Franklin

Politics are not my arena. Music is. — 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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

On the sly, scoping for love. — Aretha Franklin

My faith always has been and always will be important to me. — 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

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

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

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

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

The man who gets me is getting one hell of a woman. — Aretha Franklin

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

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

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

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

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

I love to sing. It's just a natural thing for me. — Aretha Franklin

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

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

R&B is not a fad; it's the truth. — 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

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

Parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home. — Aretha Franklin

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

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

Call in the Caped Crusader, Green Hornet, Kato, too. I'm in so much trouble I don't know what to do. — Aretha Franklin

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

If you disrespect everybody that you run into, how in the world do you think everybody's supposed to respect you? — Aretha Franklin

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

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