Aretha Franklin was a legendary American singer. Raised in Detroit she grew up surrounded by gospel music and began singing with her father’s programs as a young teen.
In 1960 she moved to New York and signed a recording contract with Columbia Records.
However it wasn’t until she switched to Atlantic Records in 1966 that her career really took off producing hits like “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)” and “Respect.”
In 1987 Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she received numerous other awards throughout her career including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Her music and legacy continue to influence artists today.
Aretha Franklin was called as the “Queen of Soul”.
I have picked the best quotes of Aretha Franklin in this article.
Best Aretha Franklin Quotes
Music changes, and I’m gonna change right along with it. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I sing to the realists. People who accept it like it is. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Gospel goes with me wherever I go. Gospel is a constant with me. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I love all music. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Falling out of love is like losing weight. It’s a lot easier putting it on than taking it off. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I’m never tired of going to the studio. I enjoy recording and documenting everything and trying new things. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I don’t do crazy things, I just don’t. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I’m the lady next door when I’m not on stage. ~ Aretha Franklin.
52 years of recording for other people…I thought at this point, it’s time for you to record for yourself. So that way there wouldn’t be so many spoons in the soup. There would just be one Aretha spoon in the soup. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I think it would be a far greater world if people were kinder and more respectful to each other. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Famous Aretha Franklin Quotes
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.
Better friends than lovers. Sugar can’t you see? You need you and I really need me. ~ 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.
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.
It’s hard. When you love food, and when you’ve done a high energy concert, you know, a carrot is not gonna work. ~ Aretha Franklin.
As women, we do have it…we have the power. We are very resourceful. Women absolutely deserve respect. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Men have always been gentlemen to me, responsible people with healthy attitudes. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Cause I ain’t never / Never, Never, no, no (loved a man) / (The way that I, I love you) ~ 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 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.
Top Aretha Franklin Quotes
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.
It’s very satisfying. To perform the way you want to. And the way you know that you can. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Who hasn’t had a weight issue? If not the body, certainly the big head! ~ Aretha Franklin.
Yes, I’ve always been fashion conscious. ~ Aretha Franklin.
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.
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.
I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks. ~ Aretha Franklin.
My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft. ~ Aretha Franklin.
The man who gets me is getting one hell of a woman. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Politics are not my arena. Music is. ~ 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 know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any geniuses. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Popular Aretha Franklin Quotes
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.
It’s the rough side of the mountain that’s the easiest to climb; the smooth side doesn’t have anything for you to hang on to. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Always semi-retire, never retire…who wants to just sit somewhere? I’m a people person…and I love performing. It’s the way it is and the way it’s going to be. ~ Aretha Franklin.
When God loves you, what can be better than that? ~ 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.
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.
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.
Don’t say Aretha is making a comeback, because I’ve never been away! ~ 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’ve never recorded anything I didn’t like. ~ 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.
Women have broken through the glass ceiling, and they’re now more and more in the power seats. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Great Aretha Franklin Quotes
The love of my life? I’m much too young to answer that question. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I’m a big woman. I need big hair. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I’ve always felt that rock and roll was very, very wholesome. ~ Aretha Franklin.
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.
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.
The milk of kindness flows through my body, I shall follow Jesus to the Taco Bell and give thanks. ~ Aretha Franklin.
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.
That makes it all worthwhile, just to know I uplifted another person; I wouldn’t be doing anything else. In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal, universal and transporting. ~ 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. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Everybody wants respect. In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Inspiring Aretha Franklin Quotes
We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right. ~ Aretha Franklin.
I saw the Supremes when they were still singing in little black skirts and white blouses. ~ Aretha Franklin.
People walking around everyday / Playing games, taking score / Trying to make other people lose their minds / Ah, be careful you don’t lose yours. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Women absolutely deserve respect. ~ Aretha Franklin.
Soul is a constant. It’s cultural. It’s always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees. ~ Aretha Franklin.
So these were the 67 top quotes about Aretha Franklin.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Karol G quotes and Ruby Bridges quotes.
