Aretha Franklin

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

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. ”

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. ”

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

The term 'Sock it to me!' was a big, big thing in our neighborhood - all the kids were saying it. ”

I picked up some wonderful things just listening to other pianists that I appreciate, and that would be Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Vladimir Horowitz, and Art Tatum. Those are the pianists I really enjoy and admire. ”

I just loved working with George Benson, whom I very much enjoy musically and as a person. ”

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

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. ”

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. ”