"Respect" is the signature song of Aretha Franklin, who recorded it in 1967 in a significant deviation from Otis Redding's original. By flipping the gender of the lyrics and adding the iconic lines "sock it to me" and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T," Franklin totally reimagined the energy and meaning of the song.

One of the best soul and R&B songs of its era, Franklin's version garnered her multiple Grammy Awards and it became an anthem of feminism worldwide. In 2002, the Library of Congress added Franklin's recording to the National Recording Registry due to its cultural and historical significance.

—The GCNA