Top 66 Aretha Franklin Quotes

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.

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.

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.

I like writing and don’t confine myself to just the words or just the music. But I don’t particularly write songs with myself in mind.

There is no way in the world anyone else could do my wedding other than myself, along with whomever I select to do various things.

I came up in gospel.

Music changes, and I’m gonna change right along with it.

My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft.

I don’t do crazy things – I just don’t.

I still have perfect diction!

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.

John Legend is, in my opinion, classic. He is one of the best finds that has come along in a long time.

I can say that my big records and my success have been due to the backing which Atlantic have put behind me.

My upbringing was in the church. We had to attend regularly. And, of course, the church provided a training ground for me, so to speak, as a young vocalist and certainly gave me all of the spiritual values that I needed as a young lady.

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

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.

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

Men don’t like eating out of cans. And I don’t like eating out of cans too much, either.

He was definitely an original and a one-of-a-kind. Truly there was only one Prince.

President Clinton, I sang at his post-inauguration party out in Maryland.

I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.

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

‘Rocking With Leroy’ used to come on when I would come in from school. It was a very, very big R&B broadcast of the day when I was a young girl. And I would come in and put my books down, lie down on the floor, and listen to ‘Rocking With Leroy.’

I’ve probably cried with a lot of songs – in teenage crushes, adult crushes.

There’s a lot of great singers out here.

I don’t think I was a catalyst for the women’s movement.

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

I think it would be a far greater world if people were kinder and more respectful to each other.

The term ‘Sock it to me!’ was a big, big thing in our neighborhood – all the kids were saying it.

I sing, and the musicians kind of fit things around me.

I like being married. It’s an institution that I like.

Most of what I wear, I select myself. You can’t please everybody, and as long as I’m comfortable with what I wear, I think that’s what’s important.

Men have always been gentlemen to me – responsible people with healthy attitudes.

It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I’ve done my job.

Beyonce is very outspoken on feminist issues. So I think that’s good. That could be brought to the forefront more.

I love the Ritz.

I’m really an old-fashioned girl – I like to be romanced.

Gospel goes with me wherever I go. Gospel is a constant with me.

I guess I could’ve been a prima ballerina. Or a nurse. Aretha Nightingale!

I love Wal-Mart, and not just because my record is there. You can get some things there that you cannot find at Saks or Bergdorf’s or other upscale stores.

We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of discrimination.

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.’

In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal – universal and transporting.

Well, 20 Grammys is not bad.

My mentor was Clara Ward of the famous Ward gospel singers of Philadelphia. And my dad was my coach. He coached me. And just my natural love for music is what drove me.

I think the hardest thing is losing weight. That’s the hardest thing more than anything else.

I certainly enjoy Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, and there is Fantasia; these people will be around a while. They’ve got it. They’ve got the ‘it’ factor.

Ariana Grande – I like her a lot.

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

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.

Women absolutely deserve respect.

Christmases past, my sister Carolyn and I – we’d been waiting for Santa all night. Nothing! Where is this man?

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.

Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum.

The love of my life? I’m much too young to answer that question.

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.

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

I like ‘Bootylicious,’ ‘Survivor’ – my little granddaughter loves ‘Survivor.’

I’m not ever going to retire. That’s – that wouldn’t be good, for one, just to go somewhere and sit down and do nothing. Please. No, that’s not moi.

Many of my friends were there at Motown. The studio was only a few blocks from where my dad’s home was, where we lived.

For many years, I’ve wanted to do one, and I’ve always mentioned it to the chieftains, and they would say things like, ‘Oh well. Christmas albums don’t sell,’ and things like that. But that’s not the point. Christmas albums are important. The music is important. The season is important.

Well, Babyface brings his savoir faire to every project. He’s a very easy producer to work with, very detailed in listening to everything.

You could call my piano my trademark, or one of my trademarks.

You have singers that are trained, and then you have natural singers: people that, in my opinion, were just born to sing. And hopefully, I am one of them.

I’m the lady next door when I’m not on stage.

It’s easy for a singer to sometimes pick up on another singer’s sound, but that’s just copying.