| Otis Redding wrote this and originally
recorded it in 1965. His version hit #35 in the US. |
| Redding's version consisted of only verses, no
chorus or bridge. Aretha appropriated King Curtis's sax solo from
Sam and Dave's "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," which he
recorded the previous night for Stax Records, and used that for the
bridge. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL,) |
| It was Aretha's idea to cover this song. She
came up with the arrangement and added the "Sock it to me" lines. |
| Aretha recorded this in New York City with the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of 4 studio musicians who also
played sessions in Nashville and Muscle Shoals, Alabama before
starting their own Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. This was one of
their first, and most famous recordings. They went on to work with
Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon, Bob Seger and The Staples Singers. |
| Jerry Wexler produced this. He played a big
role in unleashing Aretha's talent. |
| Franklin had just signed with Atlantic Records.
She went on to release her biggest hits with them and became known
as the "Queen Of Soul." |
| This was Aretha's first song to chart in
England. |
| The lyric "Take care, TCB" is often misheard.
"TCB" means "Taking Care of Business." |
| Aretha's line, "Sock it to me," which is a
sexual reference, became a catch phrase on the TV show Laugh In
in the '70s. |
| This has been used in many movies, including
Platoon, Forrest Gump, Mystic Pizza, and
Back To School. |
| Before Aretha broke through and became the
Queen of Soul, Etta James was the more popular singer. After this
was released, James tried to resurrect her career by releasing her
own cover of an Otis Redding song. She did a version of Redding's "Security,"
but it barely got noticed. |
| Franklin played piano on this. |
| Tom Dowd was the engineer for this session. He
went on to produce The Allman Brothers, Derek And The Dominoes, and
many other successful groups. |
| Maureen McGovern, who hit #1 with "The Morning
After," played the part of a nun who sang this in the movie
Airplane! (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL,) |
| In the movie Rat Race, Rowan Atkinson
sings this even though he is listening to "Chain Of Fools." (thanks,
Scott Baddwin - edmonton, England) |
