{"id":1197,"date":"2019-03-21T23:11:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T23:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2019-03-25T20:49:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T20:49:05","slug":"respecting-cover-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/respecting-cover-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"Respecting Cover Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Franklin’s song gave many people what they longed for most: a voice.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The year 1965 was a great year for music. The Rolling Stones went on their 1st American Tour, Frank Sinatra won four Grammys including Record of the Year, and the Temptations\u2019 \u201cMy Girl\u201d rose to the top of Billboard charts. Legendary R&B artist Otis Redding had another great year, releasing his third album Otis Redding Sings Soul. <\/em>The album dazzled with four originals and six covers including a sensational rendition of \u201c<\/a>(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction\u201d.<\/a> <\/strong>This nearly perfect album had one major blemish: a tired, uninteresting track about his wife that Redding entitled \u201cRespect\u201d.<\/a><\/strong> Basic at best, this tune was forgotten amid the other successful songs on the album. Two years later, acclaimed soul artist Aretha Franklin unearthed Redding\u2019s \u201cRespect\u201d and gave it a new life of its own. Franklin\u2019s cover revived the once-dead song and turned it into a widely popular piece heard even today, 50 years later. Whether or not Franklin intended this, however, is up for debate. Contrary to popular belief, Franklin did not knowingly produce an anthem, but rather the song\u2019s popularity was a result of the current political climate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aretha Franklin\u2019s \u201cRespect<\/a><\/strong>\u201d<\/a> differs greatly from Otis Redding\u2019s original, not only in its sound but also in its lyrics. Redding\u2019s 1965 original lacks any special vocal emphasis, it is not like the majority of his songs as it lacks all emotion. The original song is short, with the simple two-line chorus of \u201cAll I\u2019m asking is for a little respect \/ When I come home\u201d. The instrumentation is basic, with a five-note motif seen after each refrain. In this two-minute song, Redding implores his wife to treat him with more respect. He repeats that respect is what he needs, implying that because he is a man he deserves a certain standard of treatment. Franklin\u2019s \u201cRespect\u201d, on the other hand, is packed with emotion. She uses her powerful, boisterous voice to deliver a song laced with frustration, tenacity, and demand. The entire instrumentational set-up, not just the lyrics, has semantic content. With two different kinds of saxophones, several drums and a keyboard Franklin creates music to accent the words she is singing. She also alters the lyrics slightly by adding in a new chorus, thus the birth of the infamous \u201cR-E-S-P-E-C-T \/ Find out what it means to me\u201d. Regardless of whether it was the changes Franklin made or the uniqueness of her voice that set this song on fire, there is no doubt that Franklin\u2019s version caught major attention from critics worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It became clear very quickly that what\nFranklin did with \u201cRespect\u201d elevated the song to a new level of importance.\nWhile Redding\u2019s version received little cultural merit, Franklin\u2019s cover was\nhighly popular, and was seen as an anthem for social activism. In Soul\nCovers: Rhythm and Blues Remakes and the Struggle for Artistic Identity, <\/em>Michael\nAwkward discusses how artists used cover songs to debate racial, artistic, and\npersonal authenticity. Particularly, he focuses the musical identities that\nartists were able to find in songs originally performed by different artists,\nincluding those of Aretha Franklin. To Awkward, \u201cRespect was received as a\nracial anthem that brought a new era of meaningful music with groove to\nAmerica\u201d. As the civil rights movement raced its way through the country,\nFranklin\u2019s song found a perfect home in the mouths of those who felt overlooked\nand mistreated. Regardless of her intentions, \u201cRespect\u201d became a source of hope\nand rebellion for many Americans. To her audience, \u201c[Franklin] embodied the\nsocial and cultural change that was taking place in the country merely by being\nherself without pretense\u201d. For perhaps the first time in history, a black female\nwas on stage singing about black female issues. Rarely did a marginalized\nminority have the opportunity or platform to advocate for themselves, and here\nFranklin did it on a national scale. As she rose to fame, it quickly became\nclear that Franklin was more than just a singer, she was an activist. Awkward\ngoes on to explain that \u201cFranklin\u2019s reign as Queen of Soul was burdened with\nthe weight of sociopolitical significance none of her predecessors had to bear\u201d\n(Awkward 56). The social climate in the 1960s, Franklin\u2019s audience, and her\ntalent as a singer all combined to create the unique opportunity for her work\nto foment a social movement, which happened with the release of \u201cRespect\u201d.\nWhether or not we can consider this fame to be entirely the result Franklin\u2019s\nown merit, however, is up for debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 For\nmany, cover songs should maintain the integrity of the original, as the\nperformer is less important than the song\u2019s composition. In the early stages of\nrecording, song covers served as a way to further a song\u2019s social reach. When\nlooking into the history of the cover song, researchers Dr. Keir Keightley and\nSean Dineley illuminated the cover\u2019s origins and purpose in the mid 20th\ncentury. According to Dineley, \u201cA successful product was one that sold well in\nmultiple versions, speaking to the appeal of the composition rather than the\ncomposer\u201d. In other words, a cover song was not in competition with the\noriginal, but was seen as a perpetuation of the composition. The success of a\nsong sung by different artists in a myriad of circumstances spoke to the\nuniversality of the piece. Thus, if we apply this to Aretha Franklin\u2019s\n\u201cRespect\u201d, her success with the song was not the sole result of her ability, but\nrather a combination of the right time, the right place, and a good song\nwritten by Redding. Dineley goes on to explain that \u201ccover versions were not\nonly released by competing record labels but multiple versions were often\nreleased on the same label to distribute a single composition to diverse\nmarkets\u201d (Dineley 65). While occasionally other labels produced a cover version\nto compete with the original label\u2019s piece, this was not always the case. Many\ntimes, the label produced cover renditions to make more money. If the song\ncould sell in two versions rather than one, that created more opportunity for\nrevenue. With this perspective on cover songs, Franklin did not create a new\nsong that sold better than Redding\u2019s. Instead, she sung Redding\u2019s song is a way\nthat made it more popular. This opinion, however, is not a common one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is perhaps more appropriate to view\nFranklin\u2019s cover as one intending to greatly alter original, rather than a\nproduct of circumstance. Most people consider cover songs to be an opportunity\nfor a new artist to add something more to an existing song, which is what many\npeople understand Franklin to have done. On Hi-Phi Nation\u2019s podcast \u201cCover Me\nSoftly\u201d, the success of a cover song is discussed extensively. According to\nguest author and cover-song expert Ray Padgett, \u201cA version of a song could only\nbe possible if there was something that covering itself could add creatively\nand aesthetically to an existing song\u201d The creation of a cover song is not\npossible unless the covering artist has vision to add something more, to push\nthe song into new arenas, to challenge its barriers. A cover can soar, but it\nalso can flop. Do too little, and the audience will question as to why the song\nwas covered in the first place, do too much, and the original will be lost completely.\nPagett goes on to explain that \u201cif you take your favorite Beatles recording and\nplaced it side by side with an impeccable mimic cover of that recording, only\none has the status of art\u201d (Padgett). To create art, it must have originality,\nimagination, and purpose. A cover song that is too similar to the original\nlacks voice and creativity, and at that point it no longer has importance. If\nFranklin had kept Redding\u2019s song entirely the same, it would lack any of the\nmeaning we have attributed to it. If she had sung it at the same pitch, with\nthe same words, emphasis, and instruments as Redding, it would be nothing but a\ncopy. However, she adds her own flare, her own experiences, her own meaning,\nand it becomes something larger than herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Whether\nor not Franklin intended to create an anthem when she produced the song,\nhowever, is up for discussion. It seems obvious that \u201cRespect\u201d, flush with\nanger and determination, was created to belong to activists. Franklin, though,\nhas denied any intention to create an anthem by saying \u201cwhat they hear and what\nI feel when I sing it can be very, very different\u201d.  As Michael Awkward\nstates in his book, \u201cIf Otis felt he lost his song to \u2018that girl\u2019, Franklin\nrecognizes that she \u2018lost\u2019 it both to nationalist and feminist listeners who\nhear and continue to hear it as infused with authentic racial and gendered\nmeanings she did not mean\u201d (Awkward 56). In the excitement and chaos of the\ncivil rights movement, the intention of Franklin\u2019s song seems to be lost almost\ncompletely. Activist groups found solace in a song about social issues and blew\nFranklin into the poster-child for their movement. To Franklin, this was a\npersonal song indicative of her struggle as a black female in the United\nStates. This was Franklin taking back her power, a demand for a higher worth, a\ncommitment to accountability. Though meant to be individual song, the black\nfemale struggle was a community struggle not unique to Franklin. The release of\n\u201cRespect\u201d situated in the social climate of the 1960s created a perfect outlet\nfor the estranged and alienated Americans who needed representation. Franklin\u2019s\nsong gave many people that which they longed for most: a voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Ultimately,\nAretha Franklin\u2019s cover of \u201cRespect\u201d fulfilled some people\u2019s expectation of a\ncover, but also fulfilled others to the point where people began to cover\nFranklin\u2019s version. In one sense, she turned a tired, quiet song into a belting\ndiva tune. Her voice was considered an instrument that one could pick up and\nplay, adding a new flare to Redding\u2019s original. To others, Franklin took the\npiece and added her own meaning, turning it into an entirely different song.\nShe transformed \u201cRespect\u201d from a song about a man imploring his wife to respect\nhim to one demanding to be heard in a time where a black female\u2019s voice was\noften silenced. Of her intention, however, we cannot be sure. Knowing that\nFranklin had not planned for this song to become an anthem creates an\ninteresting dynamic between performer and consumer. Her audience misconstrued\nher voice to be a national billboard for activism without her consent. With the\npopularity of Franklin\u2019s \u201cRespect\u201d came the understanding that no longer does\nthe artist\u2019s intention matter \u2013 music has become what the consumers make it.\nThoughts and feelings of artists have no bearing on the way one appreciates the\nmusic, it is all up to those who listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awkward,\nMichael. Soul Covers: Rhythm and Blues\nRemakes and the Struggle for Artistic <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identity.\n<\/em>Duke University Press,\n2007. Duke University Books.Web. 12 March 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dineley,\nSean, “Covers Uncovered: A History of the “Cover Version,” from\nBing Crosby to the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flaming Lips” (2014). Electronic Thesis\nand Dissertation Repository. 2119.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin,\nAretha. \u201cRespect.\u201d I Never Loved A Man\nThe Way That I Love You. <\/em>Atlantic Records, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1967, track 1. Spotify,  open.spotify.com\/track\/7s25THrKz86DM225dOYwnr?si=sn_JzQjYQ3e3rjLDvcLQQg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redding,\nOtis. \u201cRespect.\u201d Otis Redding: Otis Redding\nSings Soul. <\/em>Stax Records, 1965, track 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spotify,\nopen.spotify.com\/track\/1NGGxERGytoBIGn7dtSzeu?si=sdBFw5ciRbevcySIIdF_JA <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Padgett, Ray. Cover\nMe: The Stories behind the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time<\/em>. Sterling, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Franklin’s song gave many people what they longed for most: a voice.” The year 1965 was a great year for music. The Rolling Stones went on their 1st American Tour, Frank Sinatra won four Grammys including Record of the Year, and the Temptations\u2019 \u201cMy Girl\u201d rose to the top of Billboard charts. Legendary R&B artist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","category-writing-project-2","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1203,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions\/1203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}