14 February 2025

Today 60 years ago, on Valentine’s Day soul legend OTIS REDDING (who
died in 1967 in a plane crash, only 27) released his classic single RESPECT.
A song from his third LP.

At first a ballad, the song was written by Redding himself for a singer called Speedo
Sims and his band The Singing Demons. As that didn’t happen in the end, Redding decided
to rewrite the lyrics and speed up the pace. He presented the reworked version to the Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin.

She recorded/released the pearl in 1967. It topped the US Singles Chart
and it reached #10 in the UK. It became her signature song and a timeless
diamond, covered by many over the years.

OTIS REDDING

ARETHA FRANKLIN