Rock Steady (Aretha Franklin song)

"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in October 1971, from her eighteenth album, Young, Gifted and Black (1972).^[3] The single reached the No. 9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that same year. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The original A-side, a rendition of the song "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.

"Rock Steady"
One of Side-A labels of US vinyl single
Single by Aretha Franklin
from the album Young, Gifted and Black
A-side	"Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)"
Released	October 11, 1971 (Atlantic #2838)
Recorded	Unedited, undubbed master (#21312) w/o horns at Criteria in Miami on February 15, 1971[1]
Genre	Funk[2]
Length	3:15
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Aretha Franklin
Producer(s)	Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"Spanish Harlem" (1971) "Rock Steady" (1971) "Day Dreaming" (1972)

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, piano
• Donny Hathaway – electric piano, organ
• Bernard Purdie – drums
• Cornell Dupree – guitar
• Richard Tee – organ
• Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
• The Sweethearts of Soul (Brenda Bryant, Margaret Branch, Pat Smith)^[4] — backing vocals
• Robert Popwell, Dr. John – percussion
• The Memphis Horns
  • Wayne Jackson – trumpet
  • Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
• Ron Albert, Howard Albert, Chuck Kirkpatrick; engineer
• Jerry Wexler – production
• Tom Dowd – horn arrangement, production
• Arif Mardin – production

Charts

Chart (1971)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	9
US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)	2

Chart (1994)	Peak position
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[5]	41

Cover versions

• The earliest cover was a reggae version recorded by The Marvels on the Pama Supreme label, coupled with "Be My Baby", in 1971.^[6]
• The first known cover of the song was in 1972 by Sweet Salvation, who recorded a whip-snapping cover for their sole eponymous album.
• The Jackson Sisters recorded a cover of the song in 1976 for their eponymous album.
• In 1987, a house version of the song was recorded by singer Dalis and released on Trax Records.
• Patti Austin covered the song on her 1994 album That Secret Place.
• Prince released a version on his 2007 live album, Indigo Nights. The song features Beverley Knight.
• In 2008, the song was sampled by Japanese R&B singer Namie Amuro in her own song, "Rock Steady".
• Richard Elliot also covered this song as an instrumental in 2010 off his album, which was also titled Rock Steady. Aretha's vocals were replaced by Rich's saxophone.
• Dawn Robinson of the group En Vogue did a solo cover of the song on 1998's Dr. Dolittle film soundtrack.
• The song is used as a diegetic track in video game Driver: San Francisco.
• Rap group People Under the Stairs mention the song in their song "The Next Step II".
• Daryl Hall and John Oates covered the song on their 2004 album Our Kind of Soul.
• Regina Love covered the song in TV series The Voice (season 9).
• In 2012, Christine Anu covered the song on her album, Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook.
• Rap duo EPMD sampled the beat and Franklin's lyrics (more pronounced on the remix) for their 1989 single "I'm Housin" from their debut LP Strictly Business.
• Spanish rock rap band Def Con Dos sampled the horn section of the song's chorus on their song "Promiscuidad".

Usage in media

• The song was heard in the 2017 American comedy-drama film The Upside.
• The song was used in the 2000 American comedy film High Fidelity.
• The song was used as an introduction to Ellen DeGeneres' Netflix stand-up comedy special, Relatable.

External links

• Jisi, Chris. "Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady"". Bass Player. New Bay Media. Archived from the original on 2010-08-09. – session details

References

1. Discogs - Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen Of Soul - 2007-October reMastered 2CD, Rhino / Atlantic (8122799703) Australia
2. Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 156. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
3. Discogs - Young, Gifted and Black - 1972-January-24th LP, Atlantic (SD 7213) US
4. Discogs - the Sweethearts Of Soul - (profile, aliases, discography)
5. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 26 November 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
6. "The Marvels - Rock Steady / Be My Baby". Discogs. 1971.