Aretha Franklin's Best Quotes on Life, Love, and Music

“Everybody wants respect,” she said to Rolling Stone in 2014. “In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.”

"Who hasn’t had a weight issue? If not the body, certainly the big head!" she jokingly told People in 2007.

"My children have been wonderful. Times when they have been down, they lifted me up," Franklin told Ebony in 1995. "But once they pass a certain age, their independence begins to kick in ... you have to learn when to let go. And that's not easy."

"I didn’t think my songs would become anthems for women. But I’m delighted. Women probably immediately feel compassion and relate to the lyrics. We can all learn a little something from each other, so whatever people can take and be inspired by where my music is concerned is great," Franklin told Time in 2017.

"Falling out of love is like losing weight," she said to The Independent in 2011. "It's a lot easier putting it on than taking it off."

"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 paid my dues, I certainly did," Franklin told Elle.

"I guess most people call it soul. This is something I got from growing up in my father's [The Reverend C. L. Franklin] church, singing with him and hearing his sermons every Sunday. You hear him preach just one sermon and you'll know that he's a past master of soul," she told Ebony in 1964.

"It's the rough side of the mountain that's the easiest to climb; the smooth side doesn't have anything for you to hang on to," she told Ebony in 1964.