Rock Steady (Aretha Franklin song)
Encyclopedia
"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by Aretha Franklin
and released in 1971, from the album Young, Gifted and Black
. The single reached the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100
charts that same year. It also peaked at #2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles
chart. The B-side, "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" peaked at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and released in 1971, from the album Young, Gifted and Black
Young, Gifted and Black
Young, Gifted and Black is a Top 10 Gold-certified album by Aretha Franklin, released in 1972. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which is the record's title track....
. The single reached the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts that same year. It also peaked at #2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. The B-side, "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" peaked at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
Personnel
- Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
– vocal, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Donny HathawayDonny HathawayDonny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
– electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Bernard PurdieBernard PurdieBernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Cornell DupreeCornell DupreeCornell Luther Dupree was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar: Rhythm and Blues Guitar ISBN 0-634-00149-3...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Richard TeeRichard TeeRichard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
– organ - Chuck RaineyChuck RaineyChuck Rainey, is an American bass guitar session musician, known for playing with many well-known American musicians and acts, including Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, and Aretha Franklin.-Biography:Rainey's youthful pursuits included violin, piano and trumpet...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - The Sweethearts of Soul — backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Robert PopwellRobert Popwell-Career:Known as "Pops", he played with The Young Rascals, The Crusaders and the Macon Rhythm Section. The Young Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame May 6, 1997. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005...
, Dr. JohnDr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - The Memphis HornsThe Memphis HornsThe Memphis Horns are an American horn section made famous by their many appearances on Stax Records. They have been called "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever." Originally a sextet, the Memphis Horns gradually slimmed down to a duo, Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love on tenor...
- Wayne JacksonWayne JacksonWayne Jackson is best known for his tenure as the CEO of the Australian Football League 1996 to 2003.- SANFL :Jackson played 71 games for West Torrens Football Club in the South Australian National Football League from 1965 to 1971 ....
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Andrew LoveAndrew LoveAndrew Love is an American actor and voice actor who work for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000. He graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. degree in acting and directing...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Wayne Jackson
- Gene Paul – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Jerry WexlerJerry WexlerGerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
– horn arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, production - Arif MardinArif MardinArif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
– fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, vocal and horn arrangement, production
Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | 2 |
Cover versions
- The Jackson SistersThe Jackson SistersThe Jackson Sisters were an American soul and disco family group in the 1970s...
recorded a whip-snapping cover of the song in 1976 for their sole eponymous album. PrincePrince (musician)Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
released a version on his 2007 live album, Indigo NightsIndigo NightsIndigo Nights is a live album by Prince, mainly comprising songs played live during some of the aftershows at the indigO2 night club in London in 2007...
. The song features Beverley KnightBeverley KnightBeverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
. - In 2008 the song was sampled by Jpop singer Namie AmuroNamie Amurois a Japanese R&B and pop singer, entertainer, and former actress who at the height of her popularity was referred to as the "Teen Queen" and the title "Queen of Japanese Pop Music". Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted at the age of 14 as an idol in the girl group Super Monkey's...
in her own song, "Rock Steady" - Richard ElliotRichard ElliotRichard Elliot is a Scottish-born saxophone player.He was a member of the funk band Tower of Power playing tenor sax for 5 years during the 1980s. He also worked on Stacy Lattisaw's 1986 album "Take Me All The Way". His solo career took off when he remade the Percy Sledge classic "When a Man...
also covered this song as an InstrumentalInstrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
in 2010 off his album, Rock Steady - Dawn RobinsonDawn RobinsonDawn Robinson is an American R&B/soul/Dance-pop singer best known for her work as a member of hit Urban/Dance-pop group, En Vogue....
of the group En VogueEn VogueEn Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
did a solo cover of the song on 1998's Dr. Dolittle soundtrackDr. Dolittle (soundtrack)Dr. Dolittle is the soundtrack to the 1998 film, Dr. Dolittle. It was released on June 16, 1998 through Atlantic Records and consisted of a blend of hip hop and contemporary R&B. The soundtrack was a huge success, peaking at 4 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was...
.