"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).[2] 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 original A-side, a rendition of the song "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.
| "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 | ||||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Aretha Franklin | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler | |||
| Aretha Franklin singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Personnel edit
- 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) [3] — backing vocals
- Robert Popwell, Dr. John – percussion
- The Memphis Horns
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet
- Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
- Gene Paul – engineer
- Jerry Wexler – production
- Tom Dowd – horn arrangement, production
- Arif Mardin – production
Charts edit
| Charts (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
| US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard) | 2 |
| Charts (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Club Chart (Music Week)[4] | 41 |
Cover versions edit
- The earliest cover was a reggae version recorded by The Marvels on the Pama Supreme label c/w Be My Baby in 1971 [5]
- 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 soundtrack.
- The song is used as a diegetic track in 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 The Voice (U.S. 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 edit
- The song was heard in the 2017 American comedy-drama film The Upside.
- The song was used as an introduction to Ellen DeGeneres' Netflix stand-up comedy special, Relatable.
External links edit
- Jisi, Chris. "Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady"". Bass Player. New Bay Media. Archived from the original on 2010-08-09. – session details
References edit
- ^ Discogs - Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen Of Soul - 2007-October reMastered 2CD, Rhino / Atlantic (8122799703) Australia
- ^ Discogs - Young, Gifted and Black - 1972-January-24th LP, Atlantic (SD 7213) US
- ^ Discogs - the Sweethearts Of Soul - (profile, aliases, discography)
- ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 26 November 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ "The Marvels - Rock Steady / Be My Baby". Discogs. 1971.