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29 Things You Might Not Have Known About 'Queen Of Soul' Aretha Franklin
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December 4, 2008 - Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images North America
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9.
Her Sisters Sang As Backup
The backup vocals are an important part of the "Respect" single, where the "just a little bits" and the "sock it to mes" make the song iconic.
Those vocals were actually performed by Franklin's sisters, Carolyn and Erma, and Carolyn helped to write those parts of the track.
"My sister Carolyn and I got together and — I was living in a small apartment on the west side of Detroit, piano by the window, watching the cars go by — and we came up with that infamous line, the 'sock it to me' line," Franklin shared in an interview with NPR. "Some of the girls were saying that to the fellas, like 'sock it to me' in this way or 'sock it to me' in that way. It's not sexual. It was nonsexual, just a cliché line."
Those vocals were actually performed by Franklin's sisters, Carolyn and Erma, and Carolyn helped to write those parts of the track.
"My sister Carolyn and I got together and — I was living in a small apartment on the west side of Detroit, piano by the window, watching the cars go by — and we came up with that infamous line, the 'sock it to me' line," Franklin shared in an interview with NPR. "Some of the girls were saying that to the fellas, like 'sock it to me' in this way or 'sock it to me' in that way. It's not sexual. It was nonsexual, just a cliché line."
