Songs from Aretha Franklin's 'Greatest Hits' Album Quiz

Answer: The Beatles

Like many hits by the Beatles, 'The Long and Winding Road' was credited to Lennon and McCartney but actually written by just one of them - in this case, Paul McCartney. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, but was not released as a single in the UK following the band's recent acrimonious split. Aretha Franklin covered the song just two years later and released it on her 1972 album 'Young, Gifted and Black' - which was named after one of its other tracks, a cover of a song composed and originally sung by Nina Simone.

Other songs from 'Young, Gifted and Black' that were written by Franklin herself included 'Rock Steady' and 'Day Dreaming' - both of which were among the 41 songs picked for inclusion on her 1998 'Greatest Hits' album.

Answer: The Impressions

The lyrics to 'People Get Ready' reflect the strong connections between train-imagery and Christianity seen in a range of African-American gospel compositions. It was written by Curtis Mayfield, one of the founding members of The Impressions, and has appeared on numerous lists of the best songs of all time. Aretha Franklin's version was one of the earliest of the dozens of covers of 'People Get Ready' that have been released since 1965 - it appeared on her twelfth studio album 'Lady Soul', which made it to the top of the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and included other hits such as 'Chain of Fools' and '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman' (which are also, somewhat unsurprisingly, on her 'Greatest Hits' album).

Answer: The Rolling Stones

Aretha Franklin's version of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' appeared alongside the original Rolling Stones recording on the soundtrack of the 1986 Whoopi Goldberg movie of the same name. In addition to singing the song, Franklin also played the piano accompaniment, with two "Stones" members (Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards) on guitar. Franklin's version made it to number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986 (18 places below the peak spot gained by the original in 1968).

Answer: Otis Redding

'Respect' was arguably Aretha Franklin's most famous song and is certainly one with which she remains synonymous. Her 1967 version differed significantly from Otis Redding's 1965 original both in terms of the music and lyrics - famous lines such as the spelled-out "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and repeated "sock it to me" and "just a little bit" were added by Franklin and her recording team. Overall, Franklin's song was an anthem for feminism while Redding's original related to almost the opposite - a man wanting respect from his wife for going out and earning the money.

'Respect' became Franklin's first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was the first track listed on her hit album 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'.

Answer: Dionne Warwick

'I Say a Little Prayer' is a song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which was first released by Dionne Warwick in 1967. Franklin's version followed in 1968 and was originally released as the B-side to her song 'The House that Jack Built' (another entry on her 'Greatest Hits' album).

While Warwick's version made it to number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 compared to Franklin's tenth place, it was Franklin who had greater international success with it. Franklin's version made it to number four on the UK Singles Chart as well as charting in Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

It was also named as the top single of all time by the influential British magazine 'New Musical Express' in 1987.

Answer: Ben. E. King

Aretha Franklin's version of 'Spanish Harlem' was released as a single in 1971, over ten years after Ben E. King's original was in the charts and after numerous other cover versions by artists such as Cliff Richard, The Mamas & The Papas and Andy Williams had already been recorded. Franklin's 'Spanish Harlem' made it to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 (and number one on their R&B chart) and was a number one hit in the Netherlands.

It was certified gold in the US after selling over one million copies. Franklin didn't include it on any of her studio albums - it was instead included as a new recording on her 1971 album 'Aretha's Greatest Hits' (not to be confused with 1998's 'Greatest Hits' or at least 15 other Aretha Franklin compilations that included "greatest" or "best of" in their titles).

Answer: Dusty Springfield

While Dusty Springfield is the artist who is most associated with 'Son of a Preacher Man', the song was actually written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins for Aretha Franklin (her father was a Baptist minister). Franklin recorded an early version of it but initially chose not to release it as either a single or album track, instead the song was taken up by Springfield and went on to be a top ten hit in both the US and UK. Aretha's elder sister Erma Franklin also recorded her own version of the song before Aretha eventually released it on her 1970 album 'This Girl's in Love With You' and on the same single as her hit song 'Call Me' (another of the 41 songs included on the 'Greatest Hits' album).

Answer: Maxine Brown

'Oh No Not My Baby' was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and first released in 1964 by the soul singer Maxine Brown, reaching a peak position of number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Aretha Franklin's 1970 cover version appeared on her 'Spirit in the Dark' album, but wasn't released as a single in the US (and failed to chart in the UK). On this basis it's perhaps hard to see why it was included as one of her "Greatest Hits".

Other, perhaps better-known, cover versions of the song include one by Rod Stewart in 1973 and another by Cher in 1992.

Answer: Elton John

1970's 'Border Song' (note the lack of 'Holy Moses' in brackets in the title) was one of Elton John's earliest efforts and the first to chart in any country (it made it to number 92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and into the top 40 in both Canada and the Netherlands).

It was composed by Elton John with his long-time lyricist and song-writing partner, Bernie Taupin. The phrase "Holy Moses" appears at the start of the song's first line and is repeated regularly through the lyrics. Aretha Franklin brought the phrase into the title for her cover version that was released later the same year.

It had more success than the original, as it made it into the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 and closed out her gold certified album 'Young, Gifted and Black' in 1972.

Answer: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Aretha Franklin's version of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song 'Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing' appeared on her 1974 album 'Let Me in Your Life' and got to number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100 later that year. It differed significantly from Gaye and Terrell's version as she performed the song solo as a soul ballad while theirs was a much more upbeat duet. Franklin's version earned her a Grammy award in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category at the 1974 ceremony.