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" Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well. "

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" I'm not ever going to retire. That's - that wouldn't be good, for one, just to go somewhere and sit down and do nothing. Please. No, that's not moi. "

Aretha Franklin

Somewhere

Down

" Parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home. "

" My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft. "

" Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I'm using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I'm happy with that. "

Aretha Franklin

Gift

Possible

" If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about. "

Aretha Franklin

Alien

Song

" Sam Cooke had a huge influence on me. He left the gospel field at one point and went into the secular, and he had this huge hit, 'You Send Me.' Irma, my older sister, and I heard 'You Send Me' on the radio while we were driving through the South one night. We had to stop the car. We got out and danced around the car out on the highway. "

Aretha Franklin

Car

Night

" Let's start with the church. As you know, it's my background, it's a natural setting for me and it's definitely my roots. "

Aretha Franklin

Know

Start

" I had not been in the jazz environment, having been brought up in the church. But once I got to New York, and I was signed to perform at The Village Gate and the Vanguard and clubs like that, and these - the Vanguard was one of the most elite, if not the most elite, jazz club out there. "

" I don't feel one's personal medical condition is everybody's business. It just isn't something you advertise, and it's not open to discussion. "

" People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you. "

" It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I've done my job. "

" Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you're doing. If you're not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it. "

" You cannot define a person on just one thing. You can't just forget all these wonderful and good things that a person has done because one thing didn't come off the way you thought it should come off. "

" In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal - universal and transporting. "

" Sometimes, what you're looking for is already there. "

" I used to have hamburgers coming and going, especially when I was on the road. Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum. I am now opting for salads and just healthier lunches. "

" Columbia was a wonderful label for me. Wonderful. The records I made there garnered me an audience. I won a number of polls during the years that I was at Columbia. The Downbeat Jazz Poll. Leonard Feather, who was a huge critic back in the day, different polls that he had. The Playboy poll, a number of polls. So the music was great. "

" We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right. "

" Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It's transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It's uplifting, it's encouraging, it's strengthening. "

" Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift. "

" Gospel goes with me wherever I go. Gospel is a constant with me. "

Aretha Franklin

Wherever

Goes

" I just got into Mike Tyson. My security people kept saying, 'Haven't you seen him yet?' Well, I finally did, and he's got a real knockout punch. "

" I paid my dues; I certainly did. "

" Women absolutely deserve respect. "