Song · Aretha Franklin
“Rock Steady” by Aretha Franklin
From the album Young, Gifted and Black (1972)
“Rock Steady” by Aretha Franklin appears on 7 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 1972 on the album Young, Gifted and Black. Its best result is #101 on the KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,073 indie & aaa song of all time and #109 of the '70s.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Aretha Franklin). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Aretha Franklin wrote "Rock Steady" herself, and when Atlantic put it out in October 1971, ahead of her 18th album Young, Gifted and Black, it wasn't even the side meant to sell. The A-side was her take on "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)", which stalled at 73 on the Hot 100, while "Rock Steady" climbed to No. 9 there and to No. 2 on the soul singles chart.
No wonder, with that band. Bernard "Pretty" Purdie drums, Chuck Rainey plays bass, Cornell Dupree plays guitar, Donny Hathaway sits at the organ, Dr. John and Robert Popwell handle percussion, and Wayne Jackson's trumpet and Andrew Love's tenor sax punch through. Aretha plays piano and leads Margaret Branch, Ann S. Clark, Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin and Pat Smith on backing vocals, with Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin producing.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 735 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2019 | 101 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2020 | 428 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 109 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 314 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 1133 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2025 | 528 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Rock Steady" by Aretha Franklin.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.