Song · Aretha Franklin
“Think” by Aretha Franklin
From the album Aretha Now (1968)
“Think” by Aretha Franklin appears on 12 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1968 on the album Aretha Now. Its best result is #82 on the WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #389 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (ArethaFranklinVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Aretha Franklin wrote "Think" with Ted White and came out swinging with it in 1968, a single ahead of her album Aretha Now, and it lands like a finger jabbed square in the chest. She's at the piano as well as the mic, the Sweet Inspirations back her up, and a horn section with Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love and Charles Chalmers on tenor punches every accent. Roger Hawkins and Jerry Jemmott lock the rhythm down tight while Spooner Oldham fills in on organ.
Jerry Wexler produced, with Tom Dowd recording and arranging alongside Arif Mardin. Billboard heard it as a cousin to "Respect"; it went to number 7 on the Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart. She cut it again for The Blues Brothers in 1980, and Pitchfork later ranked it 15th among the greatest songs of the 1960s.
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 | 1618 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2007 | 842 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2009 | 145 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2014 | 594 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2016 | 544 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2018 | 653 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2019 | 82 | WYEP | WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 | 1017 |
| 2019 | 82 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2020 | 639 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2023 | 489 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2023 | 200 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2026 | 246 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
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