Aretha Franklin

“President Bush bestowed the Congressional Medal on myself.”

“I like Beyonce's music - some of it, not all of it.”

“I think you have a lot of really good artists today. You have your Beyonce, Usher, Nicki Minaj and the like. But our generation, the artists were stronger. You're talking about myself, Ray C...”

“I certainly enjoy Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, and there is Fantasia; these people will be around a while. They've got it. They've got the 'it' factor.”

“Beyonce is a very hard-working woman. Astrologically, for whatever it's worth, she's a Virgo - like Michael Jackson, a hard worker.”

“Beyonce is very outspoken on feminist issues. So I think that's good. That could be brought to the forefront more.”

“I'm a big woman. I need big hair.”

“Who hasn't had a weight issue? If not the body, certainly the big head!”

“The term 'Sock it to me!' was a big, big thing in our neighborhood - all the kids were saying it.”

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

“Many of my friends were there at Motown. The studio was only a few blocks from where my dad's home was, where we lived.”

“'Rocking With Leroy' used to come on when I would come in from school. It was a very, very big R&B broadcast of the day when I was a young girl. And I would come in and put my books down, li...”

“Yeah, I want a job in Barack's Cabinet. How about a job, Mr. Obama? Please? Please?”

“Men don't like eating out of cans. And I don't like eating out of cans too much, either.”

“I don't think I was a catalyst for the women's movement.”

“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,...”

“As a very small girl, I listened to Charlie Parker and loved him and Max Roach and people like that.”

“I loved going to church. I enjoyed being a part of the choir and just doing things in and around the church. But as a young girl, I certainly enjoyed watching and listening to my dad.”

“I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks.”

“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 c...”