Aretha Franklin

Sam Ary: Original by Otis Redding. Need some of this R-E-S-P-E-C-T fr…

• Regina Scime +3 — Love Otis Redding (R&B/soul musicians owe a lot to him), but this was the only cover that 100% was better than the original. Everything else was ok, but Aretha SINGS this.
• SamRobertsND +1 — I mentioned in my comment on Joseph’s that making a good song better is no small accomplishment. Aretha does not simply match Redding’s original but far surpasses, such that people nowadays firstly associate this with her rather than him (Johnny Cash did something similar with Hurt). An obvious vote.
• judd.baker +1 — This almost doesn’t read to me as a cover, which I know is ridiculous because it is a cover, but just goes to show how thoroughly Aretha owns the song. For this reason I feel compelled to upvote
• fionmul 0 — Obvi so good. Ultimately didn’t have enough votes and I liked the takes that picked a cover I didn’t know yet. Like vs the song being known better as the cover. But damn if I had 4-5 votes.
• Claire 0 — goated song but I feel like what I’m looking for in this round is a cover that innovates on the track that we all know and love…despite the fact that this is a cover, this is the version that became famous
• Edward James 0 — Sorry, but I just don’t feel good of voting a song where the original is not even known at all. I feel like this falls into that category, like “torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
• ared56 -1 — Downvoted because it’s just her song now. Similar to Midnight Train to Georgia for Gladys or I Will Always Love You by Whitney. While it fits the technical terms of the category, it seemed too easy. Letter of the law, not spirit etc