Respect

Aretha Franklin’s 1967 recording of Otis Redding’s song transformed a man’s demand for domestic respect into a feminist and civil rights anthem that played at marches, rallies, and celebrations for five decades. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, it became the defining vocal performance of the 20th century and earned Franklin the title ‘Queen of Soul.’ It outperforms #2 on this list by being the only track to serve as an official anthem for two major social movements, and it spent 12 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart.