On this day in 1967, Aretha Franklin scored her first solo number one song with her cover of “Respect”

Originally recorded by Otis Redding in 1965, Franklin recorded the song during a New York session with Jerry Wexler, though she had already been playing the song live for several years.

Franklin’s version of the song flips the lyrics to be from a female perspective and introduces ideas like the spelling out of respect and the “sock it to me” refrain, which became a household expression. These changes allowed “Respect” to be viewed more as a song about civil and womens rights. The altered lyrics represent Franklin as a strong woman demanding respect from her partner and from others in the world. She said of the song that “I don’t think it’s bold at all. I think it’s quite natural that we all want respect – and should get it.”

The song was immediately popular, reaching number one on the Billboard charts where it remained for two weeks. It is now considered a classic song, being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that shaped Rock and Roll list, as well as number 5 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”