Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
Single by Aretha Franklin
from the album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
A-side "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
Released February 10, 1967
Format Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded 1967
Genre R&B, Pop
Length 3:14
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Chips Moman
Dan Penn
Producer(s) Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"Mockingbird"
(1967)		 "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
(1967)		 "Respect"
(1967)

"Mockingbird"
(1967)		 "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
(1967)		 "Respect"
(1967)

"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (also written "Do Right Woman — Do Right Man") is a single by Aretha Franklin. It was released on February 10, 1967. Rolling Stone listed it as number 476 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Production

Aretha Franklin (pictured in 2008) disappeared for weeks while recording

"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" was written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn.[1] It was produced by Jerry Wexler.[1]

Franklin began recording the song in 1967 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, after completing "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)". While taking a break for the night at the motel, Franklin's then-husband and manager Ted White got into a fight with trumpeter Melvin Lastie after Lastie was seen flirting with Franklin. The following morning, it was found that Franklin and White had left[2] with the song still unfinished. Penn recalled:

"They cut 'I Never Loved a Man' and it was just romping stomping. It was an out and out smash. They cut 'Do Right Woman', it didn't sound right. She wouldn't even sing it. I think I sang it as it went down on the track. . . . They weren't going to cut any more at (Rick Hall)'s because they had a little disagreement, and they had an eight-track in New York and wanted to go eight-track, so we all went up there."[3]

Franklin disappeared for several weeks,[4] later reappearing in New York City. She then finished the song with the help of her sisters Carolyn and Erma.[1][2] Penn recalled:

"She had put her sisters on it, she'd sang it over, she'd played piano herself, and I realised then you can make anything out of anything with a lot of tracks. I think maybe they had the bass drum and a snare and the bass that they used out of Alabama, and possibly the guitar. . . . And it was such a wonderful record when they played it back. It's still one of the best records I've ever heard by anybody – not 'cause it's my song, but just that record. It'll reach out and get you in your heart."[5]

Song

At the beginning of the song, Franklin sings with a gospel-inspired tone, which continues through the bridge. Through overdubbing, Franklin plays both the piano and the organ.[6]

According to Bill Janovitz of Allmusic, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" contrasts the power of temptation and rewards of fidelity. He notes that its melody is "soothing".[7] Patricia Hill Collins writes that it has a feminist message, urging African-American men to respect women as their equals and not follow the then-common belief that it is "a man's world" by using or abusing them; she also writes that the song urges men to be loyal, responsible, and "sexually expressive".[8]

Although the song is originally heavily inspired by soul, covers have different styles. For example, The Flying Burrito Brothers cover in 1969 was a "country-soul waltz".[7]

Reception

"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" spent 11 weeks on the charts, peaking at number 9.[1] It was included on Franklin's album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You[1] and the single was released as the b-side to "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)".[6] It also reached number 37 on the R&B chart. Wexler called it "perfection".[1]

In 2004, Rolling Stone selected "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. As of the 2010 edition, it is ranked 476th.[1]

In the 1991 film Cape Fear,[9] Max Cady (Robert De Niro) tries to seduce a teenage girl (Juliette Lewis) while dancing with her to the song.

The song was featured in the 1995 film Dead Presidents.

Covers

From Allmusic.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rolling Stone 2010, 500 Songs, p. 112.
  2. 1 2 Rivera 2003, p. 46.
  3. ↑ Pidgeon, John: "Inside the Super-Sessions", Vox (Record Hunter supplement, p4), March 1991
  4. ↑ Mitchell 2003 Aretha: How the Queen.
  5. ↑ Pidgeon, John: "Inside the Super-Sessions", Vox (Record Hunter supplement, p4), March 1991
  6. 1 2 Rivera 2003, p. 48.
  7. 1 2 3 Janovitz, Do Right Woman.
  8. ↑ Collins 2000, p. 154.
  9. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 213.
  11. ↑ Wikipedia "The Original Delaney & Bonnie & Friends"

Bibliography

  • "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Rollling Stone. 2010.
  • Collins, Patricia Hill (2000). Black Feminist Thought : Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Revised 10th anniversary ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-92484-9.
  • "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  • Janovitz, Bill. "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". AllMusic.com. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  • Mitchell, Gail (October 4, 2003). "Aretha: How the Queen of Soul Earned her Crown". Billboard. 115 (40): 19, 22.
  • Rivera, Ursula (2003). Aretha Franklin. New York: Rosen Central. ISBN 978-0-8239-3639-7.
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