# Rock Steady (Aretha Franklin song)

"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in October 1971, from her eighteenth album, Young, Gifted and Black (1972). The single reached the No. 9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that same year. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The original A-side, a rendition of the song "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.

## Personnel

* Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, piano
* Donny Hathaway – electric piano, organ
* Bernard Purdie – drums
* Cornell Dupree – guitar
* Richard Tee – organ
* Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
* The Sweethearts of Soul (Brenda Bryant, Margaret Branch, Pat Smith) — backing vocals
* Robert Popwell, Dr. John – percussion
* The Memphis Horns
** Wayne Jackson – trumpet
** Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
* Ron Albert, Howard Albert, Chuck Kirkpatrick; engineer
* Jerry Wexler – production
* Tom Dowd – horn arrangement, production
* Arif Mardin – production

## Charts

| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
| US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard) | 2 |
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
| UK Club Chart (Music Week) | 41 |

## Cover versions

* The earliest cover was a reggae version recorded by The Marvels on the Pama Supreme label, coupled with "Be My Baby", in 1971.
* The first known cover of the song was in 1972 by Sweet Salvation, who recorded a whip-snapping cover for their sole eponymous album.
* The Jackson Sisters recorded a cover of the song in 1976 for their eponymous album.
* In 1987, a house version of the song was recorded by singer Dalis and released on Trax Records.
* Patti Austin covered the song on her 1994 album That Secret Place.
* Prince released a version on his 2007 live album, Indigo Nights. The song features Beverley Knight.
* In 2008, the song was sampled by Japanese R&B singer Namie Amuro in her own song, "Rock Steady".
* Richard Elliot also covered this song as an instrumental in 2010 off his album, which was also titled Rock Steady. Aretha's vocals were replaced by Rich's saxophone.
* Dawn Robinson of the group En Vogue did a solo cover of the song on 1998's Dr. Dolittle film soundtrack.
* The song is used as a diegetic track in video game Driver: San Francisco.
* Rap group People Under the Stairs mention the song in their song "The Next Step II".
* Daryl Hall and John Oates covered the song on their 2004 album Our Kind of Soul.
* Regina Love covered the song in TV series The Voice (season 9).
* In 2012, Christine Anu covered the song on her album, Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook.
* Rap duo EPMD sampled the beat and Franklin's lyrics (more pronounced on the remix) for their 1989 single "I'm Housin" from their debut LP Strictly Business.
* Spanish rock rap band Def Con Dos sampled the horn section of the song's chorus on their song "Promiscuidad".

## Usage in media

* The song was heard in the 2017 American comedy-drama film The Upside.
* The song was used in the 2000 American comedy film High Fidelity.
* The song was used as an introduction to Ellen DeGeneres' Netflix stand-up comedy special, Relatable.