"See Saw," Aretha Franklin (1968)

Loud horns, big notes, and maximum soul.

Peak: #9 on the R&B chart, #14 on the Hot 100
Streams: 6.8 million

Dan Covay wrote the song “Chain of Fools” for Otis Redding, but then Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler decided to give it to Aretha Franklin instead. Solid call.

A few years before that, Covay had his own hit on the R&B charts with “See Saw,” a song about a woman who’s up and down, hot and cold, here and there. His version of the track is great, particularly because Booker T. and the MG’s are his backing band. Somebody’s going absolutely crazy on the backing vocals, growling out words like a cartoon cat, and I’m here for it.

But here’s the thing: Dan Covay is not Aretha Franklin.