Aretha Franklin rehearses in a recording studio with Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.
In 1985, British Pop duo Eurythmics and America’s Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin teamed up to record “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” at the suggestion of bisexual music mogul Clive Davis.
But according to band member Dave Stewart, there was some backstage drama when the musicians first met in the studio.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph recently, Stewart said Franklin was initially suspicious of Lennox, thrown by her androgynous look and vegan lifestyle, and questioning whether the Scottish singer was “totally gay.”
Annie Lennox on stage in 1985
“Aretha had stayed up half the night making fried chicken, and Annie was a vegan, so that was a bit awkward,” Stewart recalled. “Aretha was very wary of Annie with her cropped hair.”
“She said ‘Look, these lyrics, ‘ringing on their own bells’, ‘sisters doin’ it for themselves,’ what exactly are we supposed to be doing?’”
He added, “She was trying to work out if Annie was totally gay and she was doing a gay anthem.”
As it turns out, Lennox wasn’t and still isn’t gay (though she is a huge LGBTQ+ ally) and has, in fact, been married three times to three different men. And the song wasn’t a gay anthem either. It was a feminist anthem that has since gone on to be covered by several other artists, including…
Kylie and Dannii Minogue
The Spice Girls
And on the musical episode of Xena: Warrior Princess…
OK, OK, Aretha might’ve been onto something since that last one is, arguably, little gay.
Anyway, the gospel legend was eventually able to get past her hangups about Lennox’s perceived sexuality and record the song, and when “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” was released on October 1, 1985, it was a smash hit.
Included on both Eurythmics’ Be Yourself Tonight and Franklin’s Who’s Zoomin’ Who? albums, it reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
It also helped revitalize Franklin’s career. Who’s Zoomin’ Who? became her highest-charting album in over a decade, as well as her first (and only) one to earn a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, with more than one million copies sold. Today it’s considered to be her comeback album, much like Tina Turner’s late-career defining Private Dancer.
A music video for the song was filmed at the iconic Music Hall in Franklin’s hometown of Detroit.
After the song’s release, Franklin and Lennox remained close. In 2009, they performed together at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show, during which Lennox wore a t-shirt that read “HIV POSITIVE” in an effort to help raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
Speaking about the t-shirt later, she explained, “It will raise questions, I know, as to whether I am HIV-positive. And I can tell you, actually, the good news is I am not. However, many people are.”
In 2011, Franklin performed at the wedding for same-sex couple Bill White and Bryan Eure. She was paid $250,000 for a 15-minute set, and ended up staying on stage for an entire hour, singing hit after hit for the couple and their 700 guests.
Speaking to CNN after Franklin’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2018, Eure recalled, “She was very passionate that night and very excited to be there. She looked at gay rights as the next civil rights movement.”
“It was the greatest night of our lives.”
Eure added that, for every year after the wedding, Franklin would call and leave a message wishing them a happy anniversary.
“Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” was later included on both Eurythmics’ 1991 and Franklin’s 1998 greatest hits albums. Nearly 40 years after its release, it remains an enduring gay feminist anthem and a testament to what can happen when we work past our preconceived notions to create something beautiful together.
