Aretha Franklin's Respect picked as top female song

AP

WHAT YOU WANT: Aretha Franklin.

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In her 1960s soul anthem, Aretha Franklin demanded a little respect. She has now received plenty, with Respect named the greatest female song of all time in a poll.

The poll, which received 62,000 votes, was organised by alcohol company Hummingbird100 in response to the recent Triple J Hottest 100 of all time, which caused a furore when not a single female artist made the list.

The Hummingbird100 spanned five decades, from Etta James' At Last and Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made for Walkin' to Dolly Parton's Jolene, Blondie's Heart of Glass, Portishead's Glorybox and Pink's Funhouse.

Perhaps because of the young demographic that drinks the product, the list was skewed towards pop over rock, with Pink dominating the list with seven entries, followed by Madonna with four.

Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You out of My Head, Kate Miller-Heidke's The Last Day on Earth and Sia's Breathe Me were the only Australian entries.

Some glaring omissions include Nico, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, the Supremes, Nina Simone, the Pretenders, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Hole, the Breeders and Bjork, while Australians Magic Dirt, Little Birdy, Renee Geyer, Olivia Newton-John and the Waifs were unlucky not to make the cut.

Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Mathew Coyte said: ''We're excited to see an all-female top 100.

It doesn't make sense that female artists are under-represented on music lists.

Some of the greatest - not to mention highest selling - artists of all time are female. We can only assume that these lists are voted by a predominantly male audience.''

See the full list here.

Women's Top Ten

1. Aretha Franklin - Respect
2. Pink - So What
3. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
4. ABBA - Dancing Queen
5. Madonna - Like a Prayer
6. Lady Gaga - Poker Face
7. Bangles - Eternal Flame
8. Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry
9. Blondie - Heart of Glass
10. Madonna - Like a Virgin

- © Fairfax NZ News