"Sock It to Me"

[Fred Shapiro]

According to the Cassell Dictionary of Catchphrases,

"The actual phrase was taken from a hit record entitled 'Respect' (1967)
recorded by Aretha Franklin, which featured a chorus repeating 'Sock it to
me' quite rapidly in the background."

Can anyone confirm that this was the chorus?  Also, does anyone know of
any pre-1967 usage of "sock it to me" (I am aware of 19th-century usage of
the phrase "sock it to him")?

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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