Aretha (1980 album)

Aretha
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	September 30, 1980
Recorded	April–July 1980
Studio	MCA Whitney Recording Studios (Glendale, CA) Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA) Sound Labs Studios (Hollywood, CA) Atlantic Studios (New York, NY)
Genre	Soul funk pop
Length	39:23
Label	Arista
Producer	Chuck Jackson Arif Mardin Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin chronology
La Diva (1979) Aretha (1980) Aretha Sings the Blues (1980)
Singles from Aretha
"United Together" Released: October, 1980 (US) "What a Fool Believes" Released: February, 1981 (US) "Come to Me" Released: May, 1981 (US)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Billboard	(unrated) [2]
Robert Christgau	B− [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Aretha is the twenty-sixth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on September 30, 1980, by Arista Records. This is Franklin's second eponymous album, and her first for Arista Records after a 12-year tenure with Atlantic Records. ^[5]

Franklin's first Arista single release, "United Together", reached number 3 on the Soul chart and crossed over to number 56 on Billboard's Hot 100. The album itself peaked at number 47 and spent 30 weeks on the Billboard album chart.

The album's opening track, "Come to Me", appeared again on Franklin's 1989 album, Through the Storm .

Track listing

Information is taken from the album's liner notes ^[6]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Come to Me"	Willard Gene Price	3:42
2.	"I Can't Turn You Loose"	Otis Redding	3:55
3.	"United Together"	Phil Perry, Chuck Jackson	5:02
4.	"Take Me With You"	Phil Perry, Terry Coleman, Chuck Jackson	4:05
5.	"Whatever It Is"	Mark Gary, Eddie Setser, Jerry Michael	3:38
6.	"What a Fool Believes"	Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald	5:13
7.	"Together Again"	Aretha Franklin, Phil Perry, Chuck Jackson	3:34
8.	"Love Me Forever"	Franklin, Kenny Moore, Patrick Henderson	4:47
9.	"School Days"	Franklin	4:54

Personnel

Information is taken from the album's liner notes ^[6]

• Aretha Franklin – lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (3–7, 9), piano (8), keyboards (3–5, 7, 9), arranger (7, 9)
• David Foster – Rhodes electric piano, synthesizer (1–2, 6)
• David Paich – acoustic piano (1), Hammond organ (8)
• Todd Cochran – synthesizer programming (2, 6)
• Steve Porcaro, Bob Christianson – additional synthesizers (2)
• Ed Greene (3–5, 7, 9), Jeff Porcaro (1–2, 6, 8), Bernard Purdie (3–5, 7, 9) – drums
• Scott Edwards (3–5, 7, 9), Louis Johnson (1–2, 6), James Jamerson Sr. (3–5, 7, 9), Mike Porcaro (8) – bass guitar
• Michael McGlory, Cornell Dupree, Paul Jackson Jr. (3–5, 7, 9), Steve Lukather, David Williams (2, 6, 8) – guitar
• George Devens – percussion (1)
• Richard Tee, Michael Lang (3–5, 7, 9) – keyboards
• Tony Coleman – keyboards, bass guitar, drum overdubs, backing vocals (3–5, 7, 9)
• Michael Brecker (additional on 8), Seldon Powell (additional on 8), David "Fathead" Newman (solo on 8) – tenor saxophone
• Lew Del Gatto – baritone saxophone (8)
• Dave Tofani (8), David Sanborn (solo on 6) – alto saxophone
• Randy Brecker (additional on 8), Lew Soloff (lead on 8) – trumpet
• Barry Rogers – trombone (8)
• John T. Clark, Peter Gordon – French horns (8)
• Jonathan Abramowitz, Julien Barber, Alfred Brown, Frederick Buldrini, Peter Dimitriades, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, Alan Shulman, Joe Malin, Mitsue Takayama, Gerald Tarack, Mark Wayne-Wright, Fred Zlotkin – strings (8)
• Gene Orloff – strings, concertmaster (8)
• Strings and Horns arranged by Arif Mardin and Benjamin Wright
• Estelle Brown (2, 8), Brenda Corbett, Cissy Houston (2), Charles Jackson (3–5, 7, 9), Edie Lehmann, Myrna Matthews, Marti McCall (1, 3–5, 7, 9), Sylvia Shemwell, Myrna Smith (2, 8), Hamish Stuart (6), the Sweet Inspirations (3–5, 7, 9) – backing vocals

Production

• Produced by Chuck Jackson (tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9) and Arif Mardin (tracks 1, 2, 6 and 8).
• Co-producer on track 9: Aretha Franklin
• Engineers: Lee DeCarlo and Frank Kejmar (tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9); Jeremy Smith (tracks 1, 2, 6 and 8).
• Additional engineer: Lewis Hahn
• Assistant engineers: Michael O'Reilly, Stewart Whitmore
• Mixing on tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9: Reginald Dozier
• Re-mixing: Lewis Hahn and Gene Paul (tracks 1–7 and 9); Arif Mardin and Michael O'Reilly (track 8).
• Re-mix assistant on track 8: Joe Mardin
• Recorded at MCA Whitney Recording Studios (Glendale), Record Plant (Los Angeles), Sound Labs Studios (Hollywood) and Atlantic Studios (New York City).
• Edited at Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles).
• Mixed at MCA Whitney Recording Studios and Cherokee Studios.
• Mastering: Ken Perry and Bill Inglot at Sterling Sound (New York).
• Art direction and design: Ria Lewerke-Shapiro
• Photography: George Hurrell

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1980–1981) Peak position US Billboard 200 [7] 47 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [8] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Position US Billboard 200 [9] 90 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [10] 15

References

1. Elias, Jason. Aretha at AllMusic
2. "Review: Aretha Franklin – Aretha" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 85, no. 42. October 18, 1980. p. 66. ISSN   0006-2510. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2020– via American Radio History.
3. Christgau, Robert. "Aretha review". Robert Christgau . Retrieved April 28, 2015.
4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 263.
5. Holden, Stephen (October 11, 1981). "Aretha Franklin: Gospel and Glamour". The New York Times. ProQuest   121764881.
6. Franklin, Aretha (1980). Aretha (Liner Notes). Arista.
7. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
8. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
9. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
10. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.