"Baby I Love You" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Aretha Franklin | ||||
from the album Aretha Arrives | ||||
B-side | "Going Down Slow" | |||
Released | July 1, 1967 | |||
Studio | Atlantic Studios (New York, NY) [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:44 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ronnie Shannon | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Wexler | |||
Aretha Franklin singles chronology | ||||
|
"Baby I Love You" is a popular song by R&B singer Aretha Franklin. [4] The only single release from her Aretha Arrives album in 1967, the song was a huge hit, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and spending two weeks at number-one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. In the UK, the song rose to number 39 in August 1967, spending four weeks on the chart. [5] It was featured in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas . [6] A live performance appears on the album Aretha in Paris (1968).
Georgian songwriter Ronnie Shannon, newly arrived in Detroit, met Franklin's husband and manager Ted White by chance at a barbershop. [7] White requested Shannon write some songs specifically for Franklin. Shannon delivered "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Baby I Love You"—two tremendous successes. [8]
Billboard described the single as a "driving rocker" that is "brought to life in this electric performance by Miss Franklin." [2]
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 1 |
US Cashbox Top 100 [9] | 3 |
"Baby I Love You" has been covered by others, including Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.