12 Songs is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman, released in April 1970 by Reprise Records. It features a swampy style of roots music with introspective, satirical songwriting. "Have You Seen My Baby?", the album's only single, was released in May.
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on March 10, 1967 by Atlantic Records. It was Franklin's first release under her contract with the label, following her departure from Columbia Records after nine unsuccessful jazz standard albums, and marked a commercial breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released to promote the album: "Respect" and "I Never Loved a Man ". The former topped the Billboard Hot 100, while latter reached the top 10.
Can't Buy a Thrill is the debut studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released by ABC Records in November 1972. It was written by band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded in August 1972 at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles with producer Gary Katz. The album is one of Steely Dan's most stylistically eclectic, encompassing the sounds of soft rock, folk rock, jazz-rock and pop, alongside philosophical, elliptical lyrics.
Every Picture Tells a Story is the third studio album by Rod Stewart. It was released on 28 May 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop critics' poll for best album of 1971. It has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The Sun Sessions is a compilation album by American singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Records in 1976. The album contains Presley's earliest commercial recordings, made in Memphis, Tennessee for Sun Records in 1954 and 1955. RCA issued the album in the UK in 1975 under the title The Sun Collection. The album features liner notes by Roy Carr of the New Musical Express. The Sun Sessions features most of the tracks Elvis recorded for Sun Records and produced by Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Studios. The Sun Sessions reached number two on the Billboard Country Albums and number 1 on the Cashbox Country Albums charts.
Fly Like an Eagle is the ninth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released in May 1976 by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and Mercury Records in Europe.
Let's Stay Together is the fourth studio album by soul singer Al Green. Released in 1972, as the follow-up to his moderate success, Al Green Gets Next to You, it was recorded at Royal Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. A commercial success, it peaked at number eight on the pop albums chart and became the first of six consecutive Green albums to peak at number one on the soul album chart, where it held the position for ten straight weeks.
Music of My Mind is the fourteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 3, 1972, by Tamla Records, and was Wonder's first to be recorded under a new contract with Motown that allowed him full artistic control over his music. For the album, Wonder recruited electronic music pioneers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff as associate producers, employing their custom TONTO synthesizer on several tracks. The album hit No. # 21 in the Billboard LP charts, and critics found it representative of Wonder's artistic growth, and it is generally considered by modern critics to be the first album of Wonder's “classic period”.
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Otis Redding. It was first released on September 15, 1965, as an LP record through the Stax Records subsidiary label Volt.
Rejuvenation is the fifth studio album by the New Orleans funk group The Meters. It was released in 1974. In 2003, the album was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 139 in a 2012 revised list.
The World Is a Ghetto is the fifth album by American band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on Billboard, and was Billboard magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling album of 1973. In addition to being Billboard's #1 album of 1973, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone magazine's original list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The title track became a gold record.
40 Greatest Hits is a two-record greatest hits compilation by American singer-songwriter Hank Williams. It was released in 1978 by Mercury Records – who under PolyGram became responsible for the MGM tape vault – on the 25th anniversary of Williams' death. Significantly, it was the first anthology in quite some time that did not subject Williams' recordings to either rechanneled stereo, posthumous overdubs, artificial duets with family members, or most or all of the above. Because of both this, and the value-for-money attraction of having a deeper song selection than single-disc compilations issued previously by MGM Records, many reviewers consider this anthology to be the perfect starting point for newcomers to Williams' recorded legacy. The album remains, to this day, the best-selling record of Williams' career.
Al Green's Greatest Hits is a 1975 greatest hits release by soul singer Al Green. In 2003, the album was ranked number 52 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. The album's ranking dropped to number 456 in the 2020 revised list. The compilation has consistently ranked as one of the best executed 'greatest hits' albums in history. The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart and No. 17 on the Top LPs chart.
Folk Singer is the second studio album and fourth album overall by Muddy Waters, released in January 1964 by Chess Records. The album features Waters on acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. It is Waters's only all-acoustic album. Numerous reissues of Folk Singer include bonus tracks from two subsequent sessions, in April 1964 and October 1964.
"Love and Happiness" is a song by Al Green from his album I'm Still in Love with You. Green co-wrote the song with Teenie Hodges. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on London Records in 1973 and in the United States on Hi Records in 1977. It has been covered by Etta James, Al Jarreau, and many other performers.
Still Bill is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter and producer Bill Withers, released in 1972 by Sussex Records. The album was recorded and produced by Withers with musicians from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. The rhythmic music produced for the record features soul, funk, and blues sounds, backing lyrics that explore themes of human nature, emotion, and sex from a middle-class male perspective. It also features some of Withers' most popular songs, including the hit singles "Lean on Me" and "Use Me". A commercial and critical success at the time of its release, Still Bill has since been regarded by music journalists as a highlight of the singer's recording career and a classic of 1970s R&B.
Ask Rufus is the platinum-selling fifth studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1977. The album spent three weeks atop the Billboard R&B Albums Chart in 1977. In 2020, it was ranked number 499 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Quiet Fire is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released in November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, Regent Studios, and The Hit Factory in New York City. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape, and its single "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" charted at number 76 on the Hot 100.
Call Me is the sixth album by soul singer Al Green. It is widely regarded as Green's masterpiece, and has been called one of the best soul albums ever made. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 70th greatest album in any genre. Call Me was a Top 10 Billboard Pop Album, and the third #1 Soul Album. In 2003, the album was ranked number 289 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 290 in a 2012 revised list. Praised for his emotive singing style, Green here incorporates country influences, covering both Willie Nelson and Hank Williams. This album contained three top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "You Ought to Be with Me," "Here I Am " and "Call Me ."
Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, or simply Dictionary of Soul, is the fifth studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding and his last solo studio album released before his death. The successful Otis Blue and the following performance at Whisky a Go Go led to his rising fame across the United States. The first side of the album mainly contains cover versions, and the second songs mainly written by Redding.
