Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man ", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".
John Marshall Alexander Jr., known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and musician. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.
Narada Michael Walden is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. Since 2020 he is the drummer for Journey.
The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group founded by Emily "Cissy" Houston, mother of Whitney Houston, and sister of Lee Warwick. Houston and Warwick were members of The Drinkard Singers, a family group that had the distinction of recording the first Gospel album to appear on a major label—a live recording from The Newport Jazz Festival in 1959. The line-up included Judy Guions, Marie Epps, Larry Drinkard, Nicholas Drinkard, Ann Moss, Lee and Emily.
"Respect" is a song originally released by American singer-songwriter Otis Redding in 1965. The song became a 1967 hit and signature song for singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few changes in the lyrics, the stories told by the songs have a different flavor. Redding's version is a plea from a desperate man, who will give his woman anything she wants. He will not care if she does him wrong, as long as he gets his due respect when he brings money home. However, Franklin's version is a declaration from a strong, confident woman, who knows that she has everything her man wants. She never does him wrong, and demands his "respect" - in the form of appropriate levels of physical attention. Franklin's version adds the "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" chorus and the backup singers' refrain of "Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me...".
Let Me in Your Life is the twentieth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on February 25, 1974, by Atlantic Records.
Music from the Warner Bros. Picture "Sparkle" is a soundtrack album and twenty-fourth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, written and produced by Curtis Mayfield. Released on May 27, 1976, the disc is the soundtrack album for the 1976 Warner Bros. motion picture Sparkle, starring Irene Cara. The songs on the soundtrack feature the instrumental tracks and backing vocals from the film versions, with Franklin's voice taking the place of the original lead vocalists.
"Until You Come Back to Me " is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA gold record.
"I'm in Love" is a 1968 song written by Bobby Womack. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett which gave him a top-ten R&B hit on Billboard's chart in 1968, peaking at number 4 as well as peaking at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I Never Loved a Man " is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. Released on Atlantic Records, as the first big hit of her career, it became a defining song for Franklin, peaking at number one on the rhythm and blues charts and number nine on the pop charts. The B-side was "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". Before this Franklin had placed only two Top 40 singles on the pop chart during her modest tenure with Columbia Records.
Dynamite is the third and last collaborative album between labelmates The Supremes and The Four Tops, released on the Motown label in 1971. The album was a collection of material recorded for the Magnificent Seven albums, but which had not been included on either of those two albums. The cover artwork was an illustration based on photo sessions from the Return of the Magnificent Seven album artwork. In the US, Dynamite was as commercially unsuccessful as The Magnificent 7 (1970) and The Return of the Magnificent Seven (1971), peaking at the lower hundreds of the Billboard Top 200. The album fared much better on the Billboard R&B charts, peaking at 21.
This Girl's in Love with You is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on January 15, 1970 by Atlantic Records. It reached Billboard's Top 20 and was reissued on compact disc through Rhino Records in 1993. Her version of The Beatles' "Let It Be" was the first recording of the song to be commercially issued. Songwriter Paul McCartney sent Franklin and Atlantic Records a demo of the song as a guide.
Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings is an 86-track, four-disc box set detailing Aretha Franklin's Atlantic career, starting in 1967 with the landmark single "I Never Loved a Man " and ending with 1976's "Something He Can Feel".
Aretha Live at Fillmore West is a live album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Released on May 19, 1971, by Atlantic Records. It was reissued on compact disc in 1993 through Rhino Records. An expanded, limited edition 4-CD box set entitled, Don't Fight the Feeling: The Complete Aretha Franklin & King Curtis Live at Fillmore West was released by Rhino in 2005. This was limited to 5000 numbered copies. In addition, there is a guest duet vocal by Ray Charles on "Spirit in the Dark".
"Call Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin.
"Share Your Love with Me" is a song written by Alfred Braggs and Deadric Malone. It was originally recorded by blues singer Bobby "Blue" Bland. Over the years, the song has been covered by various artists, most notably Aretha Franklin who won a Grammy Award for her 1969 rendition. Other artists who covered the song include The Band in 1973, Kenny Rogers in 1981, and most recently, Van Morrison in 2016.
"My Song" is the 1952 debut single by Johnny Ace. Backed by The Beale Streeters, "My Song" was the first of three number one's on the R&B chart for Johnny Ace.
"Never Let Me Go" is a blues ballad song by American R&B/blues singer Johnny Ace, written by Joseph Scott and released in 1954 under Duke Records. The song is featured on the albums My Songs and Memorial. "Never Let Me Go" was one of his eighth consecutive top ten R&B hits in a row, including "My Song", "Cross My Heart," "Please Forgive Me," "The Clock," "Pledging My Love," "Saving My Love for You," and "Anymore". The song was R&B hit and peaked to No. 9 in October 1954 on Billboards Rhythm & Blues Records chart.
30 Greatest Hits is a 1985 Aretha Franklin's compilation album. The album chronicles majority of Franklin's hit singles during the Atlantic Records era from 1967 up to 1974. Following Franklin's death, the album entered the top ten of the Billboard 200 albums chart at number seven, in the week ending on August 25, 2018 earning 52,000 units with 18,000 of that were traditional sales. It climbed one spot higher on the following week, becoming Franklin's highest-peaking compilation album in the United States.
Respect: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin is a 2002 greatest hits album by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on June 3, 2002.
