#13 Aretha Franklin, 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)
Previously #84
The Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin had recorded 9 albums for Columbia Records within the space of 6 years. She struggled to find success on those records and so when her contract expired, Jerry Wexler convinced her to move over to Atlantic Records. Wexler wanted to use Franklin’s Gospel background to capitalise on the rising popularity of Soul Music. Franklin headed to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record with the famous house band there. After recording the title track for this record on day one, her husband had an altercation with the studio manager, forcing her to move sessions to NYC. The song was released as a single ahead of the albumand went straight to #1 on the RnB chart, as well as #9 on the mainstream chart.
But it was the second single that would launch Franklin to stardom. Recorded on Valentine’s Day 1967, Franklin took a song that has been a moderate hit for its composer, Otis Redding, flipped the gender in the lyrics and in turn created arguably the greatest feminist and Civil Rights anthems of all-time. “R-E-S-P-E-C-T/Find out what it means to me.” The song would become her only solo mainstream #1 single and went on to sell over a million copies in The States alone. Her voice is incredible on this recording. She effortlessly works her way through the eleven tracks, hitting impossible notes without breaking a sweat. ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’ incorporates a Country feel on the record, while ‘Dr. Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)’ is a through-and-through Gospel track. She ends the record with a perfect rendition of Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’ “It's been a long/A long time coming/But I know a change gonna come/Oh, yes it will.” Her conviction on this song is palpable. The US was at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, with seemingly no change in sight. It’s impossible to not feel the sense of urgency in Franklin’s urging of ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’ It’s an anthem and one that is still relevant today in the Black Lives Matter Movement. The more things change, the more they stay the same, but here’s hoping that a change is gonna come soon. This record cemented Franklin as one of the greatest vocalists in history with na incredible performance from start to finish.
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