It’s a resurrection nearly 50 years in the making, as the film companion to Aretha Franklin’s legendary 1972 Amazing Grace live gospel album, shelved for decades due to technical problems and legal disputes, finally enters wide release. The record is a classic — the biggest-selling of Franklin’s career and to this day the best-selling.
Young, Gifted and Black | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 24, 1972 | |||
Recorded | August 1970 – February 1971 | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 44:46 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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Singles from Young, Gifted and Black | ||||
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Young, Gifted and Black is the eighteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on January 24, 1972, by Atlantic Records. The album is Top 10 Gold-certified. The album won Franklin a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance of the year. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black', which was originally recorded and released by Simone in 1969. In 2003, the TV networkVH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time.
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
Christgau's Record Guide | A[1] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) link |
- 3Chart positions
Track listing[edit]
Side one | |||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | 'Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)' | Jim Doris | 3:42 |
2. | 'Day Dreaming' | Aretha Franklin | 4:00 |
3. | 'Rock Steady' | Aretha Franklin | 3:15 |
4. | 'Young, Gifted and Black' | 3:34 | |
5. | 'All the King's Horses' | Aretha Franklin | 3:56 |
6. | 'Brand New Me' | 4:26 |
Side two | |||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
7. | 'April Fools' | 3:29 | |
8. | 'I've Been Loving You Too Long' | 3:36 | |
9. | 'First Snow in Kokomo' | Aretha Franklin | 4:04 |
10. | 'The Long and Winding Road' | 3:38 | |
11. | 'Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)' | 3:42 | |
12. | 'Border Song (Holy Moses)' | 3:22 |
Personnel[edit]
- Aretha Franklin – lead vocals (all), piano (1-4, 6, 8-12), celesta (5), piano, Fender Rhodes (7)
- Cornell Dupree – guitar (2-5, 7-12)
- Hugh McCracken – guitar (1, 6)
- Don Arnone – acoustic guitar (2)
- Donny Hathaway – Hammond organ (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), piano, Fender Rhodes (2)
- Billy Preston – Hammond organ (4, 10, 12)
- Chuck Rainey – bass guitar (2-5, 7, 9-12)
- Eric Gale – bass guitar (1, 6)
- Robert Popwell – bass guitar (8), percussion (3)
- Bernard Purdie – drums (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11)
- Ray Lucas – drums (4, 10, 12)
- Al Jackson Jr. – drums (1, 6)
- Dr. John – percussion (3)
- The Memphis Horns – horns (3, 8)
- Neal Rosengarden – trumpet (9), vibraphone (5)
- Hubert Laws – flute (2, 7, 11)
- Pat Smith – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7-9, 11)
- Carolyn Franklin – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 8-10)
- Erma Franklin – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 8-10)
- Margaret Branch – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7-11)
- Ann S. Clark – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7-9, 11)
- The Sweet Inspirations – backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 12)
- Ronald Bright – backing vocals (12)
- J.R. Bailey – backing vocals (12)
- Sammy Turner – backing vocals (12)
Chart positions[edit]
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
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Billboard Top LPs | 11 |
Billboard Top Soul LPs | 2 |
Singles[edit]
Year | Title | US Pop | US R&B |
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1970 | 'Border Song (Holy Moses)' | 37 | 5 |
1971 | 'Rock Steady' | 9 | 2 |
1972 | 'All the King's Horses' | 26 | 7 |
1972 | 'Day Dreaming' | 5 | 1 |
1972 | 'Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)' | 73 | 9 |
References[edit]
- ^Christgau, Robert (1981). 'Consumer Guide '70s: F'. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
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