Aretha Franklin launched her recording career in 1960, releasing her first single for Columbia when she was 18. The song, “Today I Sing the Blues”, reached #10 on the R&B charts and led to a handful of other hits, including two more top tens (“Won’t Be Logn” and “Operation Heartbreak”).
However, she opted not to resign with Columbia when her contract expired in 1966. She’d made nine albums with the company, but didn’t have any money to show for it. Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records quickly signed her and took her to Alabama’s legendary FAME Studios for her first recording session with the new company on on January 27, 1967. Along with the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Aretha was joined by Stax Records’ Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill. While she had largely covered standards while with Columbia, Atlantic would help her forge a new direction which allowed her to display her gospel roots and become one of the most important acts in R&B history.
One of her first endeavors at forging her new direction was a blues ballad called “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You”. The song topped the R&B charts for eight weeks, peaked at #9 on the pop charts, and gave Aretha her first gold single. During Aretha’s Atlantic stint, she sent more than 30 songs into the top ten of the R&B charts; 17 of those went to #1.
Aretha’s 1967 album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You also featured the classic “Respect”, a #1 pop and R&B song. The album comprised those first legendary recording sessions as well as recording she did in New York City. The “Queen of Soul” had been born.
Awards for Aretha Franklin:
- one of the top 100 acts of all time
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- Hollywood Walk of Fame stars for people in the recording industry
- Kennedy Center Honors for musicians
- R&B Foundation
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
- one of the top 100 singers of all time
Resources and Related Links:
- the DMDB page for I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
- the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for Aretha Franklin
- Historyofrecording.com: Aretha Franklin
- Wikipedia.org: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (song)
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