Aretha Franklin: Top 50 Songs

image from Detroit Free Press

Farewell to the Queen of Soul, who passed away August 16, 2018, at age 76. She was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, and became the most charted female artist in the history of the Billboard R&B charts. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her first in their list of the greatest singers of all time.

Here are her top 50 songs, based on chart figures, sales, awards, and placement on best-of lists.

Respect

1. Respect (1967)
2. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman (1967)
3. Chain of Fools (1967)
4. I Say a Little Prayer (1968)
5. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
6. Think (1968)
7. Bridge Over Troubled Water (1971)
8. Until You Come Back to Me (1973)
9. I Knew You Were Waiting for Me (with George Michael, 1986)
10. Spanish Harlem (1971)

You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman

11. Freeway of Love (1985)
12. Baby I Love You (1967)
13. Sweet Sweet Baby, Since You’ve Been Gone (1968)
14. Rock Steady (1971)
15. Eleanor Rigby (1969)
16. Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves (with the Eurythmics, 1985)
17. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) (1970)
18. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (1967)
19. Day Dreaming (1972)
20. Who’s Zooming Who? (1985)

Think

21. Angel (1973)
22. The House That Jack Built (1968)
23. See Saw (1968)
24. Through the Storm (with Elton John, 1989)
25. Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)
26. The Weight (1969)
27. Something He Can Feel (1976)
28. Another Night (1985)
29. Share Your Love with Me (1969)
30. Call Me (1970)

I Say a Little Prayer

31. You’re All I Need to Get By (1971)
32. Border Song (Holy Moses) (1970)
33. I’m in Love (1974)
34. Jimmy Lee (1986)
35. Ain’t No Way (1968)
36. Jump to It (1982)
37. You Send Me (1968)
38. I Can’t See Myself Leaving You (1968)
39. Spirit in the Dark (1970)
40. Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody (1961)

Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves

41. All the King’s Horses (1972)
42. Son of a Preacher Man (1970)
43. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing (1974)
44. A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998)
45. Willing to Forgive (1994)
46. Master of Eyes (The Deepness of Your Eyes (1973)
47. Without Love (1974)
48. It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be (with Whitney Houston, 1989)
49. Love All the Hurt Away (with George Benson, 1981)
50. My Song (1968)

I Knew You Were Waiting for Me

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Awards:

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In Memory of Hal David: His Top 40 Songs

First posted 12/15/2019.

Hal David with Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach, image from haldavid.movie.com

R.I.P. songwriter Hal David. He was born Harold Lane David on 5/25/1921 in New York, NY. He died 9/1/2012. Frequently worked with Burt Bacharach. They were one of the songwriting teams who worked out of the legendary Brill Building.For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

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Top 40 Songs

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Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. In the event of songs which have been recorded more than once, only the top-ranked song is included in the list. Songs which hit #1 on the following charts have been noted: Billboard Hot 100 pop charts (US), Cashbox (CB), Hit Records (HR), Radio & Records (RR), Billboard R&B chart (RB), Billboard country chart (CW), United Kingdom pop chart (UK), Canadian pop chart (CN), and Australian pop chart (AU).

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (B.J. Thomas, 1969) #1 US, CB, HR, AC, CN
2. They Long to Be Close to You (Carpenters, 1970) #1 US, CB, HR, AC, CN, AU

DMDB Top 5%:

3. Walk on By (Dionne Warwick, 1964)
4. I Say a Little Prayer (Aretha Franklin, 1968)
5. This Guy’s in Love with You (Herb Alpert, 1968) #1 US, CB, HR, AC, CN, AU
6. Always Something There to Remind Me (Naked Eyes, 1983)

DMDB Top 10%:

7. What the World Needs Now Is Love (Jackie DeShannon, 1965) #1 CN
8. Magic Moments (Perry Como, 1957) #1 UK

DMDB Top 20%:

9. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again (Dionne Warwick, 1969) #1 AC
10. Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa (Gene Pitney, 1963)

11. Wives and Lovers (Jack Jones, 1963)
12. Only Love Can Break a Heart (Gene Pitney, 1962) #1 AC
13. Do You Know the Way to San Jose? (Dionne Warwick, 1968)
14. One Less Bell to Answer (The 5th Dimension, 1970) #1 AC
15. Trains and Boats and Planes (Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, 1965)
16. The Look of Love (Dusty Springfield, 1967)
17. Don’t Make Me Over (Dionne Warwick, 1962)
18. Anyone Who Had a Heart (Dionne Warwick, 1963)
19. Wishin’ and Hopin’ (Dusty Springfield, 1964)
20. Blue on Blue (Bobby Vinton, 1963) #1 HR

21. A House Is Not a Home (Brook Benton, 1964)
22. Make It Easy on You (Jerry Butler, 1962)
23. I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself (Gary Puckett, 1970

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

24. My Little Red Book (Love, 1966)
25. Alfie (Stevie Wonder as Eivets Rednow, 1968)
26. What’s New Pussycat? (Tom Jones, 1965) #1 CN
27. American Beauty Rose (Eddy Howard, 1950)
28. To Wait for Love (Herb Alpert, 1968)
29. You’ll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart (Dionne Warwick, 1964)
30. The Story of My Life (Marty Robbins, 1957) #1 CW

31. Blue Guitar (Richard Chamberlina, 1963)
32. Who Is Gonna Love Me? (Dionne Warwick, 1968)
33. True Love Never Runs Smooth (Gene Pitney, 1963)
34. Saturday Sunshine (Burt Bacharach, 1963)
35. Reach Out for Me (Dionne Warwick, 1964) #1 RB
36. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Gene Pitney, 1962)
37. Promises, Promises (Dionne Warwick, 1968)
38. The Windows of the World (Dionne Warwick, 1967)
39. I’m a Better Man for Having Loved You (Engelbert Humperdinck, 1969)
40. The April Fools (Dionne Warwick, 1969)

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Awards:

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