Aretha Franklin’s 1972 album, Young, Gifted, and Black may not be as highly regarded as her 1960’s work on Atlantic Records, but it is considered to be among her best, as well as one of her most successful. It has also been considered her strongest 1970’s work.
The title track Out of the album’s twelve tracks, the majority of them are covers of already well-known songs including Lulu’s “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)”, Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving you Too Long”, and the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road”. However, four tracks were written solely by Franklin herself, and two of them “Day Dreaming” and “Rock Steady” became the album’s highest charting singles. Both songs have also been the album’s most covers, with versions from artists including Mary J. Blige and Norah Jones.
Released in January 1972, Young, Gifted, and Black was certified gold, and peaked at number eleven and two on the pop and R&B charts respectively. Almost thirty years later after its release, VH1 ranked the album at number 76, on their list of the greatest albums of all time. And forty years after its release, the album stands not only as one of the best works by Franklin, but also one of the greatest soul albums to come out of the 1970s.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin, inducted in 1987.
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