This is my personal favorite song of Aretha Franklin…and she has a boatload of great songs to pick from. She could bring soul to You Light Up My Life and THAT is saying something. I’ve said this a lot but Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin are my top female singers.
This Aretha Franklin song was released in 1967 and it was on the Aretha Arrives album. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #39 in the UK in 1967. Her sisters Carolyn and Erma provided backing vocals along with the Sweet Inspirations, an R&B girl group founded by Cissy Houston. Musicians who were featured on the track included engineer Tom Dowd and Muscle Shoals players Jimmy Johnson and Joe South on guitars, Tommy Cogbill on bass, Spooner Oldham on electric piano, and Roger Hawkins on drums. Truman Thomas also played the organ.
Franklin recorded this with Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler in New York City during the same session as Chain Of Fools. The song was written by Ronnie Shannon, who was also responsible for another hit for Aretha with I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You).
The horns are on point and perfect in this song. The music and vocal backups make a perfect backdrop for Aretha’s explosive voice. She never sounded like she was singing by a formula…each song is marked by her individuality. We lost her great voice and soul on August 16, 2018.
This woman could sing the phonebook and I would listen. This is one of many songs I like from her… She has sold over 75 million records in her career. This is the first song I remember hearing from her.
Aretha Franklin: “Those sessions were a lot of fun, and there was a lot of good food coming in and out of the studio. Lots of burgers, fries, and milkshakes. In between takes, we would sit and chat, with whoever was producing, Jerry or Arif. They’d be enjoying those burgers so much I couldn’t wait until mine came!”
Baby, I Love You
If you want my lovin’
If you really do Don’t be afraid, baby Just ask me Ya know I’m gonna give it to youOh, and I do declare (I do)
I wanna see you with it Stretch out your arms, little boy You’re gonna get it ‘Cause I love you, oh (Baby, baby, baby, I love you) There ain’t no doubt about it Baby, I love you (Baby, baby, baby, I love you) I love you, I love you, I love you I love you, baby I love youIf you feel you wanna kiss me
Go right ahead I don’t mind All you got to do is snap your fingers And I’ll come a runnin, I ain’t lyin’ (I ain’t lyin’) And oh what you want Little boy you know you got it I’d deny my own self Before I see you without it ‘Cause I love you (Baby, baby, baby I love you) Ain’t no doubt about it baby I love you (Baby, baby, baby I love you) I love you, I love you, I love you I love you, baby I love youSomeday ya might wanna run away
And leave me sittin’ here to cry But if it’s all the same to ya baby I’m gonna stop you from sayin’ goodbye (Goodbye) Baby I love ya (baby, baby, I love ya) Baby I need ya (baby, baby I need ya) Said I want ya (baby baby I want ya) Getcha have ya baby (baby baby I love ya) Don’t let your neighbors tell ya I don’t want ya (Baby, baby I want ya) Don’t let your lowdown friends (Baby, baby I want ya)
Aretha Franklin had it and what she had was talent. The Aretha Franklin movie Respect was incredible, and I felt bad for her when she was abused by her husband.
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I know she had a rough life…
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It’s funny as yesterday I was listening to Aretha but the tune was Chains of Fools but done by Little Caesar in which they throw down a cool cover version of it….
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I’ll check that out Deke….thanks!
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Just went out and watched/listened to it. They do sound very good. That lead singer looks a lot like Chris Cornell.
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Thats cool you checked it out Lisa. Ron Young did have a bit of that Cornell look back then for sure. Great set of pipes with both guys thats for sure
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I agree she could sing the phone book (remember those!) and it would still be worth a listen. The true Queen Of Soul.
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That is what I say…she could put soul into anything she touched.
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Every song she did has such a ‘live right there’ feel. Never one to phone in a take.
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Busy day! Just getting to this now. A fine song & performance, no question, though one I’ve only heard a handful of times. I think my favorite by her is ‘Until you come back to me’.
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Yea man anything she does is great. When you make You Light Up My Life sound soulful…you are talented.
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I don’t think this made my list of Aretha favorites but she recorded a bunch of great stuff, especially between 1967 and 1976.
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She has so many that yea it’s a personal thing after a while. Yes she did…and it’s cool that the Blues Brothers helped bring her back into the spotlight like Ray Charles and some others.
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“This woman could sing the phonebook and I would listen.” Quoting from your post, Max, this pretty much sums up how I feel about Aretha Franklin – an incredible artist with an incredible voice! I also agree this is is a great tune. Similar to other artists like Tina Turner and Joe Cocker, even if the actual tune wasn’t as great, the “Aretha treatment” would turn into at least a passable song!
Also, let’s not forget Aretha Franklin also was a decent pianist and songwriter. Notably, she co-wrote one of her best-known songs, “Think”, together with her husband and manager Teddy White – kind of ironic, given how abusive he was. I also love the funky “Rock Steady,” which she wrote all by herself.
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I’m not sure I could pick one favourite but this would be on my list. Such a talent. Is this not the recording session (s) that led to Jerry helping the boys from Muscle Shoals set up their own studio back home?
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It very well could have been. What a great studio that was…when I read a Duane Allman book it talked a lot about the studio.
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pure, black pearl glowing /
in a bed of velvet horns /
voices of angels
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Cool!
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I can see why this is your favorite Aretha song. It can’t be any more perfect. If I remember right, her family wanted her to stick to gospel music. I’m glad she chose to share her music with the rest of us.
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Yes I’m so glad she did that and she brought gospel to all of us…not just the church
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Yes, good way of putting it. Hearing her sing is like being in church.
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