Aretha Franklin - Young, Gifted And Black

Titles

LP 1

Side A

1.    Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)

2.    Day Dreaming

3.    Rock Steady

Side B

4.    Young, Gifted And Black

5.    All The King's Horses

6.    A Brand New Me

LP 2

Side C

7.    April Fools

8.    I've Been Loving You Too Long

9.    First Snow In Kokomo

Side D

10.    The Long And Winding Road

11.    Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)

12.    Border Song (Holy Moses)

“Young, Gifted And Black” was released in 1972 on Atlantic Records and is Aretha Franklin's acclaimed 18th studio album. Recorded between 1970 and 1971 at Atlantic Studios in New York City and Criteria Studios in Miami, “Young, Gifted And Black” combines both sides of the incomparable artist: the edgy soul singer who celebrated her first successes in the late 1960s and the artist who developed as a singer and ventured into more challenging pieces! On “Young, Gifted And Black,” Franklin collaborates with some of the best musicians of her time, including Billy Preston, Donny Hathaway and Bernard Purdie – accompanied by her sisters Carolyn and Erma on backing vocals and The Sweet Inspirations. The album climbed to No. 2 on the R&B Billboard charts, reached No. 11 on the album charts and was quickly certified Gold by the RIAA.

Aretha Franklin made her first recordings as a gospel singer at the tender age of 14 and later became the most successful artist in the history of the Billboard charts. With an incredible 88 (!) singles in the Billboard charts, Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards, including “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance,” “Best Soul Gospel Performance” and “Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.” With over 75 million records sold worldwide, she is considered an American national treasure and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Respect!

As part of the “Atlantic 75 Series,” Analogue Productions is now honoring this masterful album with a sonically outstanding reissue, lovingly mastered by legendary sound engineer Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio: The double LP, pressed on 180-gram vinyl by industry leader Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and cut at 45 RPM, comes in a luxurious old-style tip-on gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing.