Project 1001: Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
“A force of nature. A work of genius. A gift from the heavens. Aretha Franklin’s voice is all that and more, which is why she remains the unchallenged Queen, years after her final bow. Her singing is the most magnificent sound to emerge from America — more universal than Coltrane’s horn, bolder than Hendrix’s guitar. She blew up worldwide with her 1967 hit “Respect,” claiming her throne as the greatest pop, rock, or soul singer ever. As Mary J. Blige told Rolling Stone, ‘She is the reason why women want to sing.’ “1 That’s Rolling Stone describing why they named Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, the greatest singer of all time.
They continued: “Her artistry is the greatest achievement of American music, if not American history.” And this: “And as long as you live, you’ll never hear anything like Aretha Franklin. That’s why her voice still goes right on changing the world. Singer of singers. Queen of queens. All hail Lady Soul.”2
What else needs to be said? I’ll add this: sometimes, often actually, hearing Aretha sing brings out emotions in me to the point of tears. Not many singers can get me misty, but Aretha sometimes does.
I think lots of people would agree with me as reflected by the 16 weeks this album spent at the number 1 position on Billboard’s R&B album chart.3 Sixteen!! That’s four-straight months as the most popular R&B album in the country. Absolutely incredible.
My Rating:
Other plaudits:
“Aretha Franklin released nearly 40 studio albums across her career, with revolutionary additions to the canons of R&B, soul, gospel, and rock. But only one album brings all of those genres together into one total package. Lady Soul is transcendent in ways that don’t always seem obvious on the surface. That’s because, when you put on Lady Soul for the first time, you don’t have to think about history. All you have to do is let some of the best music of all time wash over you.”4
“Often copied, yet never equaled, these 10 tracks represent Aretha Franklin’s coronation as the Queen of Soul.”5
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Stevie Chick wrote:
Aretha’s musical journey culminates with “A Natural Woman”, “infusing the beautifully crafted song by Brill Building writers Carole King and Gerry Goffin with the honesty and passion she acquired in Memphis, and finder her true voice in the process.”6
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #27
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: 8
> "You Make Me Feel Like A (Natural Woman)" #8
> “Chain of Fools #2
> "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)" #5
> "Ain't No Way" #16
• RIAA certification: Gold | August 23, 19689
Released on January 22, 1968. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) by John Fred And The Playboys10
• Number one album: Magical Mystery Tour (Soundtrack) by The Beatles11
• Number one movie: Valley of the Dolls by Mark Robson12
• Most watched TV programs: The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show, Gomer Pyle USMC13
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron14
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: “Our Crowd”: The Great Jewish Families of New York by Stephen Birmingham15
Other albums released that month
• The Holy Land by Johnny Cash
• Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
• Yellow Submarine by The Beatles
• Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Babylon by Dr. John
• Ball by Iron Butterfly
• First Edition '69 by The First Edition
• Ramblin' Gamblin' Man by The Bob Seger System
• Irresistible by Tammi Terrell
• Everybody Knows by The Dave Clark Five16
Sport
• Jan 15 Minnesota North Stars forward Bill Masterton dies 2 days after suffering a head injury in a game against the Oakland Seals; the only death as a result of a game injury in NHL history.
• Jan 16 21st NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars 4-3; MVP: Bruce Gamble, Toronto, G
• Jan 20 Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win basketball's Game of the Century and end UCLA's 47 game winning streak
• Jan 20 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
• Jan 20 US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood
• Jan 21 18th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 38-20; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; Dave Robinson, Green Bay Packers, DT
• Jan 21 7th AFL All Star Game, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville: Eastern Division beats Western Division, 25-24; MVPs: Joe Namath, NY Jets, QB; Don Maynard, NY Jets, F; Speedy Duncan, LA Chargers, DB/KR
• Jan 22 NBA announces expansion franchise licences awarded to Milwaukee (Bucks) and Phoenix (Suns)
• Jan 23 18th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 144-124; MVP: Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers, PG
• Jan 23 Joe Medwick elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 28 Goose Goslin & Kiki Cuyler elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Bill Bowrey wins his first and only Grand Slam title; beats Juan Gisbert Sr. of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 9-7, 6-4
• Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Billie Jean King beats home favorite Margaret Court 6-1, 6-2 for her 13th Grand Slam singles title
• Jan 30 1968 NFL Draft: Ron Yary from USC first pick by Minnesota Vikings
• Feb 1 Vince Lombardi steps down as NFL Green Bay Packers head coach
• Bowie Kuhn replaces William Eckert as 5th commissioner of baseball17
Notable Births
• Jan 14 American rapper (Bigger and Deffer) and actor (NCIS: Los Angeles, born in Bay Shore, New York
• Jan 15 Chad Lowe, American actor (Spencer, Apprentice to Murder), born in Dayton, Ohio
• Jan 21 Charlotte Ross, actress (Eve-Days of Our Lives, NYPD Blue), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jan 22 Guy Fieri [Ferry], American celebrity chef, restaurateur and TV personality, born in Columbus, Ohio
• Jan 24 Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast (Olympic gold all-round 1984), born in Fairmont, West Virginia
• Jan 28 Sarah McLachlan, Canadian Juno and Grammy Award-winning folk singer-songwriter (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy; "I Will Remember You"), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Jan 29 Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer (Brothers McMullen, Saving Private Ryan), born in Queens, New York18
Historical Events
• Jan 13 Johnny Cash performs for inmates at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California
• Jan 14 Super Bowl II, Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
• Jan 21 The Battle of Khe Sanh - one of the most publicized and controversial battles of the Vietnam War - begins at the Khe Sanh Air Base
• Jan 21 US B-52 bomber with nuclear bomb on board crashes in Greenland
• Jan 22 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC
• Jan 22 Apollo Lunar Module is launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
• Jan 23 Spy ship USS Pueblo & 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by North Korea. For more on this less-known yet fascinating event in US history, click here: How the seizure of a US spy ship by North Korea nearly sparked nuclear war
• Jan 24 Operation Coburg begins, an Australian and New Zealand military action during the Vietnam War
• Jan 26 Israeli submarine Dakar sinks in Mediterranean Sea, 69 die
• Jan 27 French submarine Minerve disappears in the Mediterranean with the loss of 52 crew
• Jan 30 Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese launch the Tet offensive against South Vietnamese and US forces19
Notable Deaths
• Jan 22 Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, surfer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 1912, 20; 4x200m freestyle relay 1920), dies of a heart attack at 7720
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
Prime playlist: 125. Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
Bonus playlist today!
Spotify: 125. v2.0 Bonus on Spotify
Prime: 125. v2.0 Bonus on Prime
Full video playlist (with more live performances): You're Welcome 125; Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
Ibid.
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, ed. by Robert Dimery, p. 138.
Ibid.
Love her like a mother! Damn there was a lot of shit going on that year! I did not remember about the USS Pueblo incident, so I had to read on. Fascinating!