Young, Gifted and Black

Young, Gifted and Black
Young, Gifted and Black
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	January 24, 1972
Recorded	August 1970 – February 1971
Genre	Soul
Length	44:46
Label	Atlantic; Rhino;
Producer	Tom Dowd; Arif Mardin; Jerry Wexler;
Aretha Franklin chronology
Singles from Young, Gifted and Black
	"Border Song (Holy Moses)"; Released: 1970; "A Brand New Me"; Released: 1971; "Rock Steady"/"Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)"; Released: August 1, 1971; "Young, Gifted and Black"; Released: January 18, 1972; "Day Dreaming"/"I've Been Loving You Too Long"; Released: February, 1972; "All the King's Horses"/"April Fools"; Released: 1972;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]

Young, Gifted and Black is the eighteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on January 24, 1972, by Atlantic Records. The album is Top 10 Gold-certified. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which was recorded and released by Simone in 1969.

Franklin won a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.^[4]

In 2003, the TV network VH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time. In 2020, it was ranked number 388 by Rolling Stone in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[5]

Track listing[]

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)"	Jim Doris	3:42
2.	"Day Dreaming"	Aretha Franklin	4:00
3.	"Rock Steady"	Aretha Franklin	3:15
4.	"Young, Gifted and Black"	Nina Simone Weldon Irvine	3:34
5.	"All the King's Horses"	Aretha Franklin	3:56
6.	"Brand New Me"	Theresa Bell Jerry Butler Kenneth Gamble	4:26

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"April Fools"	Burt Bacharach Hal David	3:29
8.	"I've Been Loving You Too Long"	Otis Redding Jerry Butler	3:36
9.	"First Snow in Kokomo"	Aretha Franklin	4:04
10.	"The Long and Winding Road"	John Lennon Paul McCartney	3:38
11.	"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"	Thom Bell William Hart	3:42
12.	"Border Song (Holy Moses)"	Elton John Bernie Taupin	3:22

Personnel[]

Aretha Franklin – lead vocals (all), piano (1-4, 6, 8-12), celesta (5), piano, Fender Rhodes (7)
Cornell Dupree – guitar (2-5, 7-12)
Hugh McCracken – guitar (1, 6)
Don Arnone – acoustic guitar (2)
Donny Hathaway – Hammond organ (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), piano, Fender Rhodes (2)
Billy Preston – Hammond organ (4, 10, 12)
Chuck Rainey – bass guitar (2-5, 7, 9-12)
Eric Gale – bass guitar (1, 6)
Robert Popwell – bass guitar (8), percussion (3)
Bernard Purdie – drums (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11)
Ray Lucas – drums (4, 10, 12)
Al Jackson Jr. – drums (1, 6)
Dr. John – percussion (3)
The Memphis Horns – horns (3, 8)
Neal Rosengarden – trumpet (9), vibraphone (5)
Hubert Laws – flute (2, 7, 11)
Pat Smith – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7–9, 11)
Carolyn Franklin – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 8-10)
Erma Franklin – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 8-10)
Margaret Branch – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7-11)
Ann S. Clark – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 7–9, 11)
The Sweet Inspirations – backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 12)
Ronald Bright – backing vocals (12)
J.R. Bailey – backing vocals (12)
Sammy Turner – backing vocals (12)

Chart positions[]

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Billboard Top LPs^[6]	11
Billboard Top Soul LPs^[7]	2

Singles[]

Year	Title	US Pop^[8]	US R&B^[9]
1970	"Border Song (Holy Moses)"	37	5
1971	"Rock Steady"	9	2
1972	"All the King's Horses"	26	7
1972	"Day Dreaming"	5	1
1972	"Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)"	73	9

References[]

^ "Young, Gifted and Black - Aretha Franklin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 262–263.
^ "Aretha Franklin". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020.
^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

[1] "Young, Gifted and Black - Aretha Franklin | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.

[2] Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.

[RS-3] The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 262–263.

[4] "Aretha Franklin". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020.

[5] "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-11-24.

[6] "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

[7] "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

[8] "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

[9] "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

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