Lady Soul (1968)

Lady Soul is the twelfth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on January 22, 1968, by Atlantic Records. The album stayed at #1 for sixteen weeks on Billboard's R&B album chart, and it hit number 2 on the pop album chart (underneath Paul Mauriat) during a year-long run.

Background

Lady Soul was Franklin's third R&B chart-topper and reached number two on the Billboard 200, tying with I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You for her highest-charting album on the pop chart. The album also included some of her biggest hit singles: "Chain of Fools" (number 2 Pop), and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (number 8 Pop), and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (number 5 Pop). It sold more than a million copies in the United States. The album was reissued on Rhino Records in a deluxe edition in 1995.

Gospel/R&B singer Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney Houston) and her group the Sweet Inspirations are credited as background vocals on several tracks, along with Aretha's sisters Carolyn Franklin and Erma Franklin. Eric Clapton, at the time a member of the band Cream, is credited as the guitarist on the track "Good to Me as I Am to You".

Lady Soul peaked at number 1, number 2 and number 3 on Billboard's Black Albums, Pop Albums and Jazz Albums charts respectively. The single "Ain't No Way" – B-Side of "(Sweet, Sweet, Baby) Since You've Been Gone" – peaked at number 9 on the Black Singles chart and number 16 on the Pop Singles chart.

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2003, the TV network VH1 named Lady Soul the 41st greatest album of all time. In 2003 and 2012, it ranked at number 85 on Rolling Stone's list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It rose to number 75 in a 2020 reboot of the list. The album was rated the 29th best album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.

Singles

Note: Numbers in italic (following original single release information) denote peak positions on Billboard's "Top/Best Selling R&B Singles" and "Hot 100" charts respectively – courtesy BPI Communications and Joel Whitburn's Record Research Publications.

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin – vocals, backing vocals, piano
• Eric Clapton, Jimmy Johnson, Joe South, Bobby Womack – guitar
• Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar
• Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins – drums
• Warren Smith – vibraphone
• Spooner Oldham – keyboards, electric piano, organ
• Bernie Glow, Joe Newman, Melvin Lastie – trumpet
• Tony Studd – trombone
• King Curtis – tenor saxophone
• Frank Wess, Seldon Powell – flute, tenor saxophone
• Haywood Henry – baritone saxophone
• The Sweet Inspirations – backing vocals
• Carolyn Franklin – backing vocals
• Cissy Houston – backing vocals