Aretha Discography

[Janyce Brits]

Thisdiscography documents the releases of albums and singles by Aretha Franklin. Widely regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling R&B female artists of all time.[1] Billboard ranks her as the 34th Greatest Artist of all time.[2] Franklin has scored 73 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, the most among women for nearly 50 years until Nicki Minaj passed her in 2017.[3] Billboard listed her as the 41st Top Gospel Artist of the 2010s.[2] She has accumulated 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Amazing Grace remains the biggest-selling live gospel album of all time, being certified 2 Platinum in the US.[4][5] According to RIAA database, Franklin has sold 16.5 million albums and singles in the US (based on certifications).[6]

Hendrix does not actually appear on this record, but for completeness sake it's included in the discography. "Save Me" is a re-worked version of "Help Me" by Ray Sharpe featuring new overdubs & new lyrics. Jimi's guitar part has however been wiped, so even though he did appear on the original backing track his guitar playing is not present on "Save Me".

There are numerous issues of this album, this is the USA original issue, it was also released in countries like Germany, France, UK in 1967, and has later been re-issued on lp and cd several times as it's one of the most famous soul albums of all time. I will include details of other 1967 releases once I get them.

The J.V.B label was started in Detroit Michigan in 1948 by Joe Von Battle. It was located at 3530Hastings Street, the output of the label was rhythm and blues, gospel and jazz. Joe Von Battle was aDetroit record shop owner. J.V.B. did issue albums, probably in the late 1950's; many of these albumswere later reissued on the Battle label. The recordings he made of Detroit preacher Rev. C.L. Franklinwere also leased to the Chess label in Chicago. The most collectable album on J.V.B. is number 100which is the first recordings of Aretha Franklin.

The J.V.B label was replaced by the Battle label in 1962 and operated into 1966. The address on thelabel is Bill Grauer Productions, Inc, 235 West 46th Street in New York City. Bill Grauer was the founderof the Riverside label in 1954, and Riverside Records had the same address. The Riverside addresspresumably means that Riverside was the distributor of the Battle label.

The Battle label specialized in gospel, although there were several folk, country, jazz and blues albumsissued. Battle albums of collector interest are the album by Aretha Franklin and her father, the Rev. C.L.Franklin (BLP-6105) which is actually a reissue of J.V.B. 100, two albums by Detroit bluesman John LeeHooker (BLP-6113 and BLP-6114), the album by Memphis Slim (BM-6118) and the album by MemphisSlim and Willie Dixon (BM-6122). The Mongo Santamaria album Watermelon Man (BS 96120) was foryears the only place to find the original hit version of "Watermelon Man," the label's biggest chart hit, instereo. The last albums issued on the label were mostly automobile sound effects.

The J.V.B. label was blue with silver print. "J.V.B." was above the center hole with the Hastings streetaddress below it.

Battle labels have several variations. The first was issued on both a black label with silver print (seeabove), and a red label with black print. On both of these, "Battle" is printed above the center hole withina pattern of lines that make a cross. On the left perimeter of the label is "HIGH FIDELITY" and on theright is "MICROGROOVE". At the bottom of the label is "Bill Grauer Productions Inc. New York, N.Y." Another variation is black with silver print. Again, "Battle" is above the center hole in a cross, but the"High Fidelity" and "Microgroove" are gone. At the bottom of the label is "ORPHEUM PRODUCTIONS,INC., NEW YORK CITY". There is also a blue label with plain silver print.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is aninformation web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have noassociation with Battle Records, which is currently inactive. Should you be interested in acquiring albumslisted in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow theinstructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1999, 2003 by Mike Callahan.

Not only is Aretha Franklin an icon, she's one of the best soul singers and best female vocalists of all time. This list features the best Aretha Franklin albums, including pictures of the album covers when available. This Aretha Franklin discography is ranked from best to worst, so the top Aretha Franklin albums can be found at the top of the list. To make it easy for you, we haven't included Aretha Franklin singles, EPs, or compilations, so everything you see here should only be studio albums. If you think the greatest Aretha Franklin album isn't high enough on the list, then be sure to vote for it so it receives the credit it deserves. Make sure you don't just vote for critically acclaimed albums; if you have a favorite Aretha Franklin album, then vote it up, even if it's not necessarily the most popular.

This list of popular Aretha Franklin albums has been voted on by music fans around the world, so the order of this list isn't just one person's opinion. Share your own opinion by voting up your favorite albums below, and voting down any albums to ultimately rank them all starting with the very best.

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I know you saw Aretha at the inauguration. I want a hat just like that one, baby! That is definitely a true "Sunday-go-to-meeting" hat. I loved it. She is such an American icon and living legend. Aside from being an incredible performer, her songwriting skills cannot be matched. Alicia Keys ofter describes Aretha as one of her greatest influences when writing her own music. Aretha's discography is huge but is a testament and a soundtrack to American life and culture. Gospel, soul, rock, rhythm and blues - Aretha has mastered them all without compromising her remarkable artistic vision.

Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942)[1] is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as "The Queen of Soul"[1]. Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, R&B and gospel. She is widely acclaimed for her passionate vocal style and powerful range. In 2008, the American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Franklin #1 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.[2]Franklin is one of the most honored artists by the Grammy Awards, with 20 Grammys to date, which include the Living Legend Grammy and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy. She also sang at the presidential inauguration of 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. She has scored a total of 20 #1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, two of which also became #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Respect" (1967) and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987), a duet with George Michael. Since 1961, Franklin has scored a total of 45 "Top 40" hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Franklin was born on March 25,1942, in Memphis, Tennessee to the Rev. C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister, and Barbara Siggers Franklin. Aretha's parents had a troubled relationship and separated when Aretha was six. Siggers died of a heart attack when Franklin was ten. The fourth of five siblings, Aretha's father's first pulpit after Memphis was in Buffalo, New York. The family subsequently moved to Detroit, Michigan where they grew up, Rev. Franklin assumed the pulpit of the New Bethel Baptist Church, and gained national fame as a preacher. Adept at the piano as well as having a gifted voice, Franklin became a child prodigy. By the age of fourteen, she signed a record deal with Battle Records, where her father recorded his sermons and gospel vocal recordings, and she issued Songs of Faith in 1956. Her earlier influences included Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson, both of whom spent a lot of time in Aretha's home.

Teenage pregnancies derailed Franklin's gospel career when she gave birth to Clarence in 1955 (at age 13) and Edward in 1957 (at age 15). When she returned to singing, Aretha decided to secure herself a deal as a pop artist. After being offered contracts from Motown and RCA, Franklin signed with Columbia Records in 1960. Her recordings during that time reflected a jazz influence and moved away from her gospel roots. Franklin initially scored a few hits on Columbia including her version of "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With A Dixie Melody)", which peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1961, and the Top 10 R&B hits, "Today I Sing The Blues", "Won't Be Long" and "Operation Heartbreak". However, by the end of 1966, with little commercial success in six years with Columbia and desperate for a sound of her own, she accepted an offer to sign with Atlantic Records. According to Franklin years later, "they made me sit down on the piano and the hits came".

Franklin has won twenty one (21) Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century long career (she first charted in 1961), and holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance award with eleven to her name (including eight consecutive awards from 1968 to 1975 - the first eight awarded in that category).

Along with being a forebearer for African Independence, this great man also oversaw the entry of Kenya into the United Nations. Be sure to read more on this intriguing and noteworthy statesman. An interesting fact in his bio was that Dr. Louis Leakey, the anthropologist served as translator during a trial for Mr. Kenyatta. Seemed sort of odd. He was also connected with Kwame Nkrumah, the first PM of Ghana.

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