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
Aretha's Greatest Hits (1971)Aretha's Greatest Hits1971 Young, Gifted and Black (1972) Amazing Grace (1972)Amazing Grace1972
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

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. The album won Franklin a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance of the year. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which was originally recorded and released by Simone in 1969. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Robert Christgau	(A) link
Rolling Stone	(favorable) link

Track listing

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin – lead vocals (all), piano (1-4, 6, 8-12), celesta (5), Fender Rhodes (7)
• Donny Hathaway – Hammond organ (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), Fender Rhodes (2)
• Billy Preston – Hammond organ (4, 10, 12)
• Hugh McCracken – guitar (1, 6)
• Cornell Dupree – guitar (2-5, 7-12)
• Don Arnone – acoustic guitar (2)
• Eric Gale – bass guitar (1, 6)
• Chuck Rainey – bass guitar (2-5, 7, 9-12)
• Al Jackson Jr. – drums (1, 6)
• Bernard Purdie – drums (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11)
• Ray Lucas – drums (4, 10, 12)
• Dr. John – percussion (3)
• Robert Popwell – percussion (3), bass guitar (8)
• Neil Rosengarden – vibraphone (5), trumpet (9)
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet (3, 8)
• Andrew Love – tenor saxophone (3, 8)
• Hubert Laws – alto flute (2), flute (7, 11)
• Arif Mardin – horn, string and woodwind arrangements (1, 2, 4-7, 9-10)
• Gene Orloff – concertmaster (1, 2, 4-7, 9-10)
• Tom Dowd – horn arrangements (3, 8)
• The Sweet Inspirations – backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 12)
• 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)
• Ronald Bright – backing vocals (12)
• J.R. Bailey – backing vocals (12)
• Sammy Turner – backing vocals (12)

Production

• Producers – Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler (all tracks); Tom Dowd (Tracks 2-5 & 7-12).
• Engineers – Gene Paul (Tracks 1, 4, 6 & 9-12); Howard Albert, Ron Albert and Chuck Kirkpatrick (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7 & 8).
• Assistant Engineers – Jack Adams, Don Cassale, Jimmy Douglass and Lew Hahn.
• Remixed by Arif Mardin
• Recorded at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY) and Criteria Studios (Miami, FL).
• Mastered by George Piros at Atlantic Studios.
• Cover Design – Stanislaw Zagorski
• Backliner Design – Alyse Koylan
• Photography – Ken Cunningham

Chart positions

References