"Young, Gifted and Black" is the 18th 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.
~Wikipedia
It's nearly impossible to single out any of Aretha Franklin's early-'70s albums for Atlantic as being her best, particularly given the breadth of her output during this era. In terms of albums rather than singles, it's probably her strongest era, and if you count live albums like Amazing Grace, choosing a standout or a favorite record isn't any easier. Yet of this stunning era, Young, Gifted and Black certainly ranks highly among her studio efforts, with many arguing that it may be her greatest. And with songs like "Rock Steady," that may be a valid argument. But there's much more here than just a few highlights. If you really want to go song by song, you'd be hard-pressed to find any throwaways here this is quite honestly an album that merits play from beginning to end. You have upbeat songs like the aforementioned "Rock Steady" that will get you up out of your seat moving and grooving, yet then you also have a number of more introspective songs that slow down the tempo and are more likely to relax than rouse. And if that wide spectrum of moods isn't enough reason to celebrate this album, you get some unlikely songs like a take on "The Long and Winding Road." Plus, you also have to keep in mind that Franklin was in her prime here, not only in terms of voice but also in terms of confidence you can just feel her exuding her status as the best of the best. Furthermore, her ensemble of musicians competes with any that she had worked with on previous albums. So even if this isn't the greatest Aretha Franklin album of the early '70s, it's certainly a contender, the sort of album that you can't go wrong with.
~Review by Jason Birchmeier

Release of this album: 1972, January, 24 [LP Atlantic, Cat.# SD 7213, USA]
Release of this CD: 2008, September, 24 [CD Atlantic/Warner Music Japan Inc. (Japan), Cat.# WPCR-75443, EAN: 4943674082865]
℗ 1972 Atlantic Recording Corp.
© 1972 & 1993 Atlantic Recording Corp.
Produced under license from Atlantic Recording Corp.
Manufactured and Distributed by Warner Music Japan Inc., a Warner Music Group Company.
Made in Japan

Notes: Digital Remaster. A part of the 'Forever Young' Series.

Credits:

Acoustic Guitar - Don Arnone (tracks: 2)
Alto Flute - Hubert Laws (tracks: 2)
Arranged By [Horn] - Tom Dowd (tracks: 3, 8)
Arranged By [String, Horn & Woodwind] - Arif Mardin (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 7, 9 to 12)
Backing Vocals - Carolyn Franklin (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Erma Franklin (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8 to 10), J. R. Bailey (tracks: 12), Margaret Branch (tracks: 10), Ronald Bright (tracks: 12), Sammy Turner (tracks: 12), The Sweet Inspirations (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 12), The Sweethearts Of Soul (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7 to 9, 11)
Bass - Chuck Rainey (tracks: 2 to 5, 7, 9 to 12), Eric Gale (tracks: 1, 6), Robert Popwell (tracks: 8)
Celesta [Celeste] - Aretha Franklin (tracks: 5)
Concertmaster - Gene Orloff
Design ackliner - Alyse Koylan
Design [Cover] - Stanislaw Zagorski
Drums - Al Jackson (tracks: 1, 6), Bernard Purdie (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7 to 9, 11), Ray Lucas (tracks: 4, 10, 12)
Electric Piano, Organ - Donny Hathaway (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
Engineer [Additional Recordings] - Don Cassale, Jack Adams, Jimmy Douglass, Lew Hahn
Engineer [Recording] - Chuck Kirkpatrick (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8), Gene Paul (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 7, 10 to 12), Howie Albert (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Ron Albert (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
Flute - Hubert Laws (tracks: 7, 11)
Guitar - Cornell Dupree (tracks: 2 to 5, 7 to 12), Hugh McCracken (tracks: 1, 6)
Horns - The Memphis Horns (tracks: 3, 8)
Horns [With] - Andrew Love (tracks: 3, 8), Wayne Jackson (tracks: 3, 8)
Lacquer Cut By - GP
Organ - Billy Preston (tracks: A4, B4, B6), Donny Hathaway (tracks: 1, 6)
Percussion - Dr. John (tracks: 3), Mac Rebennack (tracks: 3), Robert Popwell (tracks: 3)
Photography By - Ken Cunningham
Piano, Vocals - Aretha Franklin
Producer - Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd (tracks: 2 to 5, 7 to 12)
Remix [Re-Mixed By] - Arif Mardin
Trumpet, Soloist - Neal Rosengarden (tracks: 9)
Vibraphone - Neal Rosengarden (tracks: 5)

Tracklist:

01. Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby) (03:43)
(Jim Doris)
02. Day Dreaming (04:00)
(Aretha Franklin)
03. Rock Steady (03:13)
(Aretha Franklin)
04. Young, Gifted And Black (03:34)
(Nina Simone, Weldon Irvine)
05. All The King's Horses (03:56)
(Aretha Franklin)
06. Brand New Me (04:26)
(Theresa Bell, Jerry Butler, Kenneth Gamble)
07. April Fools (03:30)
(Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
08. I've Been Loving You Too Long (03:36)
(Otis Redding, Jerry Butler)
09. First Snow In Kokomo (04:04)
(Aretha Franklin)
10. The Long And Winding Road (03:39)
(John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
11. Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) (03:43)
(Thom Bell, William Hart)
12. Border Song (Holy Moses) (03:20)
(Elton John, Bernie Taupin)

password: BlondStyle