Aretha Franklin - Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo (1961)
Tracklist front / back album covers
Side One
1. "Won't Be Long" (J. Leslie McFarland) 3:12
2. "Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) 2:42
3. "Love Is the Only Thing" (J. Leslie McFarland) 2:44
4. "Sweet Lover" (J. Leslie McFarland, Sidney Wyche) 3:26
5. "All Night Long" (Curtis Lewis) 3:01
6. "Who Needs You?" (Billie Holiday, Jeanne Burns) 2:50
Side Two
1. "Right Now" (J. Leslie McFarland) 2:27
2. "Are You Sure" (Meredith Willson) 2:44
3. "Maybe I'm a Fool" (J. Leslie McFarland) 3:20
4. "It Ain't Necessarily So" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2:57
5. "By Myself" (J. Leslie McFarland, J. Bailey) 2:42
6. "Today I Sing the Blues" (Curtis Lewis) 2:47
Bonus Tracks
1. "Are You Sure (Rehearsal)" 2:17
2. "Who Needs You? (Take 9)" 3:03
3. "Right Now (Take 1)" 2:13
4. "Maybe I'm a Fool (Take 4)" 3:57
Mono Mixes
"By Myself" 2:39
"Won't Be Long" 2:54
"All Night Long" 3:06
"Love Is the Only Thing" 2:44
"Right Now" 2:22
Aretha is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released on February 27, 1961, by Columbia Records. It features the Ray Bryant Combo. The album is Aretha's first release for Columbia, and is also known under its working title Right Now It's Aretha. Following in the footsteps of her close friend Sam Cooke, Aretha was "discovered" by famed Columbia Records producer John H. Hammond, who on the cover notes of the 1973 edition of "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides" mentions, that she was in fact recommended by the composer Curtis Reginald Lewis. With the support of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, Aretha ventured out to New York City's Columbia Record Studios to record her debut album for the label. Hammond paired Aretha Franklin with Ray Bryant, and combo and arranger J. Leslie McFarland, while taking charge of the album's production, which was received to mixed reviews.
Aretha Louise Franklin (/əriːθə/; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed 9th in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Franklin began her career as a child, singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister.
Aretha Franklin Discography Full
Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo (1961)
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962)
The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin (1962)
Laughing on the Outside (1963)
Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (1964)
Runnin' Out of Fools (1964)
Yeah!!! (1965)
Soul Sister (1966)
Take It Like You Give It (1967)
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
Aretha Arrives (1967)
Lady Soul (1968)
Aretha Now (1968)
Soul '69 (1969)
Soft and Beautiful (1969)
This Girl's in Love with You (1970)
Spirit in the Dark (1970)
Young, Gifted & Black (1972)
Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (1973)
Let Me in Your Life (1974)
With Everything I Feel in Me (1974)
You (1975)
Sparkle (1976, soundtrack)
Sweet Passion (1977)
Almighty Fire (1978)
La Diva (1979)
Aretha (1980)
Love All the Hurt Away (1981)
Jump to It (1982)
Get It Right (1983)
Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985)
Aretha (1986)
Through the Storm (1989)
What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)
A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998)
So Damn Happy (2003)
This Christmas, Aretha (2008)
Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011)
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (2014)
Aretha Franklin Filmography
1972: Black Rodeo (documentary)
1980: The Blues Brothers (as Mrs. Murphy)
1990: Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (documentary)
1998: Blues Brothers 2000 (as Mrs. Murphy)
2003: Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (documentary)
2012: The Zen of Bennett (documentary)
2013: Muscle Shoals (documentary)
2018: Amazing Grace (documentary)
2021: Genius (docudrama)
2021: Respect
