Aretha Franklin

[Verse 1]
Too many teardrops for one heart to be crying (I just can’t stand it
Too many teardrops for one heart to carry on, yest it is (I just can’t stand it
You’re way on top now, baby, since you left me, yeah
And you’re always laughing down at me, yes sir
But, o-o-o-oh, watch out baby, I’m gonna get there, yeah
And we’ll be together in just a little while, yes we will
And we’ll be gathering tears from way up here, oh yeah

[Chorus]
I want to see you cry, yeah, 96 tears, yes I do (96, it just won’t do

[Bridge]
I’ll be on top, and you’ll be there just looking up
I can always get up here, and I might not be waving down

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Ooh, try to get a hundred baby (96, it just won’t do
96 teardrops from you (96, it just won’t do
Oh oh, can you get a hundred, baby? yeah (can you make your tears one hundred?
96 teardrops from you, ooo, ah, ooo, ah, ooo (can you get a million, baby?
Get a million, yeah, yeah (96, it just won’t do
Can you get a million tears together? (can you make your tears one hundred?
From 96 tears, oh baby (can you get a million, baby?
‘Cause baby there ain’t just won’t do (96, it just won’t do
Ooo, just won’t, ooo, do, baby (can you make your tears one hundred?

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.

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