Aretha Franklin

[Verse]
It was the night before Christmas
When all through the house
Not a body was stirring
Did I say my house?
My stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In the hopes that my new man soon will be there
And my bro and his diddy and I andy my cat
I just settled down for a long winter's nap
When out of the lawn
There rose such a clatter
I said, Mm I hardly get to see what was the matter
But to my wandering eyes
What should appear
A silver and black Bentley
With a [?] man
Stepping lively and quick
I knew immediately
It was not St. Nick
And right through my front door
He was dressed in black diamond
From up to down
A bundle of gifts he had
What did I get?
As I squealed opening the package
The same old shit
I'm not ungrateful!
I shouted as he backed out of the front door
My sincerity he doubted
But I heard him exclaim
As he drove out of sight
Hey! You hell of a woman
I said, Shout it right!

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.

more tracks from the album

This Christmas, Aretha

From the album

This Christmas, Aretha (2008)

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’Twas The Night Before ChristmasAretha Franklin

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