Aretha Franklin

Released: January 24, 1972

Songwriter: Weldon Irvine Nina Simone

Producer: Tom Dowd Arif Mardin Jerry Wexler

[Intro]
To be young, gifted, and black
Oh, what a lovely precious thing
Oh, when you're... yes, yes, when you're...
When you're young - yeah, thank you, Jesus! - gifted and black!
Open your heart is all I need

[Verse]
In this whole world, you know
There are millions of boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black
With their souls intact - and that's a fact!
"You are young, gifted and black"
We must begin to tell our young
"There's a world waiting for you, you
Yours is the quest that's just begun"
When you're feeling real low
Here's a great truth you should remember and know:
That you're young, gifted, and black!
You got your soul intact - oh, and that's a fact!

[Outro]
(You're young, gifted, and black...)
Oh, it's a mighty sweet thing, yes, it is now
(Young, gifted, and black...)
Oh, my sisters!
(Young, gifted, and black...)
You're young and you're black, you got your soul intact
You got the future, don't you know it's a fact?
(Young, gifted, and black...)

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

Young, Gifted and Black

From the album

Young, Gifted and Black (1972)

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Young, Gifted and BlackAretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Young, Gifted and Black