Released: January 24, 1972

Songwriter: Aretha Franklin

Producer: Tom Dowd Arif Mardin Jerry Wexler

[Intro]
The first snow in Kokomo

[Verse 1]
The first snow in Kokomo
Off an Indiana highway, I was on my way to Kokomo
A funny friend named Chuck slipped and bumped his head (Oops)
And as we picked him up, asked us had his nose turned red
That was the first snow in Kokomo
Kenny learning to blow his horn
I was feeling right up to it;
Could it be done? Yes, I could do it
That first snow in Kokomo
Jimmy Dee playing a bass he was learning to play
Applegate discovered a coronet, almost right away
Reggie expecting a baby, and was Freddie kinda blue (Blue)
That was the first snow in Kokomo

[Verse 2]
Jimmy Dee has put his bass away (Put away)
And I wonder if Applegate ever learned to play
Kenny is really, really blowing his horn
And a baby named Moishe has been born (Pretty little baby)
Freddie's getting ready to make things right (Right on, Freddie!)
Since that first snow, that first snow in Kokomo

[Outro]
First snow in Kokomo
First snow in Kokomo
First snow in Kokomo

Aretha Franklin

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.