Released: November 16, 1964

Songwriter: J. Leslie McFarland

Producer: Clyde Otis

[Verse 1]
I don’t need no diamonds (She don’t need)
And I don’t need no money (She don’t need, she don’t)
Some people live in castles with sixty or seventy rooms (She don’t)
Some people dream about a penthouse tall or a mansion on the moon

[Chorus]
But I got me a little one room paradise
And the man I love (And the man I love)
And that’s all I need now
And the man I love (And the man I love)

[Verse 2]
Some girls are crazy about diamonds (Diamonds)
And some go wild about pearls (Go wild)
Some girls go for a lot of loot
From a checkbook that ain't hers (Sure ain't hers)

[Chorus]
But I got me a little one room paradise
And the man I love (And the man I love)
And that’s all I need now
And the man I love (And the man I love)

[Bridge]
Now, if one day he lucks up on a magic pot of gold (Pot of gold)
I wouldn't mind a little diamond ring or a fur coat for the cold (Ooh)
But if it meant I had to lose just what I've got right now (Right now)
Then I don’t need no gold anyhow (No, no, oh)

[Verse 3]
I can’t make love with no diamonds (diamonds)
Give them all to somebody else (anybody)
And what good is one hundred rooms if you’re there all by yourself (Yes, you)

[Chorus]
So I’ll take me my little one room paradise
And the man I love (And the man I love)
Well, that’s all I need now
And the man I love (And the man I love)

[Outro]
I don’t need no diamonds (She don’t need no diamonds)
Said I don’t need no money (She don’t need no money, she don’t)

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.