Editing Aretha Franklin (section)

===1966–1979: Atlantic years===
[[File:Aretha franklin 1960s cropped retouched.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Franklin in 1967]]
In November 1966, Franklin's Columbia recording contract expired; at that time, she owed the company money because record sales had not met expectations.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ubWAht7N7zsC&q=rick+hall+coproducet+aretha+respect&pg=PA335 |page = 339 |title = The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll |first=Anthony|last=DeCurtis|author2=James Henke|author3=Holly George-Warren|publisher = Random House |date = 1992 |isbn = 978-0679737285 }}</ref> Producer [[Jerry Wexler]] convinced her to move to [[Atlantic Records]].<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WyA1z6xKH4gC&pg=PT28 |page = 28 |title = Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace |last = Cohen |first = Aaron |publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing |date = 2011 |isbn = 978-1-4411-0392-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Aretha Franklin: 18 major events in the singer's life |url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-aretha-franklin-timeline-20180816-story.html |access-date = August 18, 2018 |work = Chicago Tribune |agency = Associated Press |date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref> Wexler decided that he wanted to take advantage of her gospel background; his philosophy in general was to encourage a "tenacious form of rhythm & blues that became increasingly identified as soul".<ref name="RStone"/> The Atlantic days would lead to a series of hits for Aretha Franklin from 1967 to early 1972; her rapport with Wexler helped in the creation of the majority of her peak recordings with Atlantic. The next seven years' achievements were less impressive. However, according to ''Rolling Stone'', "they weren't as terrible as some claimed, they were pro forma and never reached for new heights".<ref name="nationalgeographic.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/how-pain-and-passion-shaped-the-genius-of-aretha-franklin-feature|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318133916/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/how-pain-and-passion-shaped-the-genius-of-aretha-franklin-feature|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 18, 2021|title=How pain and passion shaped the genius of Aretha Franklin|website=[[National Geographic]]|first=Deneen L. |last=Brown|date= March 18, 2021|access-date=April 1, 2021}}</ref>

In January 1967, Franklin traveled to [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama]], to record at [[FAME Studios]] and recorded the song "[[I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)]]", backed by the [[Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section]]. Franklin only spent one day recording at FAME, as an altercation broke out between her manager and husband [[Ted White (manager)|Ted White]], studio owner [[Rick Hall]], and a horn player, and sessions were abandoned.<ref name="pc52" /><ref>{{cite news |url = http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/muscle-shoals/index.html |title = Deep Soul |first = Mick |last = Brown |author-link=Mick Brown (journalist)|newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]] |year=2014|access-date = August 17, 2018 }}</ref> The song was released the following month and reached number one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, giving Franklin her first top-ten pop single. The song's B-side, "[[Do Right Woman, Do Right Man]]", reached the R&B top 40, peaking at number 37. "[[Respect (song)|Respect]]" was [[Otis Redding]]'s song but Aretha modified it with a "supercharged interlude featuring the emphatic spelling-out of the song's title".<ref name="Aretha Franklin obituary"/> Her frenetic version was released in April and reached number one on both the R&B and pop charts. "Respect" became her [[signature song]] and was later hailed as a [[American Civil Rights Movement|civil rights]] and [[feminist movement|feminist]] anthem.<ref name="pc52" /><ref>{{Cite news |url = https://www.npr.org/2017/02/14/515183747/respect-wasnt-a-feminist-anthem-until-aretha-franklin-made-it-one |title = 'Respect' Wasn't A Feminist Anthem Until Aretha Franklin Made It One |date = February 14, 2017 |work = NPR |access-date = August 22, 2018 |language = en }}</ref> Upon hearing her version, Otis Redding said admiringly: "That little girl done took my song away from me."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/05/07/arethas-r-e-s-p-e-c-t-still-spells-success/781871dd-20ff-4868-8589-0d6bc3ba9a6a/|title=Aretha's R-E-S-P-E-C-T Still Spells Success|first=Eric Charles|last=May|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 7, 1987}}</ref> Franklin's debut Atlantic album, ''[[I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You]]'', also became commercially successful, later going gold. According to ''[[National Geographic]]'', this recording "would catapult Franklin to fame".<ref name="nationalgeographic.com"/> Franklin scored two additional top-ten singles in 1967, "[[Baby I Love You (Aretha Franklin song)|Baby I Love You]]" and "[[(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-50-greatest-aretha-franklin-songs-110647/you-make-me-feel-like-a-natural-woman-1967-194586/|title=The 50 Greatest Aretha Franklin Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=April 2, 2024}}</ref>

Working with Wexler and Atlantic, Franklin had become "the most successful singer in the nation" by 1968.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ubWAht7N7zsC&q=rick+hall+coproducet+aretha+respect&pg=PA335 |page = 28 |title = The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll|first=Anthony|last=DeCurtis|author2=James Henke|author3=Holly George-Warren|publisher = Random House |date = 1992 |isbn = 978-0679737285 }}</ref> In 1968, Franklin issued the top-selling albums ''[[Lady Soul]]'' and ''[[Aretha Now]]'', which included some of her most popular hit singles, including "[[Chain of Fools]]", "[[Ain't No Way]]", "[[Think (Aretha Franklin song)|Think]]", and "[[I Say a Little Prayer]]". That February, Franklin earned the first two of her Grammys, including the debut category for [[Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance|Best Female R&B Vocal Performance]].<ref>[[Natalie Cole]] broke Franklin's "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" winning streak with her 1975 single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (which, ironically, was originally offered to Franklin).</ref> On February 16, Franklin was honored with a day named for her and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King Jr., who gave her the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference|SCLC]] Drum Beat Award for Musicians less than two months before [[Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.|his death]].{{sfn|Dobkin|2006|p=5}}{{sfn|Whitaker|2011|p=315}}{{sfn|Bego|2010|p=107}} Franklin toured outside the US for the first time in late April/May 1968, including an appearance at the [[Concertgebouw, Amsterdam|Concertgebouw]], Amsterdam,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/17/drenched-in-glory-how-aretha-gave-voice-to-embattled-black-women-and-transformed-a-nation|title=Drenched in glory: how Aretha gave voice to embattled black women – and transformed a nation|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Daphne A |last=Brooks|date=August 17, 2018}}</ref> where she played to a near-hysterical audience who covered the stage with flower petals.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://news.allaboutjazz.com/aretha-franklin-amsterdam-1968.php |title = Aretha Franklin: Amsterdam 1968 |work =[[AllAboutJazz]]|first= Marc|last=Myers |date = July 3, 2015 |access-date = August 17, 2018 }}</ref> She performed two concerts in London, at the [[Finsbury Park Astoria]] and the [[Hammersmith Odeon]] on May 11 and May 12.<ref>[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1968/NME-1968-05-18-S-OCR.pdf "Phenomenal Aretha"], ''[[New Musical Express]]'', May 18, 1968, p. 16.</ref> In June 1968, she appeared on the [[List of covers of Time magazine (1960s)|cover of ''Time'' magazine]] in a portrait illustration by [[Boris Chaliapin]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url = http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19680628,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071109212533/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19680628,00.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = November 9, 2007 |title =Singer Aretha Franklin |date = June 28, 1968 |magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date= September 30, 2011 }}</ref>

{{listen|filename=Respect sample.ogg|title="Respect"|description="Respect" was a huge hit for Franklin, and became a signature song for her.|format=[[Ogg]]}}
In March 1969, Franklin was unanimously voted winner of [[Académie du Jazz]]'s R&B award, Prix Otis Redding, for her albums ''Lady Soul'', ''Aretha Now'', and ''[[Aretha in Paris]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=April 19, 1969|title=Aretha Gets R&B Award|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1969/Billboard%201969-04-19.pdf|magazine=Billboard|page=70}}</ref> That year, Franklin was the subject of a criminal [[impersonator|impersonation]] scheme. Another woman performed at several Florida venues under the name Aretha Franklin. Suspicion was drawn when the fake Franklin charged only a fraction of the expected rate to perform. Franklin's lawyers contacted Florida authorities and uncovered a coercive scheme in which the singer, [[Vickie Jones]], had been threatened with violence and constrained into impersonating her idol, whom she resembled closely both in voice and looks.<ref name=NYT>{{cite journal |last1=Maysh |first1=Jeff |date=July 2018 |title=The Counterfeit Queen of Soul |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/counterfeit-queen-soul-180969340/ | journal=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> After being cleared of wrongdoing, Jones subsequently enjoyed a brief career of her own, during which she was herself the subject of an impersonation.

Franklin's success further expanded during the early 1970s, during which she recorded the multi-week R&B number one "[[Don't Play That Song (You Lied)]]", as well as the top-ten singles "[[Spanish Harlem (song)|Spanish Harlem]]", "[[Rock Steady (Aretha Franklin song)|Rock Steady]]", and "[[Day Dreaming (Aretha Franklin song)|Day Dreaming]]". Some of these releases were from the acclaimed albums ''[[Spirit in the Dark]]'' (released in August 1970, in which month she again performed at London's Hammersmith Odeon)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2012/aug/05/archive-1970-aretha-franklin-odeon|title=From the archive, 2 August 1970: A little respect? That's the least she deserves|first=Tony|last=Palmer|author-link=Tony Palmer (director)|website=The Guardian|date=August 5, 2012}}</ref> and ''[[Young, Gifted and Black]]'' (released in early 1972). In 1971, Franklin became the first R&B performer to headline [[Fillmore West]], later that year releasing the live album ''[[Aretha Live at Fillmore West]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/aretha-franklin/songs|title=Aretha Franklin songs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120044822/http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/aretha-franklin/songs|archive-date=January 20, 2012|url-status=dead}} – from the Bill Graham archives; requires free login. <!-- Editors: These are fully legal and licensed. See http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/support/about-concert-vault.html --></ref>

In January 1972, she returned to Gospel music in a two-night, live-church recording, with the album ''[[Amazing Grace (Aretha Franklin album)|Amazing Grace]]'', in which she reinterpreted standards such as Mahalia Jackson's "[[How I Got Over (song)|How I Got Over]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130827-a-song-that-made-america-believe|title=How Mahalia Jackson defined the 'I Have a Dream' speech|last=Kot|first=Greg|date=October 21, 2014|publisher=BBC|access-date=August 28, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Originally released in June 1972, ''Amazing Grace'' sold more than two&nbsp;million copies,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.myajc.com/news/aretha-franklin-amazing-grace/lmY7SX9oylTPEbWW1gNgQJ/|title=Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace'|last=Suggs|first=Ernie|date=August 16, 2018|work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|access-date=August 29, 2018|language=en}}</ref> and is one of bestselling gospel albums of all time.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/obituaries/aretha-franklin-dead.html|title=Aretha Franklin, Indomitable 'Queen of Soul,' Dies at 76|newspaper=The New York Times|first= Jon|last= Pareles|author-link=Jon Pareles|date=August 16, 2018}}</ref> The live performances were filmed for [[Amazing Grace (2018 film)|a concert film]] directed by [[Sydney Pollack]], but due to synching problems and Franklin's own attempts to prevent the film's distribution after Hollywood refused to promote a dark-skinned black woman as a movie star at the time, the film's release was only realized by producer Alan Elliott in November 2018.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gleiberman|first1=Owen|title=DOC NYC Film Review: 'Amazing Grace'|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/amazing-grace-review-aretha-franklin-1203027289/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=March 6, 2019|date=November 13, 2018}}</ref>

Franklin's career began to experience problems while recording the album ''[[Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky)|Hey Now Hey]]'', which featured production from [[Quincy Jones]]. Despite the success of the single "[[Angel (Aretha Franklin song)|Angel]]", the album bombed upon its release in 1973. Franklin continued having R&B success with songs such as "[[Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)|Until You Come Back to Me]]" and "[[I'm in Love (Bobby Womack song)|I'm in Love]]", but by 1975 her albums and songs were no longer top sellers. After Jerry Wexler left Atlantic for [[Warner Bros. Records]] in 1976, Franklin worked on the [[Sparkle (Aretha Franklin album)|soundtrack]] to the film ''[[Sparkle (1976 film)|Sparkle]]'' with [[Curtis Mayfield]]. The album yielded Franklin's final top-40 hit of the decade, "[[Something He Can Feel]]", which also peaked at number one on the R&B chart. Franklin's follow-up albums for Atlantic, including ''[[Sweet Passion]]'' (1977), ''[[Almighty Fire]]'' (1978) and ''[[La Diva (Aretha Franklin album)|La Diva]]'' (1979), bombed on the charts, and in 1979 Franklin left the company.<ref>{{cite web |last = Smith |first = Ebonie |url = http://www.atlanticrecords.com/posts/aretha-franklin-art-musical-partnership-18201 |title = Aretha Franklin & the Art of Musical Partnership |publisher = Atlantic Records |date=December 4, 2013|access-date = August 16, 2018 }}</ref> On November 7, 1979, she guested ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'' with her yellow costume from her ''[[La Diva (Aretha Franklin album)|La Diva]]'' album, and sang "Ladies Only", "What If I Should Ever Need You" and "[[Yesterday (Beatles song)|Yesterday]]" by [[the Beatles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lightscamerabackbeat.com/search.php?artist=Aretha%20Franklin&show=Mike%20Douglas&year=1979|title=Ladies Only, What If I Should Ever Need You, Yesterday {{!}} The Mike Douglas Show|website= Lights, Camera, Backbeat|access-date=April 25, 2023}}</ref>