Young, Gifted and Black

For the song see To Be Young, Gifted and Black

Young, Gifted and Black
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	January 24, 1972
Recorded	August 1970 - February 1971
Genre	R&B, Soul
Length	44:46
Label	Atlantic (#7213), Rhino
Producer	Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin chronology
Aretha's Greatest Hits (1971) Young, Gifted and Black (1972) Amazing Grace (1972)

Young, Gifted and Black is a Top 10 Gold-certified album by Aretha Franklin, released in 1972. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which is the record's title track.

Young, Gifted and Black won Aretha a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	(A) link
Rolling Stone	(favorable) link

Track listing

#	Title	Length
1.	"Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" (Jim Doris)	3:42
2.	"Day Dreaming" (Franklin)	4:00
3.	"Rock Steady" (Franklin)	3:15
4.	"Young, Gifted and Black" (Nina Simone)	3:34
5.	"All the King's Horses" (Franklin)	3:56
6.	"A Brand New Me" (Theresa Bell, Jerry Butler, Kenny Gamble)	4:26
7.	"April Fools" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)	3:29
8.	"I've Been Loving You Too Long" (Jerry Butler, Otis Redding)	3:36
9.	"First Snow in Kokomo" (Franklin)	4:04
10.	"The Long and Winding Road" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)	3:38
11.	"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" (Thom Bell, William Hart)	3:42
12.	"Border Song (Holy Moses)" (Bernie Taupin, Elton John)	3:22

Personnel

• Dr. John - Percussion
• Aretha Franklin - Piano, Celeste, Electric piano, Vocals
• Donny Hathaway - Organ, Electric piano
• Billy Preston - Organ
• Sammy Turner - Background Vocals
• Hubert Laws - Alto Flute
• Chuck Rainey - Bass
• J.R. Bailey - Background Vocals
• Carolyn Franklin - Background Vocals
• Erma Franklin - Background Vocals
• The Memphis Horns - Ensemble
• The Sweet Inspirations - Background Vocals
• Jack Adams - Engineer
• Howard Albert - Engineer
• Ron Albert - Engineer
• Don Arnone - Acoustic Guitar
• Margaret Branch - Background Vocals
• Ann S. Clark - Background Vocals
• Cornell Dupree - Guitar
• Jimmy Douglass - Engineer
• Tom Dowd - Arranger, Producer
• Chuck Kirkpatrick - Engineer
• Eric Gale - Bass
• Lewis Hahn - Engineer
• Dan Hersch - Remastering
• Bill Inglot - Remastering
• Wayne Jackson - Trumpet
• Andrew Love - Tenor saxophone
• Ray Lucas - Percussion, Drums
• Arif Mardin - Arranger, Producer, Remixing
• Michael Mazzarella - Research
• Hugh McCracken - Guitar
• Gene Orloff - Concert Master
• Gene Paul - Engineer
• Gary Peterson - Research
• Robert Popwell - Bass, Percussion
• Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - Percussion, Drums
• Neal Rosengarden - Percussion, Trumpet, Vibraphone
• Pat Smith - Background Vocals
• Jerry Wexler - Producer
• Ronald Bright - Background Vocals
• Don Cassale - Engineer
• Al Jackson, Jr. - Drums
• David Nathan - Liner Notes
• Geoff Gans - Reissue Art Director
• Patrick Milligan - Research
• Howie Albert - Engineer
• Stanislaw Zagorski - Cover Design

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
Year	Title	Pop chart	Black chart
1972	Young, gifted and black	#11	#2
Billboard (North America) - singles
1970	"Border Song (Holy Moses)"	#37	#5
1971	"Brand New Me"	-	-
1971	"Rock Steady"	#9	#2
1972	"All The King's Horses"	#26	#7
1972	"Day Dreaming"	#5	#1
1972	"Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)"	#73	#9
1972	"April Fools"	-	-