Did one prolific three album run prove output was the key to the 1960s?
The 1960s seemed like a decade in which a million different eras were jam-packed into the one finite prism of ten years.
At the forefront of it all was, of course, the British invasion, with its army troop of bands crusading over the Atlantic and completely storming the States, before then heading to take on the rest of the world. Then you also had the American rocker gang themselves, ranging from Bob Dylan to The Beach Boys, whose particular star-spangled way of living also saw them shoot up the charts.
But the more acerbically-eyed of you may notice that there is a subtle running theme between the listing of all these artists, as seismic as they may have been: they were all men. It’s no real shock that the impact of women tends to get conveniently left out of discussing the legacy of the ‘60s a lot of the time, but in many ways, it leaves out a massive half of the story.
If you were to choose an artist whose most prolific run of records all happened within the walls of the ‘60s, it’s easy to instantly think of a man. Yet that would be doing a huge disservice to a huge legion of female artists, from Joan Baez to Dusty Springfield to Nina Simone, and not least of all Aretha Franklin.
After all, if there was anyone who displayed the tenacity and persistence that it took to truly make it as a star during this era, it would be the Queen of Soul. Indeed, for a large part of the decade, it looked as though she might never have got off the starting block at all. But suddenly, after nine previous records, a change of record label, and a hell of a lot of grit, Franklin was on the up and up.
The release of I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You in 1967 was the real turning point for the singer, after years of churning out consecutive albums since 1961 and never seeing a glimmer of success. It was, however, her transfer to Atlantic Records from Columbia that was also key in the deal, as Franklin realised she needed to be in a place where she would be taken seriously in order to truly fly.
Stating this change of tune most emphatically was her next record, Aretha Arrives, later in 1967, which featured everything from her million-selling single ‘Baby I Love You’ to her iconic cover of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones. Granted, it may not have proved to be one of Franklin’s most memorable cuts, but its timing was integral in her prolific trajectory.
That was only proved even further when she came out with Lady Soul in January 1968. Once and for all, this was the moment that proved all of Franklin’s toils, troubles, and strife over the years prior had been worth every second. Here she was and here to stay, with the likes of ‘Chain of Fools’ and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ cementing it as one of the most iconic records of all time.
If nothing else summed up the mark of Franklin better, it would be those three albums. In many ways, she was the greater testament to the spirit of the ‘60s than The Beatles, The Beach Boys, or any of the rest. Success didn’t arrive for her in the blink of an eye, but when it did, it tasted so much sweeter for it.
