Spirit in the Dark is the eighteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on August 24, 1970 by Atlantic Records. It received mostly positive reviews, but was met with middling sales, despite having two hit singles, "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", which peaked at #1 R&B, #11 on the Hot 100, and "Spirit in the Dark", peaking at #3 R&B and #23 Hot 100, in Billboard magazine. It was Aretha's first Atlantic album to fall short of Billboard's Top 20, but it is now considered to be one of Aretha's classic Atlantic LPs. In 1994, Rhino Records re-issued this recording on compact disc. Kanye West has sampled the album title song in his "School Spirit", found on the album The College Dropout.
Contents[]
Track Listing[edit][]
- "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (Ahmet Ertegün, Betty Nelson) - 3:02
- "The Thrill Is Gone (From Yesterday's Kiss)" (Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins) - 4:41
- "Pullin'" (Carolyn Franklin, Jimmy Radcliffe) - 3:38
- "You and Me" (Aretha Franklin) - 3:34
- "Honest I Do" (Ewart Abner, Jimmy Reed) - 3:19
- "Spirit in the Dark" (Aretha Franklin) - 4:03
- "When the Battle Is Over" (Jessie Hill, Malcolm Rebennack) - 2:43
- "One Way Ticket" (Aretha Franklin)- 2:52
- "Try Matty's" (Aretha Franklin) - 2:32
- "That's All I Want from You" (Fritz Rotter) - 2:44
- "Oh No Not My Baby" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:55
- "Why I Sing the Blues" (Dave Clark, Riley King) - 3:05
Personnel[edit][]
- Aretha Franklin - vocals, piano
- Dave Crawford - organ
- Howard "Buzz" Feiten - guitar
- Jimmy Johnson - guitar
- Jay O'Rourke - guitar
- The Sweet Inspirations - background vocals
- Wyline Ivy - background vocals
- Margaret Branch - background vocals
- Tommy McClure - bass
- Almeda Lattimore - background vocals
- Harold "Hog" Cowart - bass
- Jimmy O'Rourke - guitar
- Sammy Creason - drums
- Ronald "Tubby" Ziegler - drums
- Roger Hawkins - drums
- Pat Lewis - background vocals
- Duane Allman - guitar
- Cornell Dupree - guitar
- Jim Dickinson - keyboards
- Ray Lucas - drums
- Charlie Freeman - guitar
- Evelyn Greene - background vocals
- Brenda Bryant - background vocals
- David Hood - bass
- Mike Utley - keyboards
- Barry Beckett - organ, electric piano
- Eddie Hinton - guitar
Chart History[edit][]
Name | Chart (1970) | Peak
position |
---|---|---|
Spirit in the Dark | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 25 |
Spirit in the Dark | U.S. Top R&B Albums | 2 |