Aretha Franklin / Aretha (US, L 1612, Columbia, CL 1612) <February 27, 1961>

Aretha Franklin / Aretha (US, L 1612, Columbia, CL 1612) <February 27, 1961>

Bass – Bill Lee (2) (曲: A1 to A5, B1, B4 to B6), Milt Hinton (曲: A6, B2, B3)
Drums – Belton Evans (曲: A1, A4, B4), Osie Johnson (曲: A2, A3, B1, B6), Sticks Evans (曲: A5, A6, B2, B3, B5)
Guitar – Lord Westbrook (曲: A2, A3, A5 to B6), Skeeter Best (曲: B1)
Liner Notes – Frank Driggs
Piano – Aretha Franklin (曲: A1, A6, B2, B3), Ray Bryant (曲: A1, A2 to A5, B1, B4 to B6)
Tenor Saxophone – Al Sears (曲: A5, A6, B2, B3, B5), Warren Luckey (曲: B4)
Trombone – Quentin Jackson (曲: A5, B5), Tyree Glenn (曲: A2, A3, B1, B6)

【Wikipedia】

"Aretha" is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released on February 27, 1961, by Columbia Records. It features the Ray Bryant Combo. The album is Aretha's first release for Columbia, and is also known under its working title "Right Now It's Aretha". Following in the footsteps of her close friend Sam Cooke, Aretha was "discovered" by famed Columbia Records producer John H. Hammond, who on the cover notes of the 1973 edition of "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides" mentions, that she was in fact recommended by the composer Curtis Reginald Lewis. With the support of her father, Reverend C.L. Franklin, Aretha ventured out to New York City's Columbia Record Studios to record her debut album for the label. Hammond paired Aretha Franklin with Ray Bryant, and combo and arranger J. Leslie McFarland, while taking charge of the album's production, which was received to mixed reviews.

The album showcases an 18 year old Franklin, covering a range of jazz and pop standards. Columbia Records couldn't clearly classify Aretha's sound, as either jazz or R&B. Aretha's subsequent albums would show her moving from the realms of both sounds, and audiences as she tries to define her "own soulful sound". Though rare to find an original 6-eye pressing on vinyl, Columbia Records re-released these sessions and retitled them as "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides", in 1972. The exact same recording "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides", was once more re-released on vinyl, this time in 1973 by CBS/Embassy, trademarks of Columbia Records, probably being a UK edition, which on the center label bears these identification numbers: EMB S-31006 (KC 31953). There are some minor changes in the track list for the 1973 edition as well. (See the separate track listing below the 1972 listing).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdSsgtWBF8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ZhIuGTzMU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnHoDXg7urs