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(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

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"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
Side A of the US single
Single by Aretha Franklin
from the album Lady Soul
B-side"Baby, Baby, Baby"
ReleasedSeptember 1967
Recorded1967
StudioAmerican Sound Studio, Memphis, Tennessee
GenreSoul
Length2:45
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"Baby I Love You"
(1967) 		"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
(1967) 		"Chain of Fools"
(1967)
Audio
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" on YouTube

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin on the Atlantic label. The words were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record was a big hit reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history in the UK singles chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released entering at #79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.

Carole King herself recorded the song for her 1971 album Tapestry. The numerous cover versions of the song include recordings by Mary J. Blige and Celine Dion, both of which charted in the same year (1995). At the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, Aretha Franklin performed the song to honor award-recipient Carole King.

Original recording

Written by the partnership of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song was inspired by Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler. As recounted in his autobiography, Wexler, a student of African-American musical culture, had been mulling over the concept of the "natural man", when he drove by King on the streets of New York. He shouted out to her that he wanted a "natural woman" song for Aretha Franklin's next album. Goffin and King went home and wrote the song that night.[1] In thanks, they granted Wexler a co-writing credit.

Cash Box said that "from the vocal standpoint, the side is unmatched; and in the ork and production departments, excellent work add up to a shattering performance" and that the song builds to "new emotional peaks" from a "shattering" beginning.[2]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1967) Peak
position
Australia 36
Canada RPM 11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 8
U.S. Billboard R&B 2
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 12
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[3] 12
U.K. Top 100 79

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Later versions

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
Song by Carole King
from the album Tapestry
Released1971
RecordedJanuary 1971
GenreSoft rock
Songwriter(s)
Audio
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" on YouTube
Carole King performing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" in 2010

"Natural Woman" was released by Peggy Lipton in 1968 on her self-titled album on Ode Records, and by Freddie Hughes in 1968 as "Natural Man" (Wand Records 1192), and by George Benson on his album Goodies in 1968 (Verve Records V6-8771).

Peggy Lee released a version on her 1969 album A Natural Woman.

It was recorded by Carole King on her landmark 1971 album Tapestry. Celine Dion recorded the song in 1995 for the Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King album, and released it as a single. Mary J. Blige also recorded the song that year for New York Undercover.

Rod Stewart covered the song on his album Smiler in 1974.

Bonnie Tyler included a cover of the song on her 1978 album Natural Force.

The Aretha Franklin version appears in the 1983 film The Big Chill and is included on both the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and More Songs from the Big Chill.

Joyce Sims recorded a version of the song for her 1989 album All About Love.

Tami Roman's 90's R&B group, Female recorded a cover of the song for the 1995 motion picture soundtrack Panther.

Beccy Cole covered the song live on her 2007 album, Live @ Lizotte's.

Carole King and Gloria Estefan performed the song in May 2009 in the She's Got a Friend concerts at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. The audio from one of the performances was included on some editions of Estefan's 2013 album, The Standards.

In 2012, Christine Anu covered the song on her album, Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook.

In 2014, Amber Riley covered the song on the fifth-season episode, "Bash," of Fox's musical comedy-drama television series Glee.

In December 2015, Aretha Franklin performed the song at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King.[5][6][7]

The song was featured on the debut album of the group Leading Ladies, performed by musical actress Cassidy Janson, who had played the title role in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Jennifer Hudson performed the song at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.[8]

Mary J. Blige version

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" was Released on September 19, 1995, by Uptown Records and MCA Records on the New York Undercover Soundtrack.

Charts

Chart (1995–96) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 36
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 15
Scotland (OCC)[12] 61
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 23
UK Dance (OCC)[14] 7
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 95
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 39
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[18] 40

Celine Dion version

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" was released as a promotional single by Celine Dion in November 1995 in North America and the United Kingdom.[19] It was featured on a tribute album to Carole King, called Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King issued on October 24, 1995. Later, Dion included this track on most editions of her 1996 album Falling into You. The track was produced by David Foster. Dion's version enjoyed a moderate success on the adult contemporary charts, reaching number 4 in Canada and number 31 in the United States. In 2008, the song was featured on the US version of My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection. When Falling Into You won the Grammy for Album of the year in 1997, the song became the first to appear on two Album of the Year winners - following Tapestry's success in 1971.

On April 14, 1998, Dion, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan and Carole King performed the song during a VH1 Divas concert at the Beacon Theatre, New York. The six vocalists were recruited by the cable music network VH1 to raise money for Save the Music, their education charity. Hyped extensively in the press, the event was a ratings winner for VH1 – so successful, in fact, that the network arranged to have the concert released on disc and tape on October 6, 1998. At that time "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (performed by all the divas) was released as a radio single in selected countries.

Charts

References

  1. ^ Remnick, David "Soul Survivor: The revival and hidden treasure of Aretha Franklin", The New Yorker, April 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 23, 1967. p. 26. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 34, 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "British single certifications – Aretha Franklin – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  5. ^ Miller, Matt (December 30, 2015). "Aretha Franklin Just Brought the Leader of the Free World to Tears". Esquire. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  6. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (December 30, 2015). "Obama cries as Aretha Franklin proves why she's the queen of soul". the Guardian. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  7. ^ Kreps, Daniel (December 30, 2015). "Watch Aretha Franklin Bring Obama to Tears at Kennedy Center Honors". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  8. ^ Zaleski, Annie (October 30, 2021). "Jennifer Hudson Stuns With Virtuosic 'Natural Woman' During Carole King's Rock Hall Induction". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 8, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Mary J Blige – (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Mary J Blige – (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  13. ^ "Mary J Blige: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  18. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  19. ^ Glatzer, Jenna (2005). Céline Dion: For Keeps. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-5559-5.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2913." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2865." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  22. ^ "Celine Dion Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Songs Reaching the Top 15 1996". Radio & Records. December 13, 1995. p. 71. ProQuest 1017293722.
  24. ^ "Top 95 of 1995". Radio & Records. December 22, 1995. p. 53. ProQuest 1017285440.
  25. ^ "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. 64 (18). December 16, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
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