Sweet Passion is the twenty-third studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on May 19, 1977, by Atlantic Records. Following Franklin's Gold-certified 1976 soundtrack album, Sparkle, she paired up with Motown producer Lamont Dozier to produce Sweet Passion. It was, however, a commercial and critical failure.
The album's lead single, "Break It To Me Gently", topped the Billboard R&B chart but peaked at No. 85 on the Hot 100 and dropped off the chart after two weeks.
Track listing
Side one
"Break It To Me Gently" (Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager) - 3:21
"When I Think About You" (Aretha Franklin) - 4:46
"What I Did for Love" (Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban) - 5:17
"No One Could Ever Love You More" (Lamont Dozier) - 3:36
"A Tender Touch" (Aretha Franklin) - 3:58
Side two
"Touch Me Up" (Lamont Dozier)- 4:38
"Sunshine Will Never Be The Same" (Lamont Dozier) - 3:36
"Meadows of Springtime" (Aretha Franklin) - 5:26
"Mumbles / I've Got the Music in Me" (Clark Terry, Aretha Franklin, Bias Boshell) - 3:40
"Sweet Passion" (Aretha Franklin) - 7:12
Aretha Louise Franklin (/əˈriːθə/ ə-REE-thə; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist.[2] Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time.[3][4] With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists.[5]
As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While her career did not immediately flourish, Franklin found acclaim and commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. She recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976), before experiencing problems with the record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. Her success continued with the albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), Aretha (1986) and A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998).
Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on the US Billboard charts, including 73 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and 20 number-one R&B singles. The singer's most well-known hits include "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Ain't No Way", "Call Me", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady", "Day Dreaming", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael) and "A Rose Is Still a Rose".
