1974 Aretha Franklin – Let Me In Your Life

Aretha Franklin, Bernard Purdie, Bob James, Chuck Rainey, David Spinozza, Ralph MacDonald, Richard Tee, Rick Marotta, Stanley Clarke

Let Me In Your Life is the twentieth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on February 25, 1974 by Atlantic Records.

This was one of Aretha’s top-selling Atlantic Records albums. The album hit #1 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and reached #14 on Billboard’s main album chart, missing the Gold standard by a small margin. Featuring three hit singles, it is regarded as one of Franklin’s best Atlantic recordings. It was issued on compact disc through Rhino Records in 1994.

Tracks

1 Let Me In Your Life (Bill Withers) 03:30
2 Every Natural Thing (Eddie Hinton) 02:37
3 Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing (Nickolas Ashford; Valerie Simpson) 03:50
4 I’m In Love (Bobby Womack) 02:51
5 Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) (Clarence Paul; Morris Broadnax; Stevie Wonder) 03:27
6 The Masquerade Is Over (Allie Wrubel; Herbert Magidson) 04:32
7 With Pen In Hand (Bobby Goldsboro) 05:08
8 Oh Baby (Aretha Franklin) 04:59
9 Eight Days On The Road (Jerry Ragovoy; Mike Gayle) 03:04
10 If You Don’t Think (Aretha Franklin) 03:53
11 A Song For You (Leon Russell) 05:34

Biography

Aretha Franklin

Musicians

1 Let Me In Your Life

Bass	Stanley Clarke
Drums	Rick Marotta
Guitar	David Spinozza
Electric Piano	Eumir Deodato
Organ	Bob James
Piano	Richard Tee
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

2 Every Natural Thing

Bass	Chuck Rainey
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Electric Piano	Richard Tee
Organ	Richard Tee
Piano	Aretha Franklin
Sax	Joe Farrell
Background Vocals	Ann S Clark
Background Vocals	Margaret Branch
Background Vocals	Pat Smith
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

3 Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing

Bass	Stanley Clarke
Drums	Rick Marotta
Guitar	David Spinozza
Keyboards	Bob James
Keyboards	Donny Hathaway
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Background Vocals	Cissy Houston
Background Vocals	Judy Clay
Background Vocals	Myrna Smith
Background Vocals	Sylvia Shemwell
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

4 I’m In Love

Bass	Stanley Clarke
Drums	Rick Marotta
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Guitar	David Spinozza
Piano	Donny Hathaway
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Background Vocals	Cissy Houston
Background Vocals	Deirdre Tuck Corley
Background Vocals	Gwen Guthrie
Background Vocals	Judy Clay
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

5 Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)

Bass	Chuck Rainey
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Hugh McCracken
Electric Piano	Donny Hathaway
Organ	Richard Tee
Piano	Aretha Franklin
Synthesizer	Ken Bichel
Flute	Joe Farrell
Background Vocals	Ann S Clark
Background Vocals	Margaret Branch
Background Vocals	Pat Smith
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

6 The Masquerade Is Over

Bass	Stanley Clarke
Drums	Rick Marotta
Guitar	David Spinozza
Piano	Donny Hathaway
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

7 With Pen In Hand

Bass	Chuck Rainey
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Keyboards	Donny Hathaway
Piano	Aretha Franklin
Background Vocals	Ann S Clark
Background Vocals	Margaret Branch
Background Vocals	Pat Smith
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

8 Oh Baby

Bass	Willie Weeks
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Electric Piano	Donny Hathaway
Piano	Aretha Franklin
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

9 Eight Days On The Road

Bass	Chuck Rainey
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Keyboards	Richard Tee
Piano	Aretha Franklin
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Percussion	Pancho Morales
Background Vocals	Ann S Clark
Background Vocals	Margaret Branch
Background Vocals	Pat Smith
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

10 If You Don’t Think

Bass	Willie Weeks
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Electric Drums	Aretha Franklin
Keyboards	Richard Tee
Organ	Richard Tee
Trumpet	Ernie Royal
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

11 A Song For You

Bass	Willie Weeks
Drums	Bernard Purdie
Guitar	Cornell Dupree
Electric Piano	Aretha Franklin
Organ	Richard Tee
Percussion	Ralph MacDonald
Vocals	Aretha Franklin

Liner Notes

Producer – Aretha Franklin, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler
Producer – Tom Dowd (Tracks 7, 8, 10, 11)
Arranged By – William Eaton (Tracks 3, 4, 6)
Arranged By (Horn, Percussion) – Arif Mardin (Track 1)
Arranged By (Horn, String) – Arif Mardin (Tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Arranged By (String, Rhythm) – Eumir Deodato (Track 1)
Concertmaster – Gene Orloff
Mixed By – Arif Mardin
Recorded By – Phil Ramone (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6)
Recorded By – Gene Paul (Tracks 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Recorded By – Lew Hahn (Tracks 5)
Recorded By – Howiard Albert, Ron Albert (Tracks 7)

Photography – Joel Brodsky

Mixed At Atlantic Studios
Recorded At A&R Studios
Recorded At Criteria Recording Studios
Recorded At Atlantic Studios
Phonographic Copyright WEA International Inc
Copyright WEA International Inc