Young, Gifted and Black

Aretha Franklin

1972

Young, Gifted and Black is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in early 1972, by Atlantic Records. The album reached #2 on Billboard's R&B albums survey and peaked at #11 on the main album chart. It was quickly certified Gold by the RIAA. Its title was cut from "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", recorded and released by Nina Simone in 1969. Franklin won a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In 2003, the television network VH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time.