1967 Record Ranked No. 13 on the ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’ Turns 59 Today
1967 Record Ranked No. 13 on the ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’ Turns 59 Today
Grace GalanteTue, March 10, 2026 at 3:36 AM UTC
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(Photo by Jack Robinson on Getty Images)
Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You was released 59 years ago today!
On March 10, 1967, Franklin released her tenth album, which became her commercial breakthrough. It marked her first release under her contract with Atlantic Records after departing Columbia Records, where she had recorded nine unsuccessful jazz standard albums.
In fact, when Franklin was signed by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler in 1966, she was $80,000 in debt to Columbia.
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You became her first top 10 album in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released to promote the album: a cover of Otis Redding's “Respect,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100, and “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).”
The record is ranked No. 13 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," and the outlet named her version of "Respect" as the greatest song of all time in 2021.
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In a tribute to Franklin posted shortly after her death in August 2018, Rolling Stone reflected on the enduring impact and legacy I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You has over 50 years later.
"Aretha Franklin’s first album of genius bursts with the unstoppable freedom of an artist finally allowed to be herself, which is only one of the dozens of reasons its opening cover of Otis Redding’s 'Respect' is such a milestone," the publication began.
Rolling Stone then noted that Franklin had recorded "somewhat supper-clubby albums" for Columbia in the early '60s, and that these releases restrained her vocal scope and power.
"But Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler brought her onto the label with the goal of letting Aretha be Aretha. 'I took her to church,' he said, 'sat her down at the piano, and let her be herself,'" the tribute continued. "The result – recorded at iconic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama – was a new kind of soul power, pulling from gospel, R&B and rock & roll. This was the album that made her a legend, inaugurating a run of LPs for Franklin on Atlantic that’s up there with any other series of records by any solo artist ever."
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This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
