Song · Aretha Franklin
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin
From the album Lady Soul (1968)
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2018 and 2026. It was first released in 1968 on the album Lady Soul. Its best result is #116 on the WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #988 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Jerry Wexler had the idea, Gerry Goffin wrote the words and Carole King the music, and they built "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" specifically for Aretha Franklin. Atlantic put it out as a single in 1967, and it also sits on Lady Soul. Wexler produced, Tom Dowd recorded it and arranged it with Arif Mardin, and the band cooks right behind her: Spooner Oldham on piano, Tommy Cogbill on bass, Gene Chrisman on drums, trumpets from Bernie Glow, Melvin Lastie and Joe Newman, and Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin and the Sweet Inspirations on the choir vocals.
On the Hot 100 it went as high as number 8, and it has stayed one of the records most tied to her name. She sang it in tribute to King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2018, a week after her death, it finally entered the UK chart, more than 50 years after it first came out.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 558 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 401 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 116 | WYEP | WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown | 168 |
| 2023 | 309 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2026 | 272 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.
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