Fit for a Queen: Legacy Planning Massive Aretha Box

January 14, 2011 By Mike Duquette — No Comments

As if news of Aretha Franklin’s improved health wasn’t good news enough, Columbia and Legacy have told the Associated Press that there’s going to be a massive box set of her works for the label coming this spring.

Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia is going to be a 12-disc set – 11 CDs and a DVD – chronicling this oft-overlooked early phase of the Queen of Soul’s career. Franklin signed to the label in 1960 at the young age of 18, and spent several years releasing albums and singles that usually hit the lower reaches of the Billboard charts. When she left Columbia for Atlantic with the immortal I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), it was as if her career had just started. (Columbia released several albums by Franklin after the fact, none of which caught on, and Franklin later left Atlantic for Arista in the 1980s, where she experienced something of a resurgence. The Arista material, also owned by Sony, does not look to be included.)

Though much of the material has been released before – compilation producer Leo Sacks jokingly told the AP the material “[has] been picked over more times than a Barney’s warehouse sale” – some rare or unheard material is promised, including mono mixes and rehearsal takes.

The set will be released on March 22. You can order it here; discographical info will be up later tonight.

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Mike Duquette
Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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0 thoughts on “Fit for a Queen: Legacy Planning Massive Aretha Box”

  1. Joe Marchese

    Amazing news! A set like this has been a LONG time coming for Aretha’s Columbia years; Leo Sacks’ comment is spot-on!! But it looks like this one will surpass all expectations. Can’t wait!

    -Joe, feeling churlish for wishing that a Complete Atlantic Years would follow from WMG/Rhino…

    Reply

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