''Almighty Fire'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, released on April 13, 1978, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

. By the time of the album's release, Franklin was going through a commercial slump, due in part to the widespread popularity of disco. Franklin was reunited with

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

after their earlier success together with the ''Sparkle'' soundtrack. The title single reached at #12 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles Chart and the follow-up single, "More Than Just a Joy", peaked at #51. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 1979 Grammy Awards.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Curtis Mayfield, except where noted.

Side one

#"Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)" – 4:36 #"Lady, Lady" – 2:45 #"More Than Just a Joy" – 3:03 #"Keep On Loving You" – 3:12 #"I Needed You Baby" – 4:38

Side two

#"Close to You" – 4:22 #"No Matter Who You Love" – 4:01 #"This You Can Believe" – 4:46 #"I'm Your Speed" (Aretha Franklin,

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school stude ...

) – 3:40

Personnel

* Aretha Franklin – vocals *

– guitar * Gary Thompson – guitar *

Joseph "Lucky" Scott Joseph "Lucky" Scott was an American bassist, and musical director. He is most recognized for his work with Curtis Mayfield, in particular the '' Super Fly'' album. While Lucky was predominantly the bassist and musical director for Curtis Mayf ...

– bass guitar * Donnell Hagan – drums *

Henry Gibson Henry Gibson (born James Bateman; September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor and poet. His best-known roles include his time as a cast member of the TV sketch-comedy series '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1 ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s * Rich Tufo – keyboards, arrangements * Lenard Druss – horns contractor * Sol Bobrov – strings contractor * Alfonzo Surrett – background vocals * Mattie Butler – background vocals * Ricki Linton – background vocals * Denese Heard and

the Jones Girls The Jones Girls were an American R&B vocal trio of sisters from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Consisting of Brenda, Shirley and Valorie Jones, the Jones Girls first signed and recorded for GM Records in 1970. The trio were best known for t ...

– background vocals

Production

* Producer – Curtis Mayfield * Engineers – Roger Anfinsen and Fred Breitberg * Remix – Roger Anfinsen * Mastered by Dennis King at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street fr ...

(New York City). * Album cover concept – Aretha Franklin

References

External links

Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)
1978 albums Aretha Franklin albums Albums produced by Curtis Mayfield Atlantic Records albums {{1970s-R&B-album-stub