"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

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 ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

label. The words were written by

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

from an idea by Atlantic

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

, and the music was composed by

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. Written for Franklin, the record was a big hit reaching number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history in the UK singles chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released entering at #79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album '' Aretha in Paris'' in 1968. Carole King herself recorded the song for her 1971 album ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

''. Among the numerous cover versions of the song include versions by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, both of which charted in the same year (1995). At the 2015

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

, Aretha Franklin performed the song to honor award-recipient Carole King.

Original recording

Written by the partnership of

and

, the song was inspired 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 i ...

co-owner and producer

. As recounted in his autobiography, Wexler, a student of African-American musical culture, had been mulling over the concept of the "natural man", when he drove by King on the streets of New York. He shouted out to her that he wanted a "natural woman" song for Aretha Franklin's next album. Goffin and King went home and wrote the song that night.Remnick, Davi

''The New Yorker'', April 4, 2016. In thanks, they granted Wexler a co-writing credit. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "from the vocal standpoint, the side is unmatched; and in the ork and production departments, excellent work add up to a shattering performance" and that the song builds to "new emotional peaks" from a "shattering" beginning.

Personnel

– lead vocals * Spooner Oldham – piano * Tommy Cogbill – bass * Gene Chrisman – drums * The Sweet Inspirations, Carolyn Franklin & Erma Franklin – background vocals *strings conducted by

Ralph Burns Ralph Joseph P. Burns (June 29, 1922 – November 21, 2001) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Burns was born in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, where he began playing the piano as a child. In 1938, he attend ...

Charts

Certifications

Later versions

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman 2010 CK

"Natural Woman" was released by Peggy Lipton in 1968 on her self-titled album on Ode Records, and by

Freddie Hughes Fred Willie Hughes Jr. (August 20, 1943 – January 18, 2022) was an American gospel, soul, and R&B singer, perhaps best known for his 1968 song, "Send My Baby Back". Hughes was born in Berkeley, California, in 1943, and grew up in Oakland, Cali ...

in 1968 as "Natural Man" (Wand Records 1192), and by George Benson on his album ''Goodies'' in 1968 (Verve Records V6-8771).

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

released a version on her 1969 album '' A Natural Woman''. It was recorded by

on her landmark 1971 album ''

''.

recorded the song in 1995 for the '' Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King'' album, and released it as a single.

also recorded the song that year for '' New York Undercover''.

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

covered the song on his album '' Smiler'' in 1974. Bonnie Tyler included a cover of the song on her 1978 album '' Natural Force''. The

version appears in the 1983 film ''

The Big Chill Big Chill can refer to: *The Big Chill (music festival), an annual music and comedy festival held in England * ''The Big Chill'' (film), a 1983 American film directed by Lawrence Kasdan *The Big Chill at the Big House, a 2010 U.S. college ice hock ...

'' and is included on both the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and More Songs from the Big Chill. Joyce Sims recorded a version of the song for her 1989 album '' All About Love''.

Tami Roman Tamisha Akbar (born April 17, 1970) better and professionally known as Tami Roman, is an American television personality, model, businesswoman and actress. Roman first gained fame on '' The Real World: Los Angeles'' in 1993. After making cameo ap ...

's 90's R&B group, ''Female'' recorded a cover of the song for the 1995 motion picture soundtrack ''Panther''.

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

covered the song live on her 2007 album, '' Live @ Lizotte's''. Carole King and

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

performed the song in May 2009 in the She's Got a Friend concerts at the

Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...

in Connecticut. The audio from one of the performances was included on some editions of Estefan's 2013 album, ''

The Standards ''The Standards'' is the thirteenth studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan. The singer's first English-language album since 2011's ''Miss Little Havana'', and her twenty-seventh overall, it was released on September 10, 20 ...

''. In 2012,

Christine Anu Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards. Early life Anu was bo ...

covered the song on her album, '' Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook''. In 2014,

Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986), sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009–2015). For her perform ...

covered the song on the fifth-season episode, "Bash," of Fox's musical

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''. In December 2015,

gave a universally acclaimed performance at the 2015

during the section for honoree Carole King. The song was featured on the debut album of the group

Leading Ladies ''Leading Ladies'' is a comedy play by Ken Ludwig. It involves two Shakespearean actors who find themselves in the Amish country of York, Pennsylvania, mounting Shakespeare plays. The play, a co-production of the Alley Theatre (Houston) and The ...

, performed by musical actress

Cassidy Janson Cassidy Janson (born 30 July 1980) is a British actress, known for her work in musical theatre. She won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for ''& Juliet''. Stage career In 2005 Janson appeared in '' Tick, Ti ...

, who had played the title role in '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical''. Jennifer Hudson performed the song at the 2021

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

Induction Ceremony.

Mary J. Blige version

Charts

Celine Dion version

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" was released as a promotional

in November 1995 in North America and the United Kingdom. It was featured on a tribute album to

, called '' Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King'' issued on October 24, 1995. Later, Dion included this track on most editions of her 1996 album ''

Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Columbia/Epic Records. The follow-up to her commercially successful album ''The Colour of My Love'' (19 ...

''. The track was produced by David Foster. Dion's version enjoyed a moderate success on the adult contemporary charts, reaching number 4 in Canada and number 31 in the United States. In 2008, the song was featured on the US version of '' My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection''. When Falling Into You won the Grammy for Album of the year in 1997, the song became the first to appear on two Album of the Year winners - following Tapestry's success in 1971. On April 14, 1998, Dion,

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

and

performed the song during a '' VH1 Divas'' concert at the Beacon Theatre,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The six vocalists were recruited by the cable music network

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

to raise money for Save the Music, their education charity. Hyped extensively in the press, the event was a ratings winner for VH1 – so successful, in fact, that the network arranged to have the concert released on disc and tape on October 6, 1998. At that time "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (performed by all the divas) was released as a radio single in selected countries.

Personnel

– performer, vocals (background) * Lynn Davis – vocals (background) * David Foster – arranger, keyboards, producer *

– composer *

– composer * Michael Thompson – guitar *

– composer

Formats and track listings

1995 promotional CD single (Celine Dion) #"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" – 3:43 1998 promotional CD single (Divas) #"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Live) – 5:15 #"

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song written by American singer, songwriter, and musician Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, ''Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version is by James Taylor fr ...

" (Live) – 5:29

Charts

=Weekly charts

=Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Woman, You Make Me Feel Like A 1967 singles 1967 songs 1995 singles Aretha Franklin songs Atlantic Records singles Carole King songs Celine Dion songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Mary J. Blige songs Peggy Lee songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Songs written by Carole King Songs written by Jerry Wexler Soul ballads