''La Diva'' is the twenty-fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

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 September 6, 1979, 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 ...

. The album marked the end of her 12-year tenure with Atlantic and a run of 19 original albums. The album was a commercial flop as the singer attempted to make a comeback by recording a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-oriented project with producer Van McCoy. It was McCoy's final work as he died in June of that year; the record was released as

was running its course. It stands as the lowest charting and poorest selling album of Franklin's entire Atlantic Records catalogue. "Ladies Only" reached number 33 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s R&B singles chart while the follow-up, "Half A Love", stalled at number 65. This album was recorded at Franklin's vocal peak and features three of her own compositions, as well as a song by her eldest son Clarence Franklin. Although remembered as Franklin's failed disco LP, ''La Diva'' also includes substantial funk and R&B tracks such as The Emotions' "Reasons Why",

Zulema Zulema Cusseaux (January 3, 1947 – September 30, 2013),Biography)))">Allmusic (((Zulema>Biography)))Accessed May 25, 2010 and attended Howard W. Blake High School. She and her school friend Brenda Hilliard joined a local group called The ...

's "Half a Love" and scorching versions of Lalome Washburn's "It's Gonna Get A Bit Better" and her own "Honey I Need Your Love."

Track listing

Side one

#"Ladies Only" (Aretha Franklin) – 5:15 #"It's Gonna Get a Bit Better" (Lalome Washburn) – 5:20 #"What If I Should Ever Need You" ( Charles H. Kipps) – 3:32 #"Honey I Need Your Love" (Aretha Franklin) – 2:45 #"I Was Made for You" (Clarence Franklin) – 4:03

Side two

#"Only Star" (Aretha Franklin) – 5:04 #"Reasons Why" ( Skip Scarborough, Wanda Hutchinson, Wayne Vaughan) – 3:55 #"You Brought Me Back to Life" ( Van McCoy) – 4:24 #"Half a Love" (

Zulema Cusseaux Zulema Cusseaux (January 3, 1947 – September 30, 2013),Biography)))">Allmusic (((Zulema>Biography)))Accessed May 25, 2010 and attended Howard W. Blake High School. She and her school friend Brenda Hilliard joined a local group called The ...

) – 5:25 #"The Feeling" (Van McCoy) – 4:45

Personnel

Musicians * Aretha Franklin – lead and backing vocals, rhythm arrangements (4) * Van McCoy – keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm arrangements (1, 3–5, 8, 10) * Kenneth Ascher, Richard Tee, Paul Griffin – keyboards * Ken Bichel – synthesizer, orchestra bells * Jack Cavari, Cornell Dupree, Tom Hanlon – guitar * Brian Aslop, Gordon Edwards – bass guitar * Chris Parker – drums * Errol "Crusher" Bennett, George Devens – percussion * Richard Gibbs – rhythm arrangements (2) * Arthur Jenkins – rhythm arrangements (6) * Skip Scarborough – rhythm arrangements (7) * Gene Orloff – conductor * Albert Bailey – backing vocals * Sharon Brown – backing vocals *

– backing vocals, rhythm arrangements (9) *

Diane Destry Faith Hope and Charity was the name of a vocal group from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit, " To Each His Own". They were also an in-demand group of session singers in New York studios during the 1970s. Career The foundi ...

– backing vocals * Carolyn Franklin – backing vocals * Richard Harris – background vocals *

Brenda Hilliard Faith Hope and Charity was the name of a vocal group from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit, " To Each His Own". They were also an in-demand group of session singers in New York studios during the 1970s. Career The foundi ...

– backing vocals * Jerome Jackson – backing vocals * Pete Marshall – backing vocals * Pat Williamson – backing vocals Production *Producers – Charles Kipps and Van McCoy (Tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 8–10); Aretha Franklin (Track 4); Skip Scarborough (Track 7) *Engineers – Lee Decarlo and Alan Varner *Assistant engineers – Rick Delana, Brian Marine and John Terrell *Mastered by George Piros at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diva Aretha Franklin albums 1979 albums Atlantic Records albums Disco albums by American artists