I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Book excerpt: The album that earned soul legend Aretha Franklin her first major hits, I Never Loved A Man the Way I Loved You was a pop and soul music milestone. Apart from its status as a hit record, the album also had a much wider cultural impact. By early 1967, when the album was released, the Civil Rights movement was well underway; Aretha's music gave it its theme song. And the single "Respect" became a passionate call to arms for the burgeoning feminist movement. Dobkin has unearthed a wonderful story of the creation of an album that goes far beyond anything that's been written about The Queen of Soul before. With scores of fresh interviews--including ones with the session musicians from Muscle Shoals who recorded with Aretha--I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You is the story of a great artistic achievement. It's also a biography of a star who is both more complex and determined than her modern image as a diva indicates.