(You Make Me Feel like) a Natural Woman
Encyclopedia
" A Natural Woman" is a 1967 single
released by American soul
singer Aretha Franklin
on the Atlantic
label. The record was a big hit for Franklin, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100
, and became a standard song for her. Franklin included a live recording on the album "Aretha in Paris
" (1968).
Co-written by the celebrated writing-producing team of Carole King
and Gerry Goffin
, the song was inspired by Atlantic Records
co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler
. 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 he wanted a "natural woman" song for Franklin's next album. In thanks, Goffin and King granted Wexler a co-writing credit.
Natural Man was released by Freddie Hughes in 1968 Natural Man/I Gotta Keep My Bluff In (Wand Records 1192)
Natural Woman was recorded by Carole King on her landmark 1971 album Tapestry, and by Mary J. Blige
, whose 1995 version, from the soundtrack of New York Undercover
, also charted. Bobby Womack
did a version of the song on his 1973 album Facts of Life
with lyrics and title altered to "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Man". Rod Stewart
covered that version in 1974 for his album Smiler
. Bonnie Tyler
did a successful version of the song on her album It's a Heartache
(known as Natural Force
outside the USA) in 1978. Céline Dion
also recorded this song in 1995 for the Tapestry Revisited album. Franklin gave a live performance of the song alongside King, Dion, Mariah Carey
, Gloria Estefan
and Shania Twain
on the first VH1 Divas
special in 1998. Whitney Houston
also covered the song during her Bodyguard World Tour
, as part of a portion of her show that she specifically dedicated to Aretha Franklin. (The Houston cover was never recorded as part of an official album.) Japanese recording artist Superfly released a cover of the song as a B-side on her single "Dancing on the Fire
" and later released the song as a digital single. Indie Canadian recording artist Katie Stelmanis
covered the song on her 2007 album Join Us. The Disney star, Demi Lovato
covered the song during her Summer Tour 2009
and South American Tour 2010 (the second one at Colombia and Rio de Janeiro only). The song is performed in the film "S1m0ne
."
The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution
. In 2003, the episode "Walking on Water" of BBC series Waking the Dead
began with a version of the song performed by a transgender character.
drama, New York Undercover
, alongside a music video filmed with Blige performing at a wedding-style ceremony, with backup singers around her. Her version was featured on the My Life
and Share My World
albums. The single peaked at number 39 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
and number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
by Céline Dion
on October 23, 1995 in the United States, Canada and Australia. It was featured on a tribute album to Carole King
, called Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
from October 24, 1995. Later, Céline Dion included this track on most versions of her 1996 album Falling into You
. The track was produced by David Foster
. Although there was no music video made, Dion's version enjoyed a moderate success on the adult contemporary charts, reaching number 9 in Canada and number 31 in the United States. In 2008, the song was featured on the U.S. version of My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection
.
On April 14, 1998, Céline Dion, Aretha Franklin
, Mariah Carey
, Shania Twain
, Gloria Estefan
and Carole King
performed during a VH1 Divas
concert at the Beacon Theatre, New York
. The five vocalists were recruited by the cable music network VH1
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 divas) was released as a radio single around the world.
1998 promotional CD single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released by American soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
on the Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
label. The record was a big hit for Franklin, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and became a standard song for her. Franklin included a live recording on the album "Aretha in Paris
Aretha in Paris
Aretha In Paris is a live album by Aretha Franklin released in 1968. The album was recorded in Paris on May 7, 1968. It reached the Top 20 of Billboards album chart...
" (1968).
Co-written by the celebrated writing-producing team of Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
and Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
, the song was inspired by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
. 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 he wanted a "natural woman" song for Franklin's next album. In thanks, Goffin and King granted Wexler a co-writing credit.
Natural Man was released by Freddie Hughes in 1968 Natural Man/I Gotta Keep My Bluff In (Wand Records 1192)
Natural Woman was recorded by Carole King on her landmark 1971 album Tapestry, and by Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, whose 1995 version, from the soundtrack of New York Undercover
New York Undercover
New York Undercover is an American police drama that aired on the FOX television network from 1994 to 1998. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's 4th Precinct who were assigned to...
, also charted. Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
did a version of the song on his 1973 album Facts of Life
Facts of Life (album)
Facts Of Life is a 1973 R&B album recorded by Bobby Womack. for United Artists Records.-Reception:Released in June 8, 1973 it raced to #6 on the Billboard R&B Charts. It also charted at #37 on the Billboard U.S. Pop Charts. The album included the hit single "Noboby Wants You When You're Down and...
with lyrics and title altered to "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Man". Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
covered that version in 1974 for his album Smiler
Smiler (album)
Smiler is Rod Stewart's fifth album, and final album for Mercury Records, released in 1974 . It became the first album by Rod Stewart as a solo artist to become critically panned. Although it reached number 1 in the UK album chart, it stalled at number 13 in the US...
. Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
did a successful version of the song on her album It's a Heartache
It's a Heartache
"It's a Heartache" is a country rock song that was recorded separately by Bonnie Tyler and Juice Newton in 1977. Tyler's version charted in the UK in November 1977 and both versions charted in the United States in 1978. The song was also recorded by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes in 1978, but it...
(known as Natural Force
Natural Force
Natural Force is the second album from the Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. Released in 1978, the album contains one of Tyler's biggest hits "It's a Heartache"...
outside the USA) in 1978. Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
also recorded this song in 1995 for the Tapestry Revisited album. Franklin gave a live performance of the song alongside King, Dion, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
and Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
on the first VH1 Divas
VH1 Divas
In 1998, VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts aired annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five year hiatus, the...
special in 1998. Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
also covered the song during her Bodyguard World Tour
Whitney Houston 1993-1994 World Tour
-Notes:*On select dates during the 1993 U.S. tour, Whitney peformed two of Diana Ross's classic songs.*At the concert on July 30th in Atlantic City, NJ, she performed "Stormy Weather" as a tribute to Lena Horne, who starred in the 1943 film, Stormy Weather....
, as part of a portion of her show that she specifically dedicated to Aretha Franklin. (The Houston cover was never recorded as part of an official album.) Japanese recording artist Superfly released a cover of the song as a B-side on her single "Dancing on the Fire
Dancing on the Fire
"Dancing on the Fire" is a single by Japanese rock act Superfly, the group's ninth single overall. Released on November 18, 2009, "Dancing on the Fire" is Superfly's first single after the release of their second album Box Emotions...
" and later released the song as a digital single. Indie Canadian recording artist Katie Stelmanis
Katie Stelmanis
Katie Stelmanis is a Toronto-based Latvian-Canadian musician, who has performed and recorded both as a solo artist and with the band Austra.Stelmanis identifies herself as queer.-Solo career:...
covered the song on her 2007 album Join Us. The Disney star, Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato
"She’s got the range, the full emotional spectrum, incredible control… Vocally, she’s the best thing Disney’s had since Christina Aguilera."—Producer Toby Gad on Demi Lovato's vocals...
covered the song during her Summer Tour 2009
Demi Lovato Summer Tour 2009
The Summer Tour 2009 was the second concert tour by Demi Lovato. The national tour began on June 21, 2009 and ended August 21, 2009, covering a total of 40 cities. David Archuleta served as the special guest for the entire tour except for some tour dates at state fairs when David had concerts...
and South American Tour 2010 (the second one at Colombia and Rio de Janeiro only). The song is performed in the film "S1m0ne
S1m0ne
S1m0ne is a 2002 science fiction comedy film written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Rachel Roberts, Evan Rachel Wood, Winona Ryder and Rebecca Romijn.-Plot:...
."
The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
. In 2003, the episode "Walking on Water" of BBC series Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead (TV series)
Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series...
began with a version of the song performed by a transgender character.
Mary J. Blige version
In April 1995, Blige's version of the song was included on the FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
drama, New York Undercover
New York Undercover
New York Undercover is an American police drama that aired on the FOX television network from 1994 to 1998. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's 4th Precinct who were assigned to...
, alongside a music video filmed with Blige performing at a wedding-style ceremony, with backup singers around her. Her version was featured on the My Life
My Life (Mary J. Blige album)
My Life is the second studio album from American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, Released by Uptown/MCA Records on November 29, 1994. Recording sessions for the album began in fall of 1993 and ended almost one year later. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's...
and Share My World
Share My World
Share My World is the third studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, released by MCA Records on April 23, 1997. The album serves as a follow-up to her Grammy-nominated critically acclaimed second album, My Life...
albums. The single peaked at number 39 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
36 |
| 1995 | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
23 |
| 1995 | US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
95 |
| 1995 | US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
39 |
Céline Dion version
"(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" was released as a promotional singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
on October 23, 1995 in the United States, Canada and Australia. It was featured on a tribute album to Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, called Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King is a 1995 tribute album honoring American singer, songwriter, and pianist Carole King. It features a diverse lineup of artists including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Bee Gees and Aretha Franklin...
from October 24, 1995. Later, Céline Dion included this track on most versions of her 1996 album Falling into You
Falling into You
Falling into You is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on March 8, 1996. It is her fourth English-language album and twenty-first overall...
. The track was produced by David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
. Although there was no music video made, Dion's version enjoyed a moderate success on the adult contemporary charts, reaching number 9 in Canada and number 31 in the United States. In 2008, the song was featured on the U.S. version of My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection
My Love: Essential Collection
My Love: Essential Collection is a greatest hits album by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records on October 24, 2008 as the follow up to her previous English-language compilation, All the Way... A Decade of Song . Before releasing My Love: Essential Collection,...
.
On April 14, 1998, Céline Dion, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
performed during a VH1 Divas
VH1 Divas
In 1998, VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts aired annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five year hiatus, the...
concert at the Beacon Theatre, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The five vocalists were recruited by the cable music network VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
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 divas) was released as a radio single around the world.
Formats and track listings
1995 promotional CD single- "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" – 3:40
1998 promotional CD single
- "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" (live) – 5:15
- "You've Got a Friend" (live) – 5:28
Charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
47 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
4 |
| Canadian BDS Adult Contemporary Chart Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections... |
9 |
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 31 |