Young, Gifted and Black is a Top 10 Gold-certified album by Aretha Franklin, recorded August 12, 1970 - February 16, 1971 and released in 1972. The album won Aretha a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance of the year. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black." It's nearly impossible to single out any of Aretha Franklin's early-'70s albums for Atlantic as being her best, particularly given the breadth of her output during this era. In terms of albums rather than singles, it's probably her strongest era, and if you count Read more on Last.fm.