Happy Blues

Recorded on March 24, 1973, at Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City during sessions associated with Let Me in Your Life. Aretha Franklin performed lead vocals and piano, accompanied by session musicians including Cornell Dupree, Bernard Purdie, Ralph MacDonald, Donny Hathaway and Richard Tee. Written by Aretha Franklin, 'The Happy Blues' was recorded during her commercially successful Atlantic Records period but omitted from the original 1974 Let Me in Your Life album. The recording captures her commanding vocal performance and piano playing within the richly arranged studio sound of her early-1970s work. First officially released in 2007 on Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul, the recording offered further insight into Franklin's creative output during her Atlantic years. It subsequently appeared on expanded archival editions of Let Me in Your Life and has attracted critical recognition as a notable previously unreleased performance.