Through the Storm (Aretha Franklin album)

Through the Storm is the thirty-second studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on April 25, 1989, by Arista Records.

Through the Storm
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	April 25, 1989
Recorded	April 1988 – August 1988
Genre	Pop rock R&B
Length	35:16
Label	Arista
Producer	Narada Michael Walden Walter Afanasieff Arif Mardin Joe Mardin Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin chronology
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987) Through the Storm (1989) What You See Is What You Sweat (1991)
Singles from Through the Storm
"Through the Storm" Released: March 28, 1989 "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" Released: June 10, 1989 "Gimme Your Love" Released: September 18, 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Artist direct	^[2]
Robert Christgau	B+^[3]
MSN Music	^[4]
Number One	^[5]

The title track (a duet with Elton John) was released as the album’s lead single, reaching number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Despite the success of its lead single, the album was ultimately unsuccessful, peaking at number 55 on the Billboard 200, after spending 18 weeks on the chart.

The follow-up single, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be", (a duet with Whitney Houston), failed to reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 41.

The album’s third single, "Gimme Your Love" (a duet with James Brown) was poorly received, failing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and only managing a peak of number 48 on the R&B Songs chart.

Other guest artists on the album include The Four Tops and Kenny G.

The album was remastered and re-released as an "Expanded Edition" in December 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus tracks and a second CD of remixes.^[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gimme Your Love" (duet with James Brown)	Narada Michael Walden Jeffrey Cohen	5:19
2.	"Mercy"	Siedah Garrett Glen Ballard	4:09
3.	"He's the Boy"	Aretha Franklin	4:06
4.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (duet with Whitney Houston)	Albert Hammond Diane Warren	5:39

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Through the Storm" (duet with Elton John)	Albert Hammond Diane Warren	4:23
6.	"Think (1989)^[7]"	Aretha Franklin Ted White	3:39
7.	"Come to Me^[8]"	Willard Eugene Price	3:43
8.	"If Ever a Love There Was^[9]" (with the Four Tops and Kenny G)	Pamela Phillips Oland Todd Cerney	4:47

2014 "Expanded Edition" CD1 bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Gimme Your Love" (Single Version)	4:28
10.	"Gimme Your Love" (Extended Remix – Purple Mix)	10:46
11.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Edit)	4:52
12.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Part One)	5:55
13.	"Gimme Your Love" (The Purple Mix Part Two)	3:11
14.	"Aretha Franklin & James Brown Interview"	2:54

2014 "Expanded Edition" CD2 bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
1.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Album Edit)	4:51
2.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Single Version)	4:15
3.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Single Remix)	4:04
4.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Extended Radio Mix)	6:11
5.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (House Radio Mix)	5:08
6.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Hip Hop Radio Mix)	4:54
7.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (New Jack Swing Dub Mix)	6:21
8.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (After Hours Club Mix)	7:42
9.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989 Vogue Dub Mix)	5:38
10.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Nic Mercy's 1999 House Mix)	8:38
11.	"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (Detroit Rough Mix)	6:11

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, vocal engineer (1, 2, 4, 5), producer (3), acoustic piano (3), backing vocals (6, 7)
• Walter Afanasieff – keyboards (1, 2, 4, 5), synthesizers (1, 2, 4, 5), programming (2, 4, 5), co-producer (4, 5)
• Kitty Beethoven – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
• Chris Botti – trumpet (6)
• Margaret Branch – backing vocals (6)
• James Brown – lead vocals (1)
• Lincoln Clapp – engineer (1, 2, 4, 5)
• Marlene Cohen – art direction
• Brenda Corbett – backing vocals (6)
• Mike Davis – trombone (6)
• George Devens – percussion (7)
• David Foster – Fender Rhodes (7), synthesizers (7)
• Four Tops – lead and backing vocals (8)
• David Frazer – engineer (1, 2, 4, 5)
• Siedah Garrett – backing vocals (2)
• Kenny G – saxophone (8)
• Gigi Gonaway – cymbal (2)
• Reggie Griffin – guitar (6)
• Kenneth Hitchcock – baritone saxophone (6)
• Yogi Horton – drums (3)
• Whitney Houston – lead vocals (4)
• Rod Hui – recording (6), mixing (6)
• Mike Iacopelli – recording (3), vocal recording (6)
• Liz Jackson – backing vocals (1)
• Skyler Jett – backing vocals (1, 5)
• Elton John – lead vocals (5)
• Louis Johnson – bass guitar (3, 7)
• Melisa Kary – backing vocals (4, 5)
• Steve Khan – guitar (3)
• Darren Klein – engineer (8), mixing (8)
• Ren Klyce – programming (1, 2, 4, 5), additional keyboards (5)
• Jerry Knight – producer (8), bass guitar (8)
• Robbie Kondor – synthesizers (3, 6), acoustic piano (6)
• Steve Kroon – percussion (3)
• Edie Lehman – backing vocals (7)
• Arif Mardin – producer (6, 7), arrangements (6, 7)
• Joe Mardin – producer (6), programming (6), sequencer (6), recording (6), mixing (6)
• Peter Max – front and back cover art
• Marti McCall – backing vocals (7)
• Sammy Merendino – electronic drums (6)
• David Paich – acoustic piano (7)
• Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals (5)
• Norman Parkinson – photography
• Jeff Porcaro – drums (7)
• John Robinson – drums (8)
• Marc Russo – saxophone (1)
• Corrado Rustici – guitar (1), rhythm guitar (5)
• "Bongo" Bob Smith – programming (1)
• Kent Smith – trumpet (6)
• Andy Snitzer – tenor saxophone (6)
• Narada Michael Walden – producer (1, 2, 4, 5), arrangements (1, 2, 4, 5), electronic drums (1), sequencer, synthesizers (2)
• Aaron Zigman – producer (8), keyboards (8), bass vocals (8)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Through the Storm Chart (1989) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10] 86 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[11] 71 European Albums (Music & Media)^[12] 62 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[13] 61 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)^[14] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[15] 11 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[16] 17 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[17] 19 UK Albums (OCC)^[18] 46 US Billboard 200^[19] 55 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[20] 21

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Through the Storm Chart (1989) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[21] 32

References

1. AllMusic review
2. Artist direct review
3. Christgau, Robert. "Through the Storm review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
4. . Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
5. Carter, Jacqui (1989-05-17). "Albums". Number One. p. 43. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
6. . FunkyTownGrooves.com. FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
7. The fourth recorded version of the song by Aretha Franklin, which was originally included on Aretha Now and released as a single in 1968. Two different versions of the song were recorded for the Blues Brothers movie. Franklin lip-synched to one version in the movie, with a different version appearing on the soundtrack.
8. Remixed edition of song first released on Franklin's 1980 Arista debut, Aretha.
9. Originally recorded for the 1988 film, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and its soundtrack of the same name. The song was also included on The Four Tops' album Indestructible, their sole release for Arista Records in the same year, which was also Franklin's label at the time.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6370". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
12. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 25. June 24, 1989. p. 16. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Aretha Franklin – Through the Storm" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
14. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 14, 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Through the Storm" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Through the Storm". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Through the Storm". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Aretha Franklin – Through the Storm". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
19. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
20. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
21. . Billboard. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2022.