La Diva (Aretha Franklin album)
| La Diva | ||||
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| Studio album by Aretha Franklin | ||||
| Released | September 6, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | February-May, 1979 at Penny Lane Studios (New York City, New York) Record Plant, (Los Angeles, California) |
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| Genre | Disco, R&B, Pop | |||
| Label | Atlantic (#19248) | |||
| Producer | Aretha Franklin, Charles Kipps, Skip Scarborough, Van McCoy | |||
| Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from La Diva | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Robert Christgau | B |
La Diva is the twenty-eighth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on September 6, 1979 by Atlantic Records. The album marked the end of Aretha's 12-year tenure with Atlantic and a run of 19 original albums. The album was a commercial flop as the singer attempted to make a comeback by recording a disco-oriented project with producer Van McCoy. It was McCoy's final work as he died in June of that year and the record was released as disco was running its course.
It peaked at #146 on Billboard's album chart and sold less than 75,000 copies in the United States. It stands as the lowest charting and poorest selling album of Aretha's entire Atlantic Records catalogue. "Ladies Only" only reached #33 on Billboard's R&B singles chart while the follow-up, "Half A Love", stalled at #65. This album was recorded at Aretha's vocal peak and features three of her own compositions, as well as a song by her eldest son Clarence Franklin.
Although remembered as Aretha's failed disco LP, La Diva also includes substantial funk and R&B tracks such as The Emotions' "Reasons Why", Zulema's "Half a Love" and scorching versions of Lalome Washburn's "It's Gonna Get A Bit Better" and her own "Honey I Need Your Love." The album was released on compact disc in Europe in 2008.
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