Aretha Franklin, the undisputed Queen of Soul, brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Day Dreaming.” Released as a single in February of 1972, “Day Dreaming” went all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose to #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“Day Dreaming” was written by Ms. Franklin, supposedly about her longstanding relationship with Temptation Dennis Edwards:
He’s the kinda guy
That’ll say hey baby let’s get away
Let’s go somewhere far
Where I don’t care
No I don’t careDay dreamin and I’m thinkin of you
Day dreamin and I’m thinkin of you
Aretha recorded the track at Criteria Studios in Miami. Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, and Jerry Wexler served as producers. The musicians included Donny Hathaway on electric piano, Hubert Laws on flute, Cornell Dupree on electric guitar, Don Arnone on acoustic guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Bernard Purdie played drums. Aretha herself played the acoustic piano; background vocals were provided by Cissy Houston, Margaret Branch, Brenda Bryan, and Aretha’s sister Carolyn Franklin.
The result is a dreamy love song with a smooth soul groove. It’s one of Aretha’s best.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Aretha Franklin on Soul Train, talking to Don Cornelius about her writing process for “Day Dreaming”—and what she does in her spare time.
