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Royal flush
Playing a handful of winning albums by the Queen of Soul.
By Jim Irvin.
Reigning supreme: Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin spent 12 years at Atlantic.
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
ATLANTIC PARTNER and producer Jerry Wexler was in the studio breaking up a violent quarrel between Percy Sledge and Wilson Pickett when the phone rang and a mutual friend told him that Aretha Franklin was ready to sign to Atlantic. Mindful that she hadn’t been A&R’d adequately during her time with Columbia, Wexler let Franklin select material and work out how she wanted to sing it for her first Atlantic recording session in 1967. They did a handshake deal.