Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) - Aretha Franklin (1973) 3/11/22

Recently, my sister Lori and I were talking about her days as a supermarket manager in an affluent area of Detroit. (No, that's not an oxymoron!) One of her more interesting duties was making sure the celebrities who shopped in her store were not bothered by fans or autograph seekers. It wasn't a huge problem, but occasionally she had to intervene. She also personally helped them if they had any special requests. In the process, she dealt with a number of famous people. Her favorite was hockey legend Gordy Howe, and she also assisted baseball Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline, and The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. With that fresh in my mind, I decided it was time to highlight another of Aretha's "Great Songs of the '70s." Imagine my shock and embarrassment when I discovered that after highlighting 950+ songs from the decade, NONE of them were by Aretha! I've mentioned her 14 times (I counted!), when she had covered someone else's song...but I have never actually highlighted a "Great Song by The Queen of Soul herself--until now. I am seriously ashamed. It's true that many of her biggest hits came in the '60s ("Respect," Think," "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, etc...) but she also charted quite often in the '70s...and today, we're highlighting 1973's "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do."). Ironically, this was a cover as well. The song was co-written by Stevie Wonder and Stevie recorded it in 1967, but it was never released as a single. It's a breakup song about an abandoned lover who plots to win their "ex" back. When Aretha wrapped her voice around it, she actually made the whole situation sound relatively optimistic. As 1973 crossed into 1974, "Until You Come Back to Me" went to #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues Chart, and #3 on the Hot 100--selling more than a million copies! Since then, the song has been covered by the likes of Luther Vandross, Miki Howard, Leo Sayer and Cyndi Lauper--but NOBODY can match the Queen of Soul! "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do):" a "Great Song of 1973-74," and one of many "Great Songs" by Aretha Franklin!

Original Stevie Wonder version (1967):