40 years ago, Aretha released "Who's Zoomin' Who ?" , one of the best albums of the 1980s
On July 9, 1985, Arista Records released Aretha Franklin's 30th album in her career, the Narada Michael Walden produced "Who's Zoomin' Who?" Her previous two albums for Arista ("Jump to It" in 1982 and "Get It Right" in 1983) were produced by Luther Vandross, and sold more to the AC crowd. But this time, Franklin wanted a 'younger sound' and appeal to the 20-somethings and 30-somethings, and enlisted the help of Walden. She ended up with one of the biggest hit albums in her career, returning her to the Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums when the album peaked at #13 after a 13 year absence ('Young, Gifted, and Black' peaked at #11 in 1972).
Franklin wanted a 'younger sound' and Walden delivered with an album influenced by several popular mid-1980s genres, including dance-pop, synth-pop, and contemporary R&B, as well as pop songs with crossover appeal. She also did music videos for her singles, which were included in 'heavy rotation' on MTV. She wanted a younger audience, and she got it. It was her first and only studio album to earn a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with more than one million copies physically distributed.
Critics praised the album, saying this was Franklin's 'triumphant comeback', and compared its success to Tina Turner's 'Private Dancer' successful comeback in 1984. "Freeway of Love", the album's lead single, proved both a commercial success, as well as a career achievement for Franklin, earning her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance while holding the number-one position on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for five consecutive weeks. The single peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 Singles chart. At the end of the decade, it was called one of 'the best albums' from the 1980s by many critics.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | July 11, 2025 11:44 AM
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I love the title track, but Narada Michael Walden used a similar opening with Whitney’s “how will I know” and the Jermaine Stewart song “we don’t have to take our clothes off “
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | July 11, 2025 3:26 AM
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Title track was last week’s ‘lip sync for your life’ song on Drag Race… but it was the a cappella mix.
It was fucking weird.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | July 11, 2025 6:01 AM
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[quote]I love the title track, but Narada Michael Walden used a similar opening with Whitney’s “how will I know” and the Jermaine Stewart song “we don’t have to take our clothes off “
Yes, but in 1985 this was a 'new sound' (Houston's song came out two years later). This is exactly what Franklin was going for to attract a 'new, younger audience' and it paid off.
I think 1985 was when pop music hit a 'fork in the road', especially with established female singers. They had a choice - either go down one path and now compete with the MTV synth-pop divas like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Laura Branigan, Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston. Franklin went that route and had major success (along with her 1987 follow-up 'Arehta' with Walden behind her again). Others (Olivia Newton-John, Diana Ross, Donna Summer) did not have that success.
Then there were the older women singers who wanted to stay more loyal to their AC fan base, and had their biggest success with that route - Streisand's "The Broadway Album", Carly Simon's "Coming Around Again", Dionne Warwick's "Friends". I would even throw in Tina Turner and her 'Private Dancer' comeback album with this route, grabbing her older, loyal fanbase.
As a side note, I'm surprised to see "Freeway of Love" didn't top the Hot 100 back then. That was the song blasting everywhere back then - the malls, the beaches, the backyards of every neighborhood. There was no escaping it.
TRIVIA: "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves" is probably the weakest track on the album (IMO). But it was a smart move to team her up with Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics, one of the more talented new female singers. Rumor had it back then that Lennox wanted to duet with Tina Turner back in 1984, but Turner didn't really like the song. So they asked Walden (who was in the midst of gathering material for Franklin's album in late 1984) to ask Aretha, and he thought it was a great idea.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | July 11, 2025 11:44 AM
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