Laughing on the Outside is the fourth
studio album by
American singer
Aretha Franklin, released on August 12, 1963, by
Columbia Records. The album was recorded at
Columbia Recording Studios in New York and Hollywood. These sessions found a 21-year-old
Aretha Franklin recording
Jazz and
Pop music standards, from
Johnny Mercer to
Duke Ellington. She is backed by the arrangements of
Columbia producer Robert Mersey. One of the most popular songs from the album is Franklin's interpretation of the classic "
Skylark". A minute and fifty-eight seconds into the song, she sings the word "Skylark" with power and emotion. This was one of the first times in which she recorded one of her written compositions, "I Wonder (Where Are You Tonight)", on an album. Though somewhat overlooked in her Columbia catalogue, this album was jointly re-released with The Electrifying Aretha Franklin in June 2008.
Bernard Eichenbaum, Julius Schacter, Leo Kahn, Berl Senofsky, Felix Gigol, Max Pollikoff, George Ockner, John Rublowsky, Sid Sharp, Tibor Zelig, George Poole, Irving Lipschultz, Irving Weinper, Darrel Terwilliger – violin
R. Dickler, Theodore Israel, Jacob Glick – viola
Jesse Erlich, Anthony Twardowsky, Joseph Tekula – cello