Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)

"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA Gold record.

With this peak at number three, Franklin became the first artist in the history of the Hot 100 chart to have a hit song peak at each position from one to ten on the chart. To date, only four other artists have achieved this feat: Marvin Gaye in 1983, Madonna in 1996, Drake in 2013, and Taylor Swift in 2015. Aretha's version of the song was ranked by Billboard as the No. 11 song for 1974.

In the lyrics, the singer has been abandoned by a former partner, but declares determination to contact and win the partner back. Yet there is also evidence that the singer may be naive. The lyrics begin "Although you don't call anymore, I sit and wait in vain." The singer plans some drastic steps, including camping by the partner's steps, rapping on the door and tapping on the window pane. However, the mood of the song and its musical accompaniment is upbeat and optimistic.

Personnel
Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, acoustic piano
Kenneth Bichel – synthesizer
Margaret Branch – background vocals
Ann S. Clark – background vocals
Donny Hathaway – electric piano
Hugh McCracken – guitar
Bernard Purdie – drums
Chuck Rainey – electric bass
Pat Smith – background vocals
Richard Tee – organ played by
Arif Mardin – horn arrangement, string arrangement
Joe Farrell – flute
Gene Orloff – concert master