Troy Taylor Reveals Aretha Franklin’s ‘Holdin’ On’ Was Meant for Mary J. Blige

The work of Grammy-award winning producer, Troy Taylor, can be heard on albums from legendary artists like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and more. He also had a hand in Trey Songz’s breakout album, Ready.

His catalog alone shows how long he has been in the game so he definitely has a lot of stories about making some of the most timeless hits that we all love.

In a recent interview with Two Bees TV, Taylor revealed that he worked with Mary J. Blige on two records, but after she reunited with Puff the song “Holding On” didn’t fit his vision. But he had the opportunity to work with Aretha Franklin and gave her the song.

“So when she reunited with Puff, his ideas of what the album was for her didn’t fit in the concept of those songs and she didn’t want to change the vibe. So she held on to them. And at the same time, I was working with Aretha Franklin, so, um, Aretha and I had had a great time. The first song we did. And so she said she wanted to hear more songs and so I was like, okay, great. And so I thought about it and I’m like, we got these two Mary songs, hit Mary up. And I was like, yo, what do you think about Aretha doing these songs? She was like, Oh bet. That’s definitely. So it worked out. Um, Aretha ended up doing [“Holding On”] on her album called So Damn Happy.”

Blige can be heard on the background vocals in the video above.