Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace

(Paperback)

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This is a fascinating and thoroughly researched exploration of the best-selling gospel album of all time. For two days in January 1972, Aretha Franklin sang at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles while tape recorders and film cameras rolled. Everyone there knew the event had the potential to be historic: five years after ascending to soul royalty and commercial success, Franklin was publicly returning to her religious roots. Her influential minister father stood by her on the pulpit. Her mentor, Clara Ward, sat in the pews. Franklin responded to the occasion with the performance of her life and the resulting double album became a multi-million seller - even without any trademark hit singles. But that was just one part of the story. Franklin's warm inimitable voice, virtuoso jazz-soul instrumental group and Rev. James Cleveland's inventive choral arrangements transformed the course of gospel. Through new interviews, musical and theological analyses as well as archival discoveries, this book sets the scene, traces the recording's traditional origins and pop infusions and describes the album's enduring impact.

Reviews

Aaron Cohen's study of Amazing Grace is rich in intelligence, scholarship, and sensitivity. A great musical work has been put in context. Praise Aretha! Praise God!" * David Ritz, co-author of Aretha: From These Roots and Brother Ray: Ray Charles *
When the church's prodigal daughter returned, she blessed it with the biggest-selling gospel album in history. Aaron Cohen captures the cultural and political implications of this astonishing event. He also pays homage to the musicians and arrangers who supported Lady Soul. A joyful noise, indeed. * Anthony Heilbutgospel, producer and author of The Gospel Sound: Good News In Bad Times *
Aaron Cohen...writes with an ardour and understanding equal to his subject's performance, skillfully tracing gospel music and Aretha's evolutionincluding a re-appraisal of her Columbia yearsthe social, political and personal ramifications of Amazing Grace and, importantly, just what it was like to hear Aretha sing gospel in her prime." FOUR STARS * MOJO *
Aaron Cohen... writes with an ardour and understanding equal to his subject's performance, skillfully tracing gospel music and Aretha's evolution- including a re-appraisal of her Columbia years- the social, political and personal ramifications of Amazing Grace and, importantly, just what it was like to hear Aretha sing gospel in her prime. * MOJO *
I can't imagine anyone more perfectly suited to write about Aretha Franklin's colossal Amazing Grace...Everyone who loves this album has something to gain by reading this book. Which means in a just world, it should sell nearly as many copies as the album, which was Franklin's all-time best seller, topping 2 million. * Fast N' Bulbous' blog *
Cohen's palpable wonder regarding Franklin's legendary foray into gospel music helps the cause, but his enthusiasm never undercuts his judicious accounts of how a given track functions, and what made Franklin's methodology so different from that of any other soul singer turned church musician... The detective work is formidable as well, and invaluable, given that 'Amazing Grace' owed almost as much of its success to its behind-the-scenes players as it did to Franklin... Aretha completists and neophytes alike will have reason to take to bended knee in gratitude for Cohen's delineation of the differences between the original album and the bells-and-whistles reissue. -- New York Times Book Review
Amazing Grace is a lucid and deeply informed account of one particular album and the culture that produced it. -- Aaron Cohen * Express Milwaukee *
Aaron Cohen...penned an evenly flowing book of amazing scholarship, expounding Franklin's prodigious upbringing as the daughter of the famous Reverend C.L. Franklin, her relationship with gospel royalty like Mahalia Jackson, and more. It's an indispensable document of a singular recording of vocal prowess unmatched by any singer ever, including Franklin herself. * Elmore *
In one of the most thoroughly researched books in the series, Chicago critic Aaron Cohen recounts the albums creation and reception in great detail, noting that the popular media rarely present her journey from a gospel perspective, so this album remains frequently overlooked. His book is a much-needed corrective that restores Amazing Grace to its proper place in Franklins catalog. -- Stephen M. Deusner * Pitchfork *

Author Bio

Aaron Cohen is associate editor of DownBeat magazine. His writing on gospel music has been featured extensively in the Chicago Tribune, and he lives in Chicago, IL. He recently won the 2011 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his article on Ray Charles in Downbeat.