Album of the Day

Aretha Franklin owed much of her vocal power to a religious upbringing; her father was the prominent Detroit minister and activist Rev. C.L. Franklin, and a young Aretha frequently sang in his church. So it was a natural fit when the performer set up at Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church on this day in 1972 to cut an album. True to its title, the 2-LP AMAZING GRACE features transcendent performances of such sacred standards as "Precious Memories," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" and "How I Got Over," accompanied by the Rev. James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir. Greeted with rave reviews, the collection would go on to sell more than two million copies in the U.S. alone and still holds the record as the best-selling live gospel album of all time. AMAZING GRACE also earned the singer a Grammy award, Franklin's first for Best Soul Gospel Performance.