Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin

America’s Queen of Soul, the songwriter Aretha Franklin, recorded her gospel album Amazing Grace live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles during two nights in January 1972. She sang for a mainly African American audience to the accompaniment of the Southern California Community Choir, conducted by Alexander Hamilton, with James Cleveland on the piano. The audience for the second evening’s session included Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts, who were in Los Angeles to finish their album Exile on Main St. The music critic Jordan Hoffman believes that changes made to some of the songs on their album, such as “Shine a Light” and “Let It Loose,” were inspired by Franklin’s performance. Amazing Grace became the best-selling gospel album of all time, strengthening Franklin’s position as the undisputed diva of soul and serving as a turning point in the history of American music against the backdrop of the social changes taking place in the United States in the early 1970s. The film—a genuine musical treasure—is being shown for the first time.