The Epic of Black Music

Aretha Franklin, grace incarnate

The "Amazing Grace" box set published in 2019 by GM Éditions.

© Joe Farmer/RFI

By: Joe Farmer Follow

4 mins

On March 25, 2022, Aretha Franklin would have been 80 years old!

His voice, his aura and his commitment always inspire.

The "Lady Soul" was first of all a formidable gospel singer, whose faith carried vocal fervor to the highest level.

In January 1972, she recorded an album that has become legendary.

 was conceived in a church in Los Angeles, the "New Temple Missionary Baptist Church".

This unique moment was also filmed by director Sidney Pollack and, after many setbacks, was released in theaters in… 2019!

The historian Sebastian Danchin, author of a reference biography (Éd. Buchet Chastel), looks back on this unprecedented ecumenical celebration in

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50 years ago, when she was preparing to record an album entirely devoted to the sacred repertoire, Aretha Franklin had already acquired worldwide notoriety.

She is the irresistible interpreter of classics like

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or

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And yet, she is not satisfied with the international popular enthusiasm for her voice.

She wants to get closer to her roots and her religious beliefs.

She seeks to rediscover the authenticity and humility of her being.

She imagines that the intimacy of a Mass, even if captured by microphones and cameras, will allow her to reaffirm her faith and to feel again the vibrations of her childhood.

This disc will cause such enthusiasm across the planet that the initial pious intention will soon be eclipsed by the luminous performance of a twinkling star.

 was a unique moment in Aretha Franklin's life and her greatest record success.

Sébastian Danchin, author of the biography "Aretha Franklin, Natural Woman" (Éd. Buchet Chastel - 2018).

© Christian Rose

Listening to this historic double 33 rpm vinyl, the thrill is instantaneous, but when the film shot at the time was finally revealed 47 years after its conception, our understanding of gospel ceremonial was increased tenfold.

Attending a religious service carried by the flock of an African-American parish is a very moving experience, all the more so when the choir director is called Aretha Franklin.

Filmmaker Sidney Pollack had certainly underestimated the power of traditions when he considered a documentary around this event rooted in the black soul.

This passionate celebration of the lord thwarted his scenario and invited him, despite himself, to immortalize songs, praises, moments of trance, which he was perhaps not expecting.

Besides the surprise of the moment,

technical considerations made the final mix impossible.

It was not until the advent of digital processes that the synchronization of images and sound could finally be carried out.

One last detail remained to be settled, and not the least, the agreement of the main interested party to exploit these exceptional archives.

Sydney Pollack, extract from the "Amazing Grace" box set (GM Éditions).

© Joe Farmer/RFI

For a long time, Aretha Franklin opposed the release of Sidney Pollack's film.

Was she reluctant to reveal part of her spirituality?

Was she dreading showing off the radiant young woman she had been?

Was she in legal disagreement with the distributors of the film?

Was she taking her revenge on Hollywood, which once hesitated to promote a black artist?

Many reasons were invoked to explain the refusal of the "Queen of Soul" to market this unpublished audiovisual document.

Finally, after his disappearance, his heirs authorized the release of the film.

 is now available to all gospel lovers and Aretha Franklin fans.

50 years later, the sensations are still as vivid and inspiring!

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Aretha Franklin in 1972 in Los Angeles, extract from the "Amazing Grace" box set (2019).

© Joe Farmer/RFI

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