For several decades Aretha Franklin has enjoyed the accolade of being called “The Queen Of Soul”, a position that was cemented by her landmark 1967 pop and R&B No. 1 “Respect”. However, her career as a recording artist was a decade old by that time, having honed her style and singing gospel, jazz and blues- influenced material in her late teens. This great value 48-track collection brings together all of her recordings which were released through to 1962, by which time she had established a reputation as a distinctive, soulful and dynamic performer and had made early inroads in both the R&B and pop charts. It comprises her debut recordings as a gospel artist on the 10″ LP “Songs Of Faith”, for Joe Von Battle’s JVB label, made when she was just 14 years old, and then all her singles for Columbia, most of which came from her three albums for the label “Aretha Franklin With The Ray Bryant Combo”, “The Electrifying Aretha Franklin” and “The Tender, The Moving, The Swinging Aretha Franklin”, the complete content of which is also included, along with a track from a multi-artist Christmas compilation. It’s a thorough showcase for her talent and style in the early years of her career.
- There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood
- Precious Lord, Pt. 1
- Precious Lord, Pt. 2
- You Grow Closer
- Never Grow Old
- The Day Is Past and Gone
- He Will Wash You White As Snow
- While the Blood Runs Warm
- Yield Not to Temptation
- Right Now
- Today I Sing the Blues
- Love Is the Only Thing
- Over the Rainbow
- By Myself
- Won’t Be Long
- All Night Long
- It Ain’t Necessarily So
- Sweet Lover
- Who Needs You ‘
- Are You Sure ‘
- Maybe I’m a Fool
- Kissin’ By the Mistletoe
- Operation Heartbreak
- I Surrender Dear
- Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
- I Told You So
- Rough Lover
- It’s So Heartbreakin’
- You Made Me Love You
- Just for You
- Blue Holiday
- That Lucky Old Sun
- Accentuate the Positive
- Exactly Like You
- Nobody Like You
- Try a Little Tenderness
- I Apologize
- Without the One You Love
- Don’t Cry Baby
- I’m Wandering
- I Don’t Know You Anymore
- Lover Come Back to Me
- How Deep Is the Ocean ‘
- I’m Sitting on Top of the World
- Look for the Silver Lining
- Just for a Thrill
- God Bless the Child
- Trouble in Mind