''Songs of Faith'' is the first live album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

. It was released in 1965 by

Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded ...

. The album was recorded in 1956 by J-V-B Records at New Bethel Baptist Church in

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, when Franklin was aged 14.

Background

Aretha Franklin's recording career began in 1956 with the help of local record label J-V-B Records. Recording equipment was installed in the New Bethel Baptist Church and nine tracks were recorded, featuring Franklin on vocals and piano. In 1956, J-V-B released Franklin's first single, "Never Grow Old", backed with "You Grow Closer". A second single, "Precious Lord (Part One)" backed with "Precious Lord (Part Two)" was issued in 1959. These four tracks, with the addition of "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood", were released on side one of the 1956 album, ''Spirituals'' (J-V-B 100), which was reissued in 1962 under the same title by Battle Records (Battle 6105). In 1965,

released ''Songs of Faith'', featuring the five tracks from the 1956 ''Spirituals'' album, with the addition of four previously unreleased recordings.

Reissues

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reissued the original 9 track album on

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in 1991 as ''Aretha Gospel''. After Aretha's passing in 2018, UMG/Geffen Records reissued it as ''Songs of Faith: Aretha Gospel.''

Track listing

References

{{Authority control Aretha Franklin live albums Gospel albums by American artists 1956 live albums