| Songs of Faith | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1956 | |||
| Venue | New Bethel Baptist Church (Detroit, Michigan) | |||
| Genre | Gospel | |||
| Length | 31:29 | |||
| Label | Checker | |||
| Producer | Joe Von Battle | |||
| Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Songs of Faith | ||||
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Songs of Faith is the first live album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released in 1965 by Checker Records.[3] The album was recorded in 1956 by J-V-B RecordsatNew Bethel Baptist ChurchinDetroit, Michigan, when Franklin was aged 14.
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.[4] 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).[5]
In 1965, Checker Records released Songs of Faith, featuring the five tracks from the 1956 Spirituals album, with the addition of four previously unreleased recordings.
MCA reissued the original 9 track album on Compact Disc in 1991 as Aretha Gospel. After Aretha's passing in 2018, UMG/Geffen Records reissued it as Songs of Faith: Aretha Gospel.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" | William Cowper | 4:26 |
| 2. | "Precious Lord" (Part One) | Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Precious Lord" (Part Two) | Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey | 2:51 |
| 4. | "You Grow Closer" | Joe B. Junior | 2:43 |
| 5. | "Never Grow Old" | Traditional | 2:55 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Day Is Past and Gone" | Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey, Joe B. Junior, Isaac Watts | 4:57 |
| 2. | "He Will Wash You White As Snow" | Joe B. Junior | 4:18 |
| 3. | "While the Blood Runs Warm" | Ralph Bass, Sonny Thompson, Harold Smith | 3:03 |
| 4. | "Yield Not to Temptation" | Sonny Thompson, Harold Smith, Horatio Richmond Palmer | 2:56 |
