The white baby boomers who filled the ranks of the first generation of rock critics undervalued or overlooked the role of gospel music in the development of R&B and rock 'n' roll. Aaron Cohen's contribution to the 33 1/3 series, each book a deep look into one particular LP, is part of the trend to reverse that oversight. Amazing Grace focuses on Aretha Franklin's 1972 gospel album of the same name, recorded in a Los Angeles Baptist church with Rev. James Cleveland's choir and the band that had backed her on many great soul recordings. Cohen, an editor at DownBeat, revisits Franklin's upbringing in the black church and the close family connections with an earlier generation of gospel stars, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of the civil rights and black consciousness movements. Amazing Grace is a lucid and deeply informed account of one particular album and the culture that produced it.
