• Track Listing

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.