ARETHA FRANKLIN: COMPLETE RELEASES 1956-62 (2 CDS)

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.

1. There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood
2. Precious Lord, Pt. 1
3. Precious Lord, Pt. 2
4. You Grow Closer
5. Never Grow Old
6. The Day Is Past and Gone
7. He Will Wash You White As Snow
8. While the Blood Runs Warm
9. Yield Not to Temptation
10. Right Now
11. Today I Sing the Blues
12. Love Is the Only Thing
13. Over the Rainbow
14. By Myself
15. Won't Be Long
16. All Night Long
17. It Ain't Necessarily So
18. Sweet Lover
19. Who Needs You '
20. Are You Sure '
21. Maybe I'm a Fool
22. Kissin' By the Mistletoe
23. Operation Heartbreak
24. I Surrender Dear
25. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
26. I Told You So
27. Rough Lover
28. It's So Heartbreakin'
29. You Made Me Love You
30. Just for You
31. Blue Holiday
32. That Lucky Old Sun
33. Accentuate the Positive
34. Exactly Like You
35. Nobody Like You
36. Try a Little Tenderness
37. I Apologize
38. Without the One You Love
39. Don't Cry Baby
40. I'm Wandering
41. I Don't Know You Anymore
42. Lover Come Back to Me
43. How Deep Is the Ocean '
44. I'm Sitting on Top of the World
45. Look for the Silver Lining
46. Just for a Thrill
47. God Bless the Child
48. Trouble in Mind