Happy Birthday to the Queen of Soul

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Today, Aretha Franklin would have celebrated her 77th birthday. Family and friends paid their respects while getting a first look at Amazing Grace, the documentary featuring Aretha Franklin’s 1972 gospel album premiering in her hometown Detroit, Michigan.

Amazing Grace was shelved for decades due to technical issues with the visuals and sounds. The documentary features a 29-year-old Franklin during a two-day recording session at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. She was accompanied by the Reverend James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir.

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As noted by the Detroit Free Press, the original film was directed by the late Sydney Pollack but stored in a vault for nearly half a century, as Franklin and her record label Warner Bros., we not thrilled with the project.

After Pollack’s death, producer Alan Elliott acquired the rights to the film in 2007 and digitally restored it for theatrical release.

“I am thrilled to work with Sabrina Owens and the family to do right by Aretha’s legacy. Being able to share this film and the musical genius of Aretha Franklin with her family and the world is an honor. Aretha’s fans will be enthralled by every moment of the film as her genius, her devotion to God and her spirit are present in every frame.” Elliot said in a statement.

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The doc will premiere at Detroit Institute of Arts on Monday evening, with expected guests Revs. Al Sharpton, William Barber II and Carlton Pearson. Franklin’s family reportedly invited about 300 attendees to join in the celebration of the music icon on Monday, which would have been her 77th birthday.

“We’ve all been very aware of her birthday coming up, and what sort of events could be done on or around it,” said Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and executor of the estate. “So it was a conscious decision.”

Owens previously noted that “Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,” Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and personal representative of the Aretha Franklin Estate, said in a statement. “This film is authentic and is my aunt to her core. Our family couldn’t be more excited for audiences to experience the genius of her work and spirit through this film.”

Amazing Grace will screen in select markets before being distributed across 1,000 theaters nationwide on Friday, April 19.