Aretha Franklin’s Incredible ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ Isolated Vocals – Listen

An isolated vocal of Aretha Franklin singing the classic “I Say A Little Prayer” is now up for stream.

Franklin who is acknowledged as one of the best soul vocalists of all time was born in 1942. Aside from being a musician, Franklin was also a nurse, choir director, and a renowned Baptist preacher. Moving to New York and adopting blues became her way to get a deal with Columbia Records and rapidly establish herself as the Queen of the 1960s soul divas.

“I Say A Little Prayer,” one of the long list of soul songs created by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics), was written for fellow soul diva Dionne Warwick, during the height of the Vietnam War. However, Bacharach wasn’t happy with the finished product and predicted it would fail.

In an interview, he said:

“I think I made the tempo a little too fast, a little bit too nervous with Dionne. I didn’t want the record to come out but got overridden. I’m glad that I got overridden.”

Unexpectedly, the song was a success in 1967 through the help of Franklin’s cover which appeared less than a year after the song was originally released. It also became Franklin’s highest charting record in the UK. Jerry Waxler, the head of Atlantic Records, even wanted to release it as a B-side.

Stream the song below.