Page "Amazing Grace" Paragraph 16
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Collins decided to record it in the late 1960s amid an atmosphere of counterculture introspection ; she was part of an encounter group that ended a contentious meeting by singing " Amazing Grace " as it was the only song to which all the members knew the words.
Her producer was present and suggested she include a version of it on her 1970 album Whales & Nightingales.
Collins, who has a history of alcohol abuse, claimed that the song was able to " pull her through " to recovery.
She chose an a cappella arrangement that was close to Edwin Othello Excell's, accompanied by a chorus of amateur singers who were friends of hers.
Collins connected it to the Vietnam War, to which she objected: " I didn't know what else to do about the war in Vietnam.
I had marched, I had voted, I had gone to jail on political actions and worked for the candidates I believed in.
It rose to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for 15 weeks, as if, she wrote, her fans had been " waiting to embrace it ".
In the UK, it charted 8 times between 1970 and 1972, peaking at number 5 and spending a total of 75 weeks on popular music charts.
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