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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.
It was recorded in St. Paul's, the chapel at Columbia University, chosen for the acoustics.
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.
The war was still raging.
There was nothing left to do, I thought ... but sing ' Amazing Grace '.
" Gradually and unexpectedly, the song began to be played on the radio, and then be requested.
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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