Amazing Grace- Judy Collins (1970)

Rating-- 6.5/10

A pretty iconic song, I think. This is the 1970 version, performed by Judy Collins, of the hymn "Amazing Grace", first written in 1779. Almost two hundred years later, the Civil Rights movement and a back-to-roots almost-bicentennial thing going on in the late 1960s and early 1970s would be the background for this version's popularity. Speaking of the Civil Rights movement, it fits the song's writer pretty well, since John Newton worked in the slave trade for many years, until he converted to Christianity, wrote "Amazing Grace", and became an abolitionist.

It sounds good. The song has been performed probably more than a hundred million times in the time it's been around, but the Judy Collins version was the one to be preserved and called historically significant. Why? Maybe because the very stark vocals, giving way to a choir, give off an otherworldly and spiritual feeling. Maybe this version was a personal favorite for people who lived through the 1960s.