You need do no more than scratch the surface of American music to discern the huge influence of Gospel. It's the choral harmonies on a Motown hit, the impassioned preaching of a Stax singer, the 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' imagery of Paul Simon...there's no escaping it. Add to that the fact that Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin were children of clergymen and you have to concede that, if the devil has the best tunes, God kept his singers close. Featured here on this great collection are some of the best Gospel songs ever written, performed by some of the greatest singers of the twentieth century.