Mary, Don’t You Weep is a standout live recording by Aretha Franklin from her landmark 1972 double live gospel album, Amazing Grace. Recorded live in January 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, the performance features Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir.
The song itself is a traditional African-American spiritual that tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and Jesus, historically functioning as a slave song with coded messages of hope and resistance. The album earned Franklin a Grammy Award in 1973 for Best Soul Gospel Performance and remains the best-selling live gospel album of all time.
Aretha Franklin – Mary Don’t You Weep (1972)
