[1] Following in the footsteps of her close friend Sam Cooke, Aretha was "discovered" by famed Columbia Records producer John H. Hammond, who on the liner notes of the 1973 edition of "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides" mentions that she was in fact recommended by the composer Curtis Reginald Lewis.

Hammond paired Aretha Franklin with Ray Bryant and arranger J. Leslie McFarland, while taking charge of the album's production, which received mixed reviews.

Though rare to find an original 6-eye pressing on vinyl, Columbia Records re-released these sessions and retitled them as "The Great Aretha Franklin: The First 12 Sides", in 1972.

Among other things he mentions that all the sides on the record were originally made as singles, primarily for the jukebox market.

At the end he writes: For some strange reason, this album has always been something of a secret, and I can only hope that it gets across to a new generation of Aretha admirers.