In Nashville, Nelson met producer Jerry Wexler, vice president of Atlantic Records, who was interested in his music.

After Atlantic closed its experimental country music division, Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records that gave him total creative control.

[2] During a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, Nelson attended a party in Harlan Howard's house, where he sang the songs that he had written for the album Phases and Stages.

Another guest was Atlantic Records vice-president Jerry Wexler, who previously had produced works for artists such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin.

[7][8] Nelson called in his sister Bobbie to play the piano,[9] while Doug Sahm and his band also were part of the sessions.

[8] Nelson signed a contract with the label that gave him total creative control, and the release was well leveraged by the critical and sales success of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger.

He praised the interpretation of the gospel standards with a musicalization similar to Nelson's previous releases, and the selection of the songs that according to the reviewer gave the album a "unique, fresh feel".