A never-before-heard solo version of the late Aretha Franklin’s riveting and powerful collaboration with Mary J. Blige about faith and race, 2006′s “Never Gonna Break My Faith,” has arrived on Juneteenth.
Sony’s RCA Records, RCA Inspiration and Legacy Recordings released the song Friday, aligning with the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed from bondage.
“Never Gonna Break My Faith” resonates today, featuring lyrics like: “You can lie to a child with a smiling face/Tell me that color ain’t about a race.”
“The world is very different now. Change is everywhere and each of us, hopefully, is doing the best he or she can to move forward and make change as positive as possible,” Clive Davis, Sony Music’s chief creative officer and Franklin’s close friend and collaborator, said in a statement.
(WOWT)