It started when “Met While Incarcerated” producer Catherine Legge approached singer/songwriter Jadea Kelly to write music for the documentary. 

 

“I was already a huge fan of Jadea’s music. Her voice is so pure and angelic but her lyrics are weighted with dark layers and emotions. The contrast in her songs has exactly the kind of tension this documentary does; that love demands you see past the pain. Beautiful love stories about people who’ve done terrible things.“

 

Legge told Jadea she heard a version of Amazing Grace in the documentary. Similar to the Christian concept of Grace, these women found these men because of their worst acts and then offered love despite them. What bond is stronger than a second chance? The song Amazing Grace was written by a redeemed slave trader after a near-death experience so it has dark origins and it’s the concept of rising from the depths, that makes it all the more meaningful. 

 

"I love the version that Willie Nelson does in the minor key. It’s just so different from the gospel versions I was used to hearing and fit better with the people I was talking about. So I played it for her." 

 

A couple of hours later Jadea was getting on a plane to Nashville. She sent Catherine a recording she made on her phone, singing the song and playing acoustic guitar. 

 

"It sent chills over me. She got it. She was saying everything I needed the music to say." 

 

Jadea was doing some writing in Nashville and approached a producer and longtime friend David Kalmusky about the idea of telling a new story with “Amazing Grace” for this film. And so the journey began. 

 

THE HISTORY OF

AMAZING GRACE

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Amazing Grace is a song of deep meaning and origins. The popular hymn describing the profound experience of being lifted out of the darkness is believed to be performed more than 10 million times annually, and it’s been recorded over 11,000 times. 

 

The lyrics were written in 1772 by an Anglican priest named John Newton. The song told of his dramatic religious conversion after nearly dying in a shipwreck in 1948 after years working as a slave-trader. Decades later Newton became a priest and leading abolitionist. The lyrics were put to the popular tune New Britain and the two were first published together in 1947. Many believe that revivalist preachers of the era added versus written down by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” from 1852. 

 

The song became a popular hit during the civil rights movement in 1970-72 when singer Judy Collins’ recording spent 67 weeks on the charts peaking at #5. It was a hit on British radio and lead to a bagpipe arrangement by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a staple tribute at memorials for fallen soldiers, police officers and firemen. Former President Obama performed  a few versus at the memorial service following the tragic church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. 

 

The gospel hymn has since been made famous by artists Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, and Elvis. The version that inspired this new recording was performed by Willie Nelson.

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