Feed Your Ears

[Luigi]

"Calling My Children Home" was written by three men - Charles Waller, Doyle Lawson, Robert Yates - who were members of the bluegrass group The Country Gentlemen. But when it's sung by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt, it sounds like it was written from a woman's perspective. It wasn't written as a Gospel song per se, but Christian themes run through it, and it's perfect for Mother's Day. 

 

[Luigi]

Mother's Day is past but I don't feel compelled to give up the theme just yet. "I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer" was written in 1919 by E. M. Bartlett and it's been around ever since and been recorded by everybody, too. This is a guy name Galeon Smith - never heard of him! I think he's still alive and recording videos for YouTube. But he does a very straightforward version of the song - nothing fancy, not even any harmony, but clear pronunciation, printed lyrics, and real good mandolin work. 

I will add, though, that this song includes the Protestant concept that once one has "given one's life to Jesus," one is saved completely and forever, and sin is no longer a problem. It's not a Catholic concept, which is why a lot of Gospel songs are not appropriate for Catholic liturgies or even prayer services, retreats, etc. 

 

Edited May 14, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

Tom T. Hall wrote "Grandma Whistled." It's not a Gospel song as such, but it does indicate that Gospel music used to be just a normal, everyday part of life. I've heard Tom T's original recording, and I like it. But I decided to post a recording by a group called Riverview Gospel Bluegrass of Morrilton, Arkansas. I've never heard of them, but one of them does some mighty fancy whistling in the song's outro. 

 

[Luigi]

Here's Ralph Stanley singing "A Mother's Prayer." I don't know who wrote it or when. I tried looking it up online, but my computer is being unreasonably slow this evening, so I gave up. 

 

[Luigi]

"When Mama Prayed" was written by Paul Overstreet (a very good friend of Merle Haggard) and Rory Lee Feek (such a name!). This recording is by Randy Travis - I've always loved his voice and his attitude. It's not the best or the most interesting song I've posted, but it does show that the role of Mama, and respect given to her faith, are still very much alive in the pop/Gospel traditions. 

 

[Luigi]

This is Dolly Parton from 55 years ago, singing her own composition "Mama Say a Prayer." As always, Dolly sings about real life, and sings about it honestly. I'll have another "mama song" tomorrow, and then I'll move on. 

 

[Luigi]

"Will My Mother Know Me There" is a reflection on how much one has changed physically since Mother passed away. This version is by Doc Watson and his family. Doc Watson is one of the greatest guitarists this country has ever produced, and he has a fine singing voice. This recording, however, borders on primitive. It was recorded 2006, so the recording quality is fine, but the style is quite simple. It's the kind of sound one would hear if everyone were sitting on the front porch of a country cabin after supper. If you want to hear other versions, look for this title by The Carter Family, or by Ricky Skaggs and The Whites. 

 

Edited May 19, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

And now, for something completely different! Here is Harpa Dei - one brother and three sisters - singing Veni, Sancte Spiritus, the sequence for Pentecost, a cappella. They trade verses - him on one, them on the next - but whoever isn't singing the verse provides drone notes as a sort of accompaniment. They sing the Latin lyrics; the English translation is provided in the video if you click on "... more" in the blue text box just below the video. 

 

[Luigi]

"The Power of the Holy Ghost" by the Mighty Clouds of Joy (from Los Angeles) is a much more energetic and experiential approach compared to yesterday's "Veni, Sancte Spiritus" by Harpa Dei. And that's one of the big differences between Catholic liturgical hymns and Gospel songs - in general, the liturgical hymns sing theology whereas the Gospel songs sing experience. 

 

[Luigi]

"When the Spirit of the Lord Comes Upon Me (I Wil Dance Like David Danced)" by Fred Hammond. His music is considered Contemporary Gospel Music. It's a newer sound than the older, more traditional style, but it still has the same intensity. Hammond is from Detroit, and he worked with the Winans and Commissioned before going solo. 

 

[Luigi]

"Step on the Enemy" by Christopher Laing. I can find exactly no information about this guy. He sounds Caribbean to me; in the video, I see an American flag in one corner of the stage, and I see someone in the audience holding another flag, but those are only a couple of very brief glimpses. Still, I tracked down what I think I see, and the flag could be of Trinidad and Tobago. All of which is to say that I can find exactly no information about Christopher Laing. But I like his sound. 

 

[Luigi]

This is Christopher Laing again. He's new to me, and I'm sorting out his various styles. This is a different kind of sound than "Step on the Enemy" - this sounds sort of Muscles Shoals, but with simpler instrumentation and arrangement. Here's "If a Million People Tell You No." 

 

Edited May 24, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

Cissy Houston is the mother of Whitney Houston and the aunt of Dionne Warwick. She has been a back-up singer, had a solo pop/soul career, and has been a Gospel singer pretty much through all of it. This is her singing "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)." This is another example of a pop song (Marvin Gaye had a hit with it) that gets 'baptized.'  It really was a two-way street - many soul singers began in church and brought that Gospel feel to popular music, but it also happened that pop songs were altered slightly and brought into church. The music is smooth and polished. 

 

[Luigi]

Damien Rice singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." I don't really like most Leonard Cohen songs because he tends to use Biblical imagery for secular purposes. But I won't go into all that here and now, but this doesn't count as "a Gospel song," although it uses a number of Biblical images. Hundreds of people have recorded this song; I've chosen Damien Rice accompanying himself with a very spare guitar arrangement but with lots of emotion in his voice. And that's the part that will feed your ears. 

 

[Luigi]

"Be Still, My Soul" is a poetic prayer composed in German by Katharina von Schlege in 1752. It was translated into English by Jane Laurie Brothwick in 1855. Here, it is set to "Finlandia," written by Sibelius in 1899 - but I don't know who put these words with this music, or what year that was done. This is an a cappella version by a  select few of the Mount Royal Kantorei. Apparently the Mount Royal (University, in Calgary, Canada) Kantorei is a group of 70 singers, so this is only a fraction of them. I'm impressed by their harmony but more so by their perfectly synched articulation. The lyrics are below the video - scroll down to see them. I'm also impressed by the videography and the landscape.  

 

Edited May 27, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

"Jesus Be a Fence Around Me" was recorded by Sam Cooke in 1960, but this is Bobby Womack' 1999 recording of it. Womack was a guitarist for Sam Cooke, and he sings it very much like Cooke did - same key, same tempo, same beat. Cooke started in church and transitioned into pop music, as did Womack, Aretha Franklin, and lots of others. And the concept of "Jesus, be a fence around me" is still popular these 60+ years after the original recording - when the murder rate starts to climb around here, there are always several people on social media praying for Jesus to be a fence around our city, or around the innocent people who live in the high crime areas, and so forth. 

 

[Luigi]

This is Sammy Kershaw singing "Better Than I Used to Be," which is sung to a woman but it's really about trying to improve one's life. Just your average guy trying to head in the right direction. It's not technically a Gospel song, but it's got a lot of religious references built into it. 

 

[Luigi]

"Father, I Stretch My Hand to Thee" was a poem written by Charles Wesley in the early 1700s. It was set to music by Amazi Chapin probably around 1800. It has become a standard hymn in lots of church traditions. This version is by The Barrett Sisters, of Chicago. They appear in the documentary "Say Amen, Somebody." There are dozens of versions of this hymn available on YouTube, but I like The Barrett Sisters' version - it's simple and straightforward. However, they sing only one or two verses - the original hymn has six verses. I don't know that anyone sings all the verses any more. 

 

[Luigi]

For the feast of the Visitation, "Holy Is Your Name" by David Haas. He didn't write the melody, though - it's the folksong "Wild Mountain Thyme." This is a concert version by the NYU Women's Choir - four-part harmony for about 50 or 60 voices, with only piano accompaniment. I was surprised to find this song performed by a public, secular school chorus. One little warning: The soloist on the third verse wasn't properly mic-ed so it's hard to hear her words. But I love the wailing baby right before that - it just seems to fit with the impending births of two little boys. 

 

[Luigi]

Dorothy Norwood has a couple of songs about moving mountains - this is the first. It's from 1991, and she's singing with the Northern California G.M.W.A. Mass Choir.