Feed Your Ears

[Luigi]

The last line in today's first reading from 1 Corinthians is "you are God's field, God's building." That may be the line that inspired the traditional Gospel song "Working on a Building (for my Lord). I heard it first from the original Carter family; this version is by the Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, the next generation of the Carter Family. June Carter was married to Johnny Cash, so you hear him on this recording, too. It doesn't contain a lot of theology or philosophy - it's a very practical song. 

 

[Luigi]

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells Peter, James, and John "from now on you will be catching men." I posted an a cappella song called "Fishers of Men" by Rhonda Vincent on August 1st. Today's version is by The Newsboys, from 2013. It's a very different sound. 

 

[Luigi]

"Honey in the Rock" by the Carter Family. This is a basically an evangelizing song, the singers sharing reasons to follow Jesus. It's kind of a mashup of phrases from the Bible and general Christian preaching. But it has a singable melody, good harmony, and Maybelle's simple but effective guitar. I like it. 

 

[Luigi]

Keiko Ying is a classically trained cellist; she also writes Christian music. She has a gentle voice, and this song, "Lord of the Sabbath," has a gentle melody and piano accompaniment. It's very peaceful. She wrote this song, and what I can find on YouTube and on her web page is all from 2020. 

 

[Luigi]

In today's second reading, St. James talks about not showing preference to people based on their social status. This song from the Mighty Sons of Glory picks up on that concept but takes it in a slightly different direction. There has been a long-standing tension within Black churches between two very different styles of worship - the more traditional, quiet, controlled style which the song refers to as Sophisticated Christians and the more emotional, shout-and-dance-unto-the-Lord style. The Mighty Sons of Glory are of the opinion that God has no use  for a Sophisticated Christian. 

 

[Luigi]

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells the man with the withered hand to "stretch forth your hand." This is Martha Bass singing "Father, I Stretch My Hand to Thee." The words are by the Methodist minister and hymn writer Charles Wesley, but this is an abbreviated version - it's basically just the first verse. Martha Bass' daughter Fontella is playing the piano and singing the echo lines. This was recorded probably some time in the 1960s.

 

 

[Luigi]

The old warhorse "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" as performed by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1980. I doubt you've heard it this way before, with electric fiddle, piano glissandos, and lyrics personalized (occasionally) to Jerry Lee. 

 

[Luigi]

Sister Ida Maxey sings "I Don't Know Why," written by Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey. This was recorded in 1974 but the song was written well before that. It's just a piano and Sister Ida's voice. 

 

[Luigi]

Picking up on Jesus' teaching in today's Gospel, here is Out of the Dust with their song "Love Your Enemies." This is a husband and wife group from Tennessee; they married, divorced after Christopher lost his faith, and remarried when he recovered his faith. The song has an interesting beat/syncopation, and I like Stephanie's voice on the offset repeated lines. (And it doesn't hurt that their name picks up on our own dUSt!)

 

Edited September 13, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

This one's just for fun - Ed Bruce singing "Jesus Loved the Hell Out of Me," a song he co-wrote with John Thompson. It's a sort of Texas swing recounting of what happened after his conversion. 

 

[Luigi]

The Salem Travelers with "When on the Cross." This is "slow Gospel." It's got some shouted highlights here and there, but the beat is slow and steady throughout. It also has an interesting explanation that I've never heard before about why the sky went dark during the crucifixion. May you have a fruitful feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. 

 

[Luigi]

A quick little bluegrass song called "Get Behind Me, Satan." It doesn't tell the story from today's Gospel; it addresses the singer's struggles and determination. By Wayne Yocom in 1977. I can find exactly NO information about him online - he must have been a minor recording artist, but his song is still available on YouTube!

 

[Luigi]

Here are The Sensational Nightingales singing "Take Your Burden to the Lord." This is a male quartet, but the three harmony singers sound almost like a choir. It's a fairly slow, quiet song of encouragement. 

 

[Luigi]

Aretha Franklin, 1972, at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles with her soulful version of the old classic "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." She was in top form. I also love the choir director - he's getting an aerobic workout! 

 

[Luigi]

In 1939, when radios were still pretty new but most people had one, and also when Gospel stations had been been established, Lulu Belle and Scotty released "Turn Your Radio On." It's been recorded by dozens of others since then. It's a classic, and it ties in with the overarching theme of this topic/thread. This isn't really bluegrass music (no mandolin or banjo, no harmony), and it's not what most people today would call "country music," but it was the style of country music in 1939. 

 

[Luigi]

Natalie Merchant singing "Poor Weeping Pilgrim." Interestingly, the lyrics don't include the word "weeping;" only "mourning" shows up in the lyrics. I don't know anything about the song, but it sounds like it's traditional Appalachian, maybe originally shape note singing. Melodically and lyrically, it's very simple; she has just banjo and fiddle for accompaniment. But it's haunting enough that it can stay in your mind. 

 

Edited September 20, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

This is Charles Johnson & the Revivers with some revival music, "Going On With (My) Jesus." They not only sing, they play their own instruments, and they do a little holy dancing, too. 

 

[Luigi]

Kitty Wells, one of the great women singers of early country music, sings "Dust on the Bible," written by Johnnie and Walter Bailes in 1945. Wells recorded it in 1959 and it has since become a standard. She's got a voice like rough-cut pine, and the twangy instrumentation matches it well. 

 

[Luigi]

Heaven's Mountain Band was formed in 1986 and they're still performing. Their music is straight-up country Gospel. What makes them somewhat different is that it's a multigenerational group - Grandpa & Grandma, their son (and his wife, I think), and a grandson (ten years old and playing the fiddle!), with a couple of other people, too. Like a lot of groups, they've gone through a bunch of personnel changes, so the lineup is somewhat different today. Another thing that makes them different is that the Grandpa writes most of their songs; it's not just old standards. And he writes very natural lyrics as opposed to the often poetically contorted lyrics of the old standards. This is "I Went Under the Blood" from 2016.  

 

[Luigi]

Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band sing (or maybe 'shout' would be more accurate) "This Little Light of Mine" at The Point in Dublin in 2006. It's a classic American spiritual, rocked out by a classic American rocker with a whole bunch of other Americans and Irish folks. It picks up on today's Gospel about not hiding one's light under a bushel basket. There are, of course, dozens of other versions by other singers on YouTube, but I like this version because the sing a couple of the lesser known verses.