Sunday Sermonette: Sister Rosetta Tharpe -- That's All

Here's more of Sister Rosetta Tharpe -- guitar slinger, songwriter, vocalist, gospel shouter and rock and roll trailblazer -- burning it down as usual in Paris (where else?) with the gospel number That's All.

She is, without question, the undisputed Godmother of Rock and Roll.  To watch a pretty cool documentary about her life and times so you'll know why, click here.

Video of this lady in action is rare. Listen in and be blessed.

I'm gonna tell you the natural facts
That a man don't understand the good book right and that's all
That's all

You know what?
We got to have more love
More understanding everyday of our lives
And that's all
Yeah

When you see folks jump from this or that
They don't know they don't know where the devil's at
That's all
That's all

They got to have more love, more understanding
Everyday of their lives I tell ya that's all

Listen, people fighting one another
And think they're doing swell
And all they want is your money
And you can go to heeeeyyyyy

That's all
That's all

Ya'll got to have religion, yeah, I tell ya that's all
Now you can go to the college
Go to the schools
You ain't got no religion you an educated fool
That's all
Yeah, that's all

He got to have more love, more understanding
Everyday of our lives and that's all 

Sunday Sermonette: The Caravans -- "Lord Keep Me Day By Day"

When it's time for me to perform country gospel songs for an HAI gig in the city, there are certain groups that never fail to inspire me. This classic gospel song was recorded by Florida Mass Choir, Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes, Dorothy Norwood and a few others. I especially like this one from The Caravans -- a group that launched the careers of legendary gospel greats Rev. James Cleveland, Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar, Josephine Howard and many more.

Those of you in the peanut gallery who are actually paying attention already know that Ms. Howard is the one and only Miki I Found Love Under New Management Howard's mother.  So there's that.

Listen in and be blessed.

Lord, Keep Me Day By Day  (written by Eddie Williams)

Lord, keep me day by day,
in a pure, and perfect way.
I want to live, I want to live on
in a building not made by hand.

Lord, keep my body strong
so that I can do no wrong.
Lord, give me grace just to run this Christian race
to a building not made by hand.

I'm just a stranger here,
traveling through this barren land.
Lord, I know there's a building somewhere,
in a building not made by hand.

Joy, Unspeakable Joy

Interestingly, the theme for December's NaBloPoMo is joy, which -- unlike happiness -- is of the divine.  There is the work -- gigs that are work and auditions that feel like work and boxing that's nothing but work -- and all of the goals and priorities that swirl around me constantly, like determined fireflies. And there is all of this work that happens inside of the work -- voice lessons, guitar practice, writing a song down as it comes to me. Somewhere in there, joy remains a constant. It's an invisible string that runs all the way through the fabric of my inner world, somehow setting things right. When the filth of the world won't subside and I have every reason to be depressed and angry, joy lets me keep my spiritual equilibrium and I bounce like a bright red rubber ball.  Joy, unspeakable joy. For this, I am truly grateful.

There's a lot of things that make me happy but I can think of very few things that give me joy.  Music is definitely one of them. So is performance.

This is probably my favorite song in the entire history of ever. I think the whole world should hear it. 


Behind, every dark cloud
There's a silver lining
And after each rain storm
There's a bright new sky

When troubles grieve you
And friends deceive you
Oh don't worry
It will pass over by and by

When troubles pull your heart strings
Don't be discouraged
And even though pain and misery
Fill your eyes with tears

These troubles will soon pass
Yes, soon they will depart
Oh hallelulah,
They will pass over by and by

So remember

Weeping may endure for a night but
Joy, joy, joy, joy
Joy Joy will come
Joy, Joy
Joy, Joy
Joy, Joy
Joy

Weeping may endure for a night,but
Joy, joy, joy, joy
Joy Joy will come
Joy, Joy
Joy, Joy
Joy, Joy
Joy

Sunday Sermonette: Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers - "Touch The Hem Of His Garment"

As the story goes, this legendary group were in the studio finishing an album and one more song was needed, so Sam Cooke asked for a Bible, it fell open to this verse and he wrote this song on the spot.  And the rest is history.

Listen in and be blessed.

Oh, there was a woman in the Bible days,
she had been sick, sick so very long
but she heard about Jesus was passing by,
so she joined the gathering throng
and while she was pushing her way through,
someone ask her: 'What are you trying to do?'

She said:
'if I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'll be made whole'

She cried:
'Oh Lord, Oh Lord and Oh Lord, Oh Lord'
Said :
'if I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'll be made whole'

Oh, She spent her money here and there
until she had no, had no more to spare,
the doctors, they'd done all they could
but their medicine would do no good.
When she touched Him The Saviour didn't see
but still He turned around and cried
'Somebody touched me'

She said:
'It was I who just wanna touch the hem of Your garment,
I know I'll be made whole right now'

She stood there crying:
'Oh Lord, Oh Lord and Oh Lord, Oh Lord'

Said:
'If I could just touch the hem of His garment,
I know I'll made whole right now' 

Sunday Sermonette: Edwin Hawkins and The Edwin Hawkins Singers -- "I Believe"

This song -- commissioned by pre-war singer/actress Jane Froman in 1953 for her tv show The Jane Froman Show as a response to the Korean War -- was the first hit song ever introduced on television. She said wanted to give people hope.  I don't know if it worked but it's a popular and enduring song that transcends genres.  Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- has covered it, from Elvis Presley to Frank Sinatra to Mahalia Jackson to Dolly Parton. 

Interestingly, Ms. Froman -- an educated Midwesterner (from Columbia, Missouri), a classically trained vocalist (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music), a genuine Hollywood movie star and a chronic stutterer  -- has not one but three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I've heard this song before, quite a lot. I don't like it or dislike it.  It's just there, like pleasant aural wallpaper.  Kinda pre-hippyish in this deliberate way that's so sincere, it's not schmaltzy at all. 

It's like that song Misty: You know it even if you think you don't know it. You don't quite know how you know it or when you learned it. It's just there, stuck in your head, like an earworm you carried into the world at birth.

What better gospel choir to do this song justice than the iconic Edwin Hawkins Singers?

Listen in and be blessed.

 Lyrics:

I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows,
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows,
I believe for everyone who goes astray,
Someone will come to show the way,
I believe, I believe.

I believe above the storm a smallest prayer
Will still be heard,
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
Hears every word,
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry,
Or touch a leaf, or see the sky,
Then I know why,
I believe.

Every time I hear a newborn baby cry,
Or touch a leaf, or see the sky,
Then I know why,
I believe.

Sunday Sermonette: Le'Andria Johnson's Auditon for Sunday Best

When Le'Andria Johnson showed up from Orlando, Florida to audition for BET's reality tv show Sunday Best, she was already a seasoned performer, producer and a singer-songwriter. She had led the prayer and praise worship in her father's church for years and had been singing since she was 2 years old. She was also twice divorced with 3 children and had just lost her house to foreclosure.  Jump cut to the end of the story: not only does she win season three, the 7 song album they quickly release debuts at number one on the gospel chart and her life is nothing but roses.

Of course, another hit album, a Grammy and plenty of scandal quickly followed -- but it's interesting to see the moment when the world discovered her, and to watch everything change and shift at the judges' table just as soon as she opened her mouth.

I love this woman's voice.

Some people think that this is what's supposed to happen when you sing gospel music, that you are supposed to let God move through you and sing from your soul.  I think this is what's supposed to happen when you sing anything.  Or what's the point?

Here it is, Le'Andria's audition tape. Listen in and be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette: Bob Dylan -- "Serve Somebody"

I had a real chip on my shoulder ever since I can remember about Bob Dylan because everybody talked about him like he was some kind of almighty but whenever I listened to his voice, it went through my head like a nail.  He's not a vocalist, he's a poet, everyone would say. I just couldn't hear the words. His voice was in the way.   And then I tripped up over Tangled Up In Blue on Napster a million years ago when everyone was listening to Napster and couldn't stop clicking repeat. Actually, I still can't hear that song without fighting the urge to hear it again and again.  It's like I'm overhearing this jagged, random, scattered conversation with someone else that's so full of feeling and wonder and his voice, it moves me so. And then it's over. And I don't want to be over.  So I click repeat.

That's how I found Manu Chao, too. Napster! And I'm still crazy about him. I have dreams about writing music with him, collaborating with him, running away to South America with him to make beautiful art. But that's another story.

So now that I can hear the poetry inside of the sound of his voice, I don't hump his leg feverishly like the rest of the world does but I have to admit, there are moments when I hold him in my arms.  This is one of them.

Contrary to popular opinion., there's a lot of beautiful gospel in secular music. I'll be featuring some of it here in the next few weeks. I quite like this song because it's a complex subject (for some) and yet his delivery is so nursery school simple and straightforward, it's almost sing-songy.

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock'n' roll adict prancing on the stage
Might have money and drugs at your commands, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody's landlord you might even own banks.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.

You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Sunday Sermonette: Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers -- "Wonderful"

If Sam Cooke is the epitome of what it means to be a soul singer, the group The Soul Stirrers embody all of what rock and roll contains. Within his sound, the secular and the profane walk side by side, with this explosive vocal delivery that is essentially the heart of who he is, crying out to God.  Are the vocals on this song really that far removed from You Send Me?

Formed in 1935, The Soul Stirrers were a quintet that insisted on having two frontmen -- one to sing high and sweet, the other to sing low, with grit -- and set the foundation for gospel, doo-wop, soul and R&B. You can hear where Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, Al Greene, Teddy Pendergrass and countless others got their sound.  The Soul Stirrers were inducted into The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, which gives me at least one good reason to believe that organization isn't completely full of crap for the great ones they consistently overlook.  Like blues guitar icon Hubert Sumlin.

Listen and be blessed.

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Wonderful, God is so wonderful
he's wonderful, God he's wonderful

The Lord is my shepherd, he's my guide
Whenever I need, the Lord will provide
And praise my lords name
I know he's so wonderful

And O, he's wonderful and I better believe
The Lord is wonderful, oh yes he is
And O, he's wonderful, I know the Lord
he's so wonderful

And O, if you never tried God, try the Lord one day
And see when my father come down and make a way
And O, i can't help it but love God
he's so wonderful, wonderful etc.

He's been my mother and my father too
There's no limit to what my Lord can do

and O, I love God, he's so wonderful

Sunday Sermonette: Sam Cooke -- "Until Jesus Calls Me Home"

If this isn't the epitome of what it means to sing from your soul, then I don't know what is. Sam Cooke is so underrated as a vocalist. He is so much more than You Send Me... 

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Why should I worry when trouble fall
When other people don't care at all
I'm gonna find consolation
In God's sweet eye of songs

Oh, when others worry, feeling low
I'm not gonna worry anymore
I'm gonna sing on, child of Jesus calls me home
I'm gonna sing till Jesus calls me home

Oh, I'm gonna sing till Jesus call me home
Oh, we have tried yes, may have worn
But will He come? Yes, He may come
I'm gonna sing till Jesus call me home
Call me home

Why should I worry 'bout somethings
When other people can laugh and sing
I'm gonna ask my loving Saviour
While I'm all alone

Well, for Jesus said if I live right
He'll surely help me when my fight
So I'll sing on child to Jesus call me home
I'm gonna sing, well, till my Jesus call me home

Oh, I'm gonna sing till my Jesus call me home
There'll be some friend, traveling towards His arm
I'm gonna tell Him, Heavenly Father
I'm gonna sing till Jesus call me home

Sunday Sermonette: The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir -- "Total Praise"

This Richard Smallwood classic isn't my favorite song but it's definitely in my top five. Although this is beautiful, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir's a capella version is even more entrancing.

Listen and be blessed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills
Knowing my help is coming from You
Your peace you give me in time of the storm

You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to you

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen

Sunday Sermonette - Rev. Shirley Caesar

...and now, a testimonial and an uplifting word in song from The Right Revrend Shirley Caesar, a gospel legend. I love it that this song is basically a waltz. Maybe that's why it sounds like it wants to be a country song. The trills from the piano only heighten the twangy effect.

Listen in and be blessed.



No Charge

My sister's little boy came in the kitchen one evening
while she was fixing supper
and he handed her a piece paper he had been writing on
and after wiping her hands on an apron
She took it in her hands and read it
and this is what it said:

For mowing the yard $5
And for making up my own bed this week $1
For going to the store $.50
And playing with little brother while you went shopping $.25
Taking out the trash $1
And for getting a good report card $5
And for raking the yard $2
Total owed $14.75

Well she looked at him standing there and expecting
And a thousand memories flashed through her mind
So she picked up pen and turned the paper over and this is what she wrote:

For the 9 months I carried you holding you inside me $ NO CHARGE
For the nights I sat up with doctored you and prayed for you $ NO CHARGE
For the time and tears and the costs through the years
There is NO CHARGE
When you add it all up the full cost of my love is $ NO CHARGE

For the nights filled with grey
And the worries ahead
For the advice and the knowledge
And the costs of your college
$ NO CHARGE
For the toys, school, and clothes
And for wiping your nose
There's NO CHARGE son
When you add it all the full cost of my love is NO CHARGE

Well you know when I think about that
I think about the day that Jesus went out to Calvary and gave his life as a ransom for me
When I think on the words "If Any Man be in Christ He's A New Creature"
I like to think about the very minute that he shedded his blood
My debt was paid in full
And I want you to know today
when you add it all up
The full cost of Real Love is NO CHARGE

Sunday Sermonette

 Here's Andrae Crouch -- a gospel music icon, if there ever was one -- singing his classic Through It All at a Billy Graham revival in New Mexico in 1975. Listen and be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette

This is the music that raised me. This is the kind of music that swirled just above my head before I ever sang a note. This is what I sang as a child, before I sang anything else. This is the pitch and tone of prayer and praise and worship: an anointed, spirit-filled choir that's physically in the groove, with that backbeat driving all of it forward.  I love this song -- Call Him Up (Can't Stop Praising His Name) by Keith Pringle.   When this song is done right, it's everything. 

Listen in and be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette

This is Sylvester Stewart -- otherwise known as Sly Stone -- at the tender age of nine (!!!) singing Walkin' In Jesus Name.  Listen in and be blessed!

Sunday Sermonette

...and now, a word from Walter Hawkins' Love Center Choir as they perform the classic Follow Me from their mega-award winning album Love Alive!  So soulful, so funky -- and yes, it's pure gospel. I listened to everything as a small tyke but songs like this are what I sang in the junior choir, this is what came out of me on a daily basis.

Listen in and be blessed!

Sunday Sermonette

 ...and now, let us take a moment to sing -- and in some cases, learn -- The Black National Anthem (sometimes referred to as The Negro National Hymn), brought to you by Ray Charles. Enjoy and be blessed!

Sunday Sermonette

This is one of my favorite songs ever, as led by the legendary Rev. Clay Evans -- evangelist, civil rights leader and founder of Chicago's Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, otherwise known as The Ship to its many parishoners. 

Rev. Evans story is a fascinating one.  It was when he was hard at work in a music club in Chicago as a porter that he realized that he could sing. Instead of joining a band, he became a pastor and sang gospel music. (Ah, the road not taken.) With weekly sermons via radio and television that reached millions, he rose to prominence in the pulpit, politics and gospel music, having co-founded Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) with Rev. Jesse Jackson, serving as pastor of The Ship for 42 years and releasing more than 3 dozen albums with his gospel choir -- many of them, award-winning classics.

Listen in and be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette

Here's a real gospel shouter, if there ever was one -- Dorothy Love Coates (imitated by many pop/soul vocalists, including Wilson Pickett, Little Richard and Mavis Staples) and The Original Gospel Harmonettes (also imitated to death), singing I'm Just Holding On. Listen in and be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette

...and now, I give you The Jackson Southernaires, a legendary gospel group from Mississippi and a personal favorite, singing The Old Ship of Zion.  Be blessed.

Sunday Sermonette

...now this brings back memories.  Dr. Mattie Moss Clark -- choir director and yes, mother to The Clark Sisters -- directs as Timothy Wright sings I'll Be A Witness. Be blessed!