Sunday Sermonette: Say Amen, Somebody!

Director and producer George T. Niernberg's now legendary 1980 gospel film Say Amen, Somebody! is an epic must see documentary, if only for the chance to experience the legendary Thomas Dorsey in action as a choir director and musician at 83 years young. Christian music is a huge tree with many branches. Mr. Dorsey's take on gospel music combined Christian praise with jazz. It is blues based, it is explosive and it is most definitely infectious.

Before he came along, what did we have?  English hymns? Gregorian chants? This sound changed everything. I can't imagine a world sonically without it. 

Watching this trailer brought back a flood of memories. This was an enormous part of my Southern experience -- to be immersed in this music, this sound, day after day, week after week, for the entirety of my childhood. 

If you can't see the documentary, get the soundtrack.

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: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train

Sister Rosetta Tharpe -- vocalist, songwriter and guitarist -- is the undisputed Godmother of Rock and Roll.  She was the first bonafide gospel star and yet, her trailblazing extends far beyond the church in three very important ways. First, she infused gospel with rock and roll the way Ray Charles infused R&B with gospel.  Secondly, she did this with the electric guitar, which was a new item at the time, and played it like none other. Thirdly, because she was a master of the electric guitar (she started playing in church when she was 3 years old), she was a strong influence with artists like Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley -- and they influenced everyone, most notably bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. And who hasn't been influenced by The Beatles and the Stones?

They're all standing on her shoulders. It is for these reasons and more that her body of work can't be denied or diminished.

This woman is my heroine and in many ways, my blueprint: here she is, performing for a European audience, in a beautiful gown with that white Gibson, singing an old Negro spiritual her way -- and talking smack to pianist Otis Spann, no less.  What a glamorous, flamboyant performer she was -- and yes, so theatrical.  It's everything I aim for, when I perform. It's like I was doing it, then I discovered her and found a parallel line that eventually ran all the way through me -- from her Southern beginnings in COGIC to her time in New York City and eventually Europe.

Listen in and be blessed.

This Train

This train is bound for glory - this train;
This train is bound for glory - this train;
This train is bound for glory - all who ride it must be holy;
This train, this train, this train.

This train has left the station - this train; 
This train has left the station - this train; 
This train has left the station - this train takes on every nation; 
This train, this train, this train.

This train don't carry no liars - this train;
This train don't carry no liars - this train;
This train don't carry no liars - no false pretenders, no back-biters;
This train, this train, this train.

This train don't pull no gamblers - this train;
This train don't pull no gamblers - this train;
This train don't pull no gamblers - no crap-shooters, no midnight ramblers;
This train, this train, this train.

This train is a clean train - this train;
This train is a clean train - this train;
This train is a clean train - everybody ride it in Jesus' name;
This train, this train, this train.

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.

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 -- "Be With Me Jesus"

When I hold still and remember my earliest recollections of music, it sounded a lot like this -- a sacred chant in a sanctified place, with so many voices crying out to God.

Listen and be blessed.

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Oh Lord, the time is growing nigh
When I must breathe my last breath inside
Lord, in my dying hour, stay with me, Lord

Oh Lord, my friends have gathered 'round
They're watching me slowly, slowly sinking down
Lord, in my dying hour, stay with me, Lord

Now Lord, now Lord, now Jesus time have come
When I'm a leave my earthly home
Friends standing around, tear in the eyes

They know that I am about to die
But I'm not worried, I'm not afraid
I know you do, Jesus, just what You say
You be with me Lord, day and night
I'm not afraid, I said I'm dying, don't leave me now

Oh Lord, I know you'll stand by me
When I'm in trouble, when I'm in misery
And Lord, in my dying hour, stay with me, Lord

Oh Lord, I know You'll stand by Your word
Whenever I call You, I know You have already heard
Lord, in my dying hour, stay with me, Lord

Now Lord, I said farewell, fare thee well
Fare thee well to my friends down here
I got loved ones waiting for me up there

Oh Lord, others are waiting for me
What a reunion, I know that will be
Lord, in my dying hour, stay with me, Lord

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.

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

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... 

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

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

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 Lady Tramaine Hawkins -- the first vocalist I ever made a deliberate effort to imitate, ever.  She's a real powerhouse.

While she was in high school, she was a member of The Heavenly Tones which eventually became  Little Sister, the four member group that sang backups for Sly and The Family Stone -- on recordings and in concert.  Lady Tramaine eventually married Walter Hawkins and was lead vocalist with his Love Center Choir for years. That album Love Alive! is a basic and simply shimmers with empassioned brilliance. It's the perfect synthesis of soul, funk and traditional gospel. 

How interesting that Lady Tramaine, the Hawkins brothers and Sylvester Stewart were walking down the same (gospel) path, more or less...

Sunday Sermonette

Here's Andre Crouch -- one of the founding fathers of 70s soul-infused gospel -- singing He's Brought Me This Far.  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!