“Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” has three familiar verses. Here’s a video of the Crist Family, several years ago, singing these three verses: The lyrics were written by Edward Hooper, who ministered to sailors at Church of the Sea and Land in New York City in the later 1800s. His original 1871 manuscript of this song …
As we know it, the fourth and concluding verse of “It is Well With My Soul” begins with, “And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.” But, originally, that wasn’t verse #4—it was verse #6. Horatio Spafford originally wrote six verses to the song. Verses 1-3 in Spafford’s original are the same …
George Amon Webster, baritone for The Cathedrals for a decade (1969-1979), passed away last night. He had been battling cancer, strokes, and other health issues for several years. Due to declining health, he was in hospice for the last few months. News of his passing was confirmed on social media by several fellow alumni from …
Song Snapshots is a column featuring the stories behind new and classic Southern Gospel songs. “Even from your earliest years,” Neil Enloe observes, “the identity of your gender is very strong. And it struck me one day that we are going to be the bride of Christ. Men will be part of the bride! So …
Song Snapshots #26: The Next Time I Get Married (Couriers) Read More »
Several months ago, I was listening to a seminary course on how to preach. The professor was illustrating his point that the actual words said are only a fraction of what is necessary in a successful sermon; he used three Greek words to illustrate his point, partly because seminary professors are fond of using Greek …
Song Snapshots is a column featuring the stories behind new and classic Southern Gospel songs. One day, as Neil Enloe was reading his Bible, he came across the Acts 27 account of Paul’s shipwreck. Unlike other versions, the King James Version, which he describes as “the version of my life,” names the storm—”Euroclydon.” He thought …
Song Snapshots is a column featuring the stories behind new and classic Southern Gospel songs. One year, at the Singing News Fan Awards, Joseph Habedank was talking with Chuck Trivette. (Chuck is a former Perrys pianist and is Libbi Perry Stuffle’s brother-in-law.) Chuck told Joseph, “I was thinking it over; when we get to Heaven, …
Song Snapshots #21: Room With a View (11th Hour) Read More »
Earlier this week, Allison Durham Speer launched the GodSong Music Academy. Daniel: Most of my readers know that you have a connection to the Speer Family, but many are new enough to the genre that they don’t know the connection. How are you connected? Allison: I married into the Speer Family in 1989. I married …
Past the Press Release is an interview series featuring a new member of a professional Southern Gospel group. It’s a chance to look past the standard “excited to be here” press release comment and learn a little more about them. In years past, you may have met Paul Harkey at an Anchormen or LeFevre Quartet …
Past the Press Release: An Interview with Paul Harkey Read More »
Southern Gospel finds its roots in Southern shape-note singing. The Sacred Harp singing convention tradition preserves this older stylistic form in a fashion largely unchanged from what our ancestors experienced 150 years ago. Many Southern Gospel fans are aware that the more participatory Sacred Harp tradition still exists, while many Sacred Harp fans are aware of …
Babylon is Fallen: A Look at Southern Gospel’s roots Read More »