Miles College Choir Sings Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child
for campus chapel service 3 December 2014
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases seven examples of the Christmas song that is usually known as "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child". That song was first recorded in 1950 by African American female quartet the Angelic Gospel singers and was composed by that group's pianist/singer Margaret Wells Allison.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Margeret Wells Allison for composing this song and thanks to the Angelic Gospel Singers for being the first vocalists to record "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child" in 1950. Thanks to all of the other singers whose renditions of this song are showcased in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-angelic-gospel-singers-glory-to-new.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "The REAL Composer Of The African American Christmas Song "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child" "
Happy Holidays!
**** ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF "JESUS, OH WHAT A WONDERFUL CHILD" These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #2 - The Angelic Gospel Singers - Glory to the New Born King
(Lyric Video)-
malacomg, Nov 7, 2018
Lyrics:
Jesus, Jesus oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus so holy, meek, and mild New life and hope to he brings
Listen to the angels sing glory, glory glory to the new born king Jesus, Jesus oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus so holy, meek, and mild New life and hope to he brings Listen to the angels sing glory, glory glory to the new born king
He was herald by the angels, born in a lonely manger Virgin Mary was chosen as his mother And Joseph as his earthly father The wise men traveled from afar, they were guided by the shining star Just to see King Jesus where he lay, in a manger filled with hay
Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus, so holy, meek and mild New life, new hope, to all He brings Listen to the angels sing Glory, glory, glory to the newborn King
**** SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #3- Jesus O What A Wonderful Child | Times Square Worship
Times Square Church, Dec 25, 2021
#TimesSquareChurch #Broadway #ChristmasMusic
Christmas is in full swing at Times Square Church.
Twelve-time Grammy Award winner and this year’s Gospel Artist of the Year, CeCe
Winans, headlines “Christmas on Broadway” in heart of New York City at Times
Square Church.
**** SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #4 - Mariah Carey - Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child (Official
Audio)
Mariah Carey, September 14, 2015
**** SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #5 - Jesus What a Wonderful Child by Bam/ The Park Church
Bam, Dec 7, 2023
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #6 - "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child" Sunbeams Choir
Inside FBCG, Feb 15, 2014
First Baptist Church of Glenarden
Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr.
**** SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #7 - 'Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child' by the Premier Gospel
Choir
Premier On Demand, Dec 22, 2011
It's Christmas Eve and we have a very special
treat on the final day of Advent. The fresh, new and happening Premier Gospel
Choir offer us a selection box of Christmas songs
Jesus, Jesus oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus so holy, meek, and mild New life and hope to he brings
Listen to the angels sing glory, glory glory to the new born
king Jesus, Jesus oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus so holy, meek, and mild New life and hope to he brings Listen to the angels sing glory, glory glory to the new born
king
He was herald by the angels, born in a lonely manger Virgin Mary was chosen as his mother And Joseph as his earthly father The wise men traveled from afar, they were guided by the
shining star Just to see King Jesus where he lay, in a manger filled with
hay
Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child Jesus, Jesus, so holy, meek and mild New life, new hope, to all He brings Listen to the angels sing Glory, glory, glory to the newborn King
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a sound file of the African American Christmas song "Glory
to the New Born King" whose title is usually given as "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child".
This post also presents a long excerpt of an entire 2021 Hymnology
Archive article about the 1950s African American female Gospel quartet, The Angelic Gospel Singers, and one of their members Margaret Wells Allison, who composed "Glory To The Newborn King", but is rarely credited for that composition. Instead, "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child" is almost always mislabeled as "traditional".
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Margaret Wells Allison for composing "Glory to the New Born King" (also known as "Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child". Thanks to the Angelic Gospel Singers for their musical legacy and thanks to Chris Fenner with C. Michael Hawn whose article is extensively quoted in this post. I strongly encourage everyone interested in this subject to read their entire article. Thanks also to malacomg for publishing this sound file on YouTube.
**** ARTICLE EXCERPT- "GLORY TO THE NEWBORN KING; JESUS JESUS OH WHAT A WONDERFUL CHILD" by Chris Fenner with C. Michael Hawn for Hymnology Archive and The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology
"Philadelphia musician Margaret Wells Allison (1921–2008)
started her gospel career at a young age by accompanying a group called the
Spiritual Echoes, but just a few years later, she had a vision for a group of
her own. She recruited Ella Mae Norris and Lucille Shird from the Spiritual
Echoes, added her sister Josephine Wells McDowell, and formally launched a new
quartet, The Angelic Gospel Singers, in 1944. Initially, they sang for churches
and revivals and conventions, then entered the recording industry when they
signed with Gotham Records in Philadelphia, where they worked with musician and
executive Harry “Doc” Bagby (1919–1970). Over the course of five years, from
1949 to 1954, the group recorded 50 tracks on 78-rpm records (25 2-sided
discs). Gospel historian Viv Broughton described their success:
[...]
One of their most enduring songs has been “Glory, glory, to
the newborn King,” recorded in 1950 as Gotham G-675, with the B-side “Jesus
Christ is born.” The song began with its memorable chorus, “Jesus, Jesus, oh
what a wonderful child,” sung together by the group, then they continued
together into the verse, “He was herald by the angels; yes, born in a lowly
manger,” returned to the chorus, followed that with an instrumental chorus
(piano and organ), then returned again to the group chorus. This original recording
featured the quartet accompanied by a gently swinging piano and electric organ;
Margaret Allison was the pianist, while Doc Bagby probably served as the
organist, uncredited.
[...]
Based
on what limited information is available, a couple of possibilities account for
why the song was initially credited to Bagby but later to Allison. With Bagby being in a position of authority over a relatively young
group, inexperienced in the legalities of the recording industry, Bagby was
able to leverage his involvement in the musical arrangement into a full credit
without acknowledging Allison, or she simply sold the rights in a deal she
could not have fully appreciated at the time. Additionally, if Bagby was
responsible for having the song scored, he might have felt ownership over the
final product. Whatever happened between them, by 1968 Allison clearly did not
feel Bagby deserved any credit, and his name was omitted from any further
recordings (Bagby died in 1970). One curious exception was made when the song
was printed in Sing! A New Creation: Leader’s Edition (Grand Rapids: Faith
Alive, 2002). In that instance, the text was credited to Bagby, the music to
Allison. Allison’s granddaughter Monica Allison explained what the situation
was like from her grandmother’s perspective:
'At the time of that writing, Nana said that she didn’t know
about owning masters or as she put it, “any of that legal stuff,” she was
focused on the music. Once she was signed, the process of getting credit was
explained to her. She told me that she and the Dixie Hummingbirds would perform
that together and collaborated on the arrangement. What people don’t know about
her is that my grandmother played by ear, she never learned how to write music.
A song would come to her, and she would keep playing until she found the sound
she wanted.[5]'
At some point, Allison became a member of BMI, and 131 of
her songs are registered there, including “Glory to the newborn King.
III. Additional Recordings by Others
In the meantime, the song had exploded across the gospel
choir community, although rarely with proper credit. Horace Boyer once
remarked, “Although not apparent from its early modest success, ‘Glory to the
newborn King’ (1950) became as popular in gospel music circles as ‘White
Christmas’ in the popular music world.”[6] Yet unlike “White Christmas,” the
apparent lack of a published score after 1951 meant the song circulated
aurally, taught by rote, such that the name of the composer was lost in
transmission. This problem has also been exacerbated by the song being known
popularly by the first line of the chorus rather than the last, leading to
difficulties in tracing its lineage.
[...] IV. Publication in Hymnals
{...]
V. Possible Precursors
If the song has any antecedents in traditional expressions
within the African American community, it would be via the spiritual “Mary,
what ya’ goin’ to name that pretty little baby” with its refrain “Glory be to
your newborn King,” published as early as 1903,[10] or “Oh, who do you call the
wonderful counselor? . . . Glory hallelujah to the newborn King,” published as
early as 1949.[11] These expressions might have been known to Margaret Allison
and/or Harry Bagby, but they should not be confused with what was effectively a
brand new song as it was recorded in 1950. The longstanding practice of calling
the song “Traditional” is unfortunate and ought to be abandoned in light of the
song’s documented history and its registry with the Library of Congress." -snip- This article includes photographs, a partial music sheet for this song, and more, as well as footnotes. Here are two of those footnotes with their song's titles given "as is":
10. Jeannette Robinson Murphy, “The true negro music and its
decline,” Independent 55 (23 July 1903), 1723–1730: HathiTrust
11. Hall Johnson, “Glory hallelujah to de new born King,”
Thirty Spirituals (NY: G. Schirmer, 1949), pp. 80–82.
