Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a four part pancocojams series on the Gospel, Pop, and Jazz song "Shadrach". This song is also known as "Shadrack" and as "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego".
Part III showcases a YouTube video of a 1952 clip of the Gospel group The Larks performing "Shadrach" on the Ed Sullivan show.
Selected comments from this YouTube video are included in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/shadrach-shadrach-meshack-and-abendego.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I provides information about Robert MacGimsey, the White American composer of the songs "Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and some other songs.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-golden-gate-quartet-shadrach.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about the song "Shadrack". This post also showcases two YouTube sound files of this song as performed by The Golden Gate Quartet.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/louis-armstrong-shadrach-and-brook.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases a video of Louis Armstrong performing "Shadrach".
The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert MacGimsey, the composer of this song. Thanks also to The Golden Gate Quartet for their arrangement of this song and thanks to The Larks for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publisher of this example on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE - The Larks "Shadrack" Killer Gospel-Soul
FairDealDan, Published on Aug 25, 2006
-snip-
The summary for this video contains information that is disputed by some commenters. That summary reads: "Apparently there are two groups called The Larks, This one is NOT the one with Don Julian. This group the lead singer is Eugene Mumford. This tune gets better every time I listen...takes a while to appreciate since its so understated but the lead vocalist begins to "loom" awesomely after repeated listenings. And did Ray Charles get "Hit The Road Jack" from thos number?
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only."
-snip-
According to , this song was performed by the Larks in 1952. This is a clip of the Ed Sullivan television series. (USA). The Larks' performed the Golden Gate Quartet's arrangement of this "Shadrach".
Here's some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only).
1. K.J. O.DOHERTY, 2007
"would make the GOLDEN GATE QUARTET proud...tenor eugene mumford would briefly join THE GATES in their adopted Eupopean homebase....gene sang a stunning version of white christmas that appears on numerous GATES albums that were issued and reissued for decades throught europe....a briilant quartet it is wonderful to have this pricelees footage that captures their AWESOME talent"
**
REPLY
2. PhillySouth, 2007
"Say wait a minute Dan - are you talking about Gene Mumford's Larks or Don Julian's Larks? Two separate groups. This looks like Mumford's Larks and nothing to do with Don Julian, or do I have this backwards?"
**
REPLY
3. thegroupharmonyalley, 2013
"There were several Larks groups, two of which were related with Eugene Mumford. The Thurmon Ruth Larks, and then, the Eugene Mumford Larks."
**
REPLY
4. 8301969, 2015
"This is the second Larks group, the 1st group was Eugene Mumford-Tenor, Thermon Ruth-2nd Tenor, Raymond Barnes-1st Tenor, Alden "Allen" Bunn-Baritone, David McNiel-Bass, they did "My Reverie", "Darling" all for Apollo. This group of Larks is David "Boots" Bowers-Bass (King OdomQt./King Odom Four), Orville Brooks-Baritone (Jubilaires, Golden Gate Qt), Isaiah Bing-Tenor (King Odom Qt/King Odom Four) Orville Brooks is doing the lead this 2nd group recorded for the Apollo subsidiary Lloyds.. I also knew Don Julian and he was aware of the early Larks groups."
**
REPLY
5. thebigfist, 2009
"Actually there was a third group,called the Larks,a caucasian group.This is a great version of Shadrach,Meshach and Abednigo,the 3 Hebrew children who were placed in a boiling cauldron by Nebuchadnezzar for failing to worship his pagan Gods,yet they failed to burn!This was one of the earliest miracles recorded in the Bible."
**
6. Rowoches, 2008
"This was a very popular song during the 1960's. Several quartets covered it, as well as groups like the Clara Ward Singers, and soloists like Louis Armstrong (as some people have already mentioned), Brooke Benton and Cleophus Robinson."
**
REPLY
7. Mrpachuko13, 2018
"Rowoches i think the soul stirrers also covered it"
**
8. skypanther1, 2009
"This group evolved out of the amazing "Selah Jubilee Singers" and later formed the core of the equally stunning "5 Royale"
**
REPLY
9. hegroupharmonyalley,2013
"Very jubilee/spiritual style singing. Absolutely love indulging in this stuff. Real tight weave on the harmony, with clipped syllables. And one of the finest groups in vocal harmony history, no doubt…."
**
10. gilgamess, 2009
"I am not the poster, but I first saw this on the USA Network as part of the "Night Flight" program. They used to show the old "Showtime At the Apollo/Harlem Revue" shows which were a combination of studio performances and Snader Telescriptions (when it's a Snader clip, look closely; you will see a short cartoon of curtains parting). There is no audience, but the performances are live in the studio. I have not seen this for over twenty years, so thank you very, very much Fair DealDan!"
**
11. Philip Da Silva, 2009
"who is the one actually singint the lead on shadrack. I know it's not eugene mumford"
**
REPLY
12. thegroupharmonyalley, 2013
"This is lead of Orville Brooks, not Gene Mumford as indicated above.
**
13. threadgillb, 2009
"Is it me or do I hear the birth of the Elvis singing style here?"
**
REPLY
14. moondogsballroom, 2011
" Excellent! I second the Elvis comment, he was actually a big fan of vocal groups both gospel and secular and both black (including the mills Bros.) and white (the Blackwood Bros.) so it's likely he did hear of this group."
**
15. TheQuietCenter, 2010
"This track is cookin"
**
REPLY
16. hookalakah, 2010
"All of the great black gospel groups could light their fires and heat their skillets with very minimal accompaniment. A guitar or a piano--if that much--was all they needed to cook. And some sang a capella, of course."
**
17. yoR Velcom, 2010
"still looking for the original. this is the closest."
**
18. Hadas Hall, 2010
"No , Ray Charles got 'Hit The Road' from Percy Mayfield , who wrote it and recorded an early demo. Similar feel to this , like a thousand other tunes."
-snip-
This comment is a response to a question the publisher asked in his summary statement.
**
19. yugojazz, 2015
"This is the Golden Gate Quartet's arrangement. They sang it in 1948 and it became a big hit."
**
REPLY
20. Austin Casey, 2015
"@yugojazz Good to know! I thought this was The Larks own. So many groups did this same arrangement."
****
This concludes Part III of this pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Shadrach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shadrach. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2018
The Golden Gate Quartet - "Shadrach" (information, lyrics, & comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of the four part pancocojams series on the song Gospel, Pop, and Jazz song "Shadrach". This song is also known as "Shadrack" and as "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego".
Part II provides information about the song "Shadrack". This post also showcases a YouTube sound file of this song as performed by The Golden Gate Quartet.
Lyrics for this song (as sung by The Golden Gate Quartet) and selected comments from one of the discussion threads of these YouTube examples are also included in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/shadrach-shadrach-meshack-and-abendego.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I provides information about Robert MacGimsey, the White American composer of the songs "Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and some other songs.
A sound file of "Shadrach" as performed by Louis Armstrong and a video of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" as performed by Mahalia Jackson are also included in Part I of this series. The arrangements and some of the lyrics for these renditions may differ from Robert MacGimsey's compositions.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-larks-black-gospel-group-on-ed.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube video of a 1952 clip of the Gospel group The Larks performing "Shadrach" on the Ed Sullivan show.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/louis-armstrong-shadrach-and-brook.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases a video of Louis Armstrong performing "Shadrach".
The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert MacGimsey, the original composer of the song "Shadrach". Thanks also to The Golden Gate Quartet for their musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publisher of this example on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOLDEN GATE QUARTET
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Quartet [retrieved on November 30, 2018]
The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1931 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style.
The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers in 1934, by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia.
[...]
From 1935, the group sang in churches and on local radio, gaining a regular spot on radio station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina in 1936.[2][6] They began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated with barbershop quartets with rhythms borrowed from the blues and jazz like scat singing. They developed a broad repertoire of styles – from Owens' mournful, understated approach in songs such as "Anyhow" or "Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name", to the group's highly syncopated arrangements in "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "SHADRACK"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadrack_(Robert_MacGimsey_song)
"Shadrack" (aka "Shadrach" or "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego") is a popular song written by Robert MacGimsey in the 1930s and performed by Louis Armstrong and others. In 1962 the song was a hit single for Brook Benton, peaking at #19 in Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the week of February 17, 1962.[1]
The song is featured on pop, soul, Gospel and jazz recordings by The Ames Brothers, The Golden Gate Quartet, The Fairfield Four, The Larks, Benny Goodman, Grant Green, Bill Holman, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Scott, Phil Harris, Kay Starr, Louis Prima and several others.[2][3] In the 1951 film The Strip, the song is performed by a band featuring Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, among others.
The lyrics refer to the biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.
[...]
Music
...1962: "Shadrack," a song written by Robert MacGimsey and recorded by him in 1931, was a top 20 hit for Brook Benton. The song had previously been performed by The Golden Gate Quartet (1947), The Larks (1952), Phil Harris and The Sportsmen Quartet (1952), Bobby Scott (1955), Louis Armstrong (1958), The Wanderers (under the title "Shadrach Meshack and Abednego") (1959), and others"....
-snip-
Here's an exchange in a discussion thread for a video of The Larks performing this son on the Ed Sullivan (American television series).*
yugojazz, 2015
"This is the Golden Gate Quartet's arrangement. They sang it in 1948 and it became a big hit."
-snip-
*Part III of this pancocojams series on Shadrach showcases a video of The Larks singing that song in 1952 on the Ed Sullivan television show.
REPLY
Austin Casey, 2015
"@yugojazz Good to know! I thought this was The Larks own. So many groups did this same arrangement."
-snip-
Part III of this pancocojams series on the song "Shadrach" showcases that film clip of The Larks and includes this exchange and other selected comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread.
****
LYRICS
(as recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet)*
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
Now , there were three children from the land of Israel
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
They took a little trip into the land of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
they took a lot of gold and they made him an idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Well, they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the cornet (Oh yeah)
Oh, they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the flute (Ooh-ooh)
Well they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the horn
Great God says you got to bow down and worship the idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
But the children of Israel would not bow down
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
You couldn't fool them with a golden idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
I said you couldn't fool them with a golden idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
So the king put the children in the fiery furnace
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Great God, he heaped on coal and red-hot brimstone
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Made it seven times hotter, hotter than it ought to be
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
And the Good Book says that it even burned up the soldiers the king had put there
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Oh , Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, woo!
Then the Lord God sent him an angel
And he gave him a couple of wings
But he came on down to the middle the furnace
And he began to cool the flames
Them children go so happy
They went struttin' right through the fire
Just laughin' and singin' 'bout the power of the Gospel
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Ohl, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, woo!
Then old Nebuchadnezzar said "Hey there"
When he saw the power of the Lord
They had a big time in the land of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Oh, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego!
-snip-
*This is my transcription of the lyrics for this song. This transcription corrects a few lyrics that are given on https://www.flashlyrics.com/lyrics/louis-prima/shadrack-19
-snip-
That same page includes lyrics for this song "as performed by [Italian American singer] Louis Prima". However, the transcription for Louis Prima's rendition of that song [also] isn't completely accurate.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES - Golden Gate Quartet - Shadrack, 1955
SyberkaPL, Published on Oct 14, 2010
Frank Todd (solo), Orlandus Wilson, Clyde Riddick, Clyde Wright
Original released EP 45rpm record from 1955 with songs recorded in the same year. This is first session of GGQ in Europe, in Paris.
-snip-
Here are a few comments from this sound file's discussion thread(with numbers assigned for referencing purposes only)
1. tuporstar, 2013
"Elvis is on record saying this was his favourite childhood group... and you can hear it- he's basically lifted his whole vocal style from them, I'm stunned."
**
2. xMiStyleZ, 2013
"pitbull has a song sound like that..i guess he just stole chorus...."
**
3. Evan Howard, 2016
"Caravan Palace took this song and cut it up like crazy for their song Clash."
**
4. kirby gamez, 2017
"1:59 is the part Caravan Palace used in Clash. You're welcome."
****
This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series on the song "Shadrach".
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part II of the four part pancocojams series on the song Gospel, Pop, and Jazz song "Shadrach". This song is also known as "Shadrack" and as "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego".
Part II provides information about the song "Shadrack". This post also showcases a YouTube sound file of this song as performed by The Golden Gate Quartet.
Lyrics for this song (as sung by The Golden Gate Quartet) and selected comments from one of the discussion threads of these YouTube examples are also included in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/shadrach-shadrach-meshack-and-abendego.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I provides information about Robert MacGimsey, the White American composer of the songs "Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and some other songs.
A sound file of "Shadrach" as performed by Louis Armstrong and a video of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" as performed by Mahalia Jackson are also included in Part I of this series. The arrangements and some of the lyrics for these renditions may differ from Robert MacGimsey's compositions.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-larks-black-gospel-group-on-ed.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube video of a 1952 clip of the Gospel group The Larks performing "Shadrach" on the Ed Sullivan show.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/louis-armstrong-shadrach-and-brook.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases a video of Louis Armstrong performing "Shadrach".
The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert MacGimsey, the original composer of the song "Shadrach". Thanks also to The Golden Gate Quartet for their musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publisher of this example on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOLDEN GATE QUARTET
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Quartet [retrieved on November 30, 2018]
The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1931 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style.
The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers in 1934, by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia.
[...]
From 1935, the group sang in churches and on local radio, gaining a regular spot on radio station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina in 1936.[2][6] They began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated with barbershop quartets with rhythms borrowed from the blues and jazz like scat singing. They developed a broad repertoire of styles – from Owens' mournful, understated approach in songs such as "Anyhow" or "Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name", to the group's highly syncopated arrangements in "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "SHADRACK"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadrack_(Robert_MacGimsey_song)
"Shadrack" (aka "Shadrach" or "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego") is a popular song written by Robert MacGimsey in the 1930s and performed by Louis Armstrong and others. In 1962 the song was a hit single for Brook Benton, peaking at #19 in Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the week of February 17, 1962.[1]
The song is featured on pop, soul, Gospel and jazz recordings by The Ames Brothers, The Golden Gate Quartet, The Fairfield Four, The Larks, Benny Goodman, Grant Green, Bill Holman, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Scott, Phil Harris, Kay Starr, Louis Prima and several others.[2][3] In the 1951 film The Strip, the song is performed by a band featuring Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, among others.
The lyrics refer to the biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.
[...]
Music
...1962: "Shadrack," a song written by Robert MacGimsey and recorded by him in 1931, was a top 20 hit for Brook Benton. The song had previously been performed by The Golden Gate Quartet (1947), The Larks (1952), Phil Harris and The Sportsmen Quartet (1952), Bobby Scott (1955), Louis Armstrong (1958), The Wanderers (under the title "Shadrach Meshack and Abednego") (1959), and others"....
-snip-
Here's an exchange in a discussion thread for a video of The Larks performing this son on the Ed Sullivan (American television series).*
yugojazz, 2015
"This is the Golden Gate Quartet's arrangement. They sang it in 1948 and it became a big hit."
-snip-
*Part III of this pancocojams series on Shadrach showcases a video of The Larks singing that song in 1952 on the Ed Sullivan television show.
REPLY
Austin Casey, 2015
"@yugojazz Good to know! I thought this was The Larks own. So many groups did this same arrangement."
-snip-
Part III of this pancocojams series on the song "Shadrach" showcases that film clip of The Larks and includes this exchange and other selected comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread.
****
LYRICS
(as recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet)*
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
(Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo)
Now , there were three children from the land of Israel
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
They took a little trip into the land of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
they took a lot of gold and they made him an idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Well, they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the cornet (Oh yeah)
Oh, they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the flute (Ooh-ooh)
Well they told ev'rybody when they heard the music of the horn
Great God says you got to bow down and worship the idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
But the children of Israel would not bow down
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
You couldn't fool them with a golden idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
I said you couldn't fool them with a golden idol
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
So the king put the children in the fiery furnace
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Great God, he heaped on coal and red-hot brimstone
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Made it seven times hotter, hotter than it ought to be
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
And the Good Book says that it even burned up the soldiers the king had put there
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Oh , Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, woo!
Then the Lord God sent him an angel
And he gave him a couple of wings
But he came on down to the middle the furnace
And he began to cool the flames
Them children go so happy
They went struttin' right through the fire
Just laughin' and singin' 'bout the power of the Gospel
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Ohl, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, woo!
Then old Nebuchadnezzar said "Hey there"
When he saw the power of the Lord
They had a big time in the land of Babylon
(Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego)
Oh, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego!
-snip-
*This is my transcription of the lyrics for this song. This transcription corrects a few lyrics that are given on https://www.flashlyrics.com/lyrics/louis-prima/shadrack-19
-snip-
That same page includes lyrics for this song "as performed by [Italian American singer] Louis Prima". However, the transcription for Louis Prima's rendition of that song [also] isn't completely accurate.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES - Golden Gate Quartet - Shadrack, 1955
SyberkaPL, Published on Oct 14, 2010
Frank Todd (solo), Orlandus Wilson, Clyde Riddick, Clyde Wright
Original released EP 45rpm record from 1955 with songs recorded in the same year. This is first session of GGQ in Europe, in Paris.
-snip-
Here are a few comments from this sound file's discussion thread(with numbers assigned for referencing purposes only)
1. tuporstar, 2013
"Elvis is on record saying this was his favourite childhood group... and you can hear it- he's basically lifted his whole vocal style from them, I'm stunned."
**
2. xMiStyleZ, 2013
"pitbull has a song sound like that..i guess he just stole chorus...."
**
3. Evan Howard, 2016
"Caravan Palace took this song and cut it up like crazy for their song Clash."
**
4. kirby gamez, 2017
"1:59 is the part Caravan Palace used in Clash. You're welcome."
****
This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series on the song "Shadrach".
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
"Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego) & "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" - Two Songs By Robert MacGimsey Which Are Mistakenly Thought To Have A Black Composer
Edited by Azizi Powell
This serves as Part I of a four part pancocojams series on the Gospel, Pop, and Jazz song "Shadrack".
This post is also the first post is an ongoing pancocojams series on songs that are mistakenly thought to have Black composers. Other posts in the pancocojams series about songs that are mistakenly thought to have Black composers can be found by clicking the link that is given below.
This pancocojams post provides information about Robert MacGimsey, the White American composer of the songs "Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and some other songs.
A sound file of "Shadrach" as performed by Louis Armstrong and a video of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" as performed by Mahalia Jackson are also included in Part I of this series. The arrangements and some of the lyrics for these renditions may differ from Robert MacGimsey's compositions.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-golden-gate-quartet-shadrach.html for Part II of this series.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-larks-black-gospel-group-on-ed.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube video of a 1952 clip of the Gospel group The Larks performing "Shadrach" on the Ed Sullivan show.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/louis-armstrong-shadrach-and-brook.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases a video of Louis Armstrong performing "Shadrach".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and religious purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert MacGimsey for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROBERT MACGIMSEY
Excerpt #1:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacGimsey
"Robert MacGimsey (Pineville, Louisiana 1898 - Phoenix, Arizona 1979) was an American composer. His most famous song was "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (1934), a well-known Christmas carol written in the style of an African-American spiritual. MacGimsey also composed "Shadrack," which was a 1962 hit for Brook Benton that was also recorded by Louis Armstrong and many others.
MacGimsey is also known for the song "How Do You Do?" which was originally written for the Walt Disney live-action musical drama Song of the South. The song is also featured in the theme-park attraction Splash Mountain located in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland.
Born in Pineville, Louisiana, of white parents, Robert MacGimsey spent most of his formative years in the company of blacks who lived and worked for and with his family. Due to their influence he wrote in an "African American" style, and he is often mistakenly assumed to be a black composer."....
****
Excerpt #2:
From https://dhcfellow2013asu.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/slave-songs-of-the-georgia-sea-islands-by-lydia-parrish/
Arizona State University Archive Project 2013
Rinna Rem's Fellowship
Processing the Robert MacGimsey Collection
Image | Posted on July 30, 2013 by Rinna
"Robert MacGimsey (1898-1979) was a lawyer, composer, whistler, radio performer, and in my eyes, an ethnomusicologist. He followed his father’s footsteps and practiced law, but MacGimsey’s passion was always music. His popular compositions include “Shadrack” and the Christmas song “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” ...MacGimsey was so popular for his whistling that, at the time of the Depression, he was the highest paid performer ever. He was paid $100/minute to whistle on the radio!... What intrigues me the most, though, is MacGimsey’s lifelong project of documenting and preserving African American folk spirituals.
[...]
Robert MacGimsey was born in Pineville, Louisiana. African American folk spirituals were embedded in his life since birth. He grew up on a plantation and his parents employed African Americans, many former slaves, for help in their house and on the farm. MacGimsey’s nanny, whom he referred to as Aunt Becky, sang spirituals to him as a baby. Many of the hired help on his family’s property became mentors of Robert’s. They always taught him songs and he even attended Baptist church with his “uncles” to participate in singing spirituals. Thus, his passion in life was to learn, document, preserve, transcribe and make accessible to the public African American folk spirituals from the American South. The book pictured above, [Lydia Parrish's] “Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands”, includes music transcribed by MacGimsey. As a trained composer, MacGimsey transcribed these songs, previously transmitted via oral culture, onto paper. As a radio performer, he often sang folk spirituals on-air.
Again, keep in mind that MacGimsey performed pre-Civil Rights Movement, so although it would be best for the original singers to perform, the performers were probably barred from doing so. I believe MacGimsey was the best advocate for the singers as he could be in that pre-Civil Rights Movement era. For instance, on his 7″ tape reels, he labeled the singers individually. Often ethnomusicologists of that era didn’t treat their performers/informants as individuals, and thusly never gave credit where it was due. Instead, performers/singers/informants were just the “vehicles” of music, not recognized individuals of artistic expertise. MacGimsey, on the other hand, took great care to list the individual whom first taught him a song or the individual whom lent their voice to field recordings. Also, he aimed to maintain the dialect of singers in his transcriptions, while he considered other transcriptions as “white-washed.”
Now, what does ethnomusicology or African American folk spirituals have to do with dance? Personally, I see music and dance as imbricated and often dependent genres of performance. Turns out I’m not the only one, either! Check out the Society of Ethnomusicology’s section on Dance, Movement, and Gesture. African American folk spirituals were performed in multiple sites – while working outside, in private, and at church during the ring shout. A ring shout describes church worshippers shuffling and stomping in a circle together, often with ecstatic gestures. In an individual setting, folk spirituals might be sung while working outside on a plantation, the music providing rhythm (and solace) to the gestures of manual labor.
It was difficult to parse out MacGimsey’s transcriptions of folk spirituals from his original compositions (spirituals did influence his own song-writing), but I was able to identify transcriptions with the book Plantation Songbook: the Original Manuscript Collection of Robert MacGimsey. I highly recommend it to learn some songs, but it also includes short essays that reveal his personal relationship to folk spirituals and its performers and his passion for accurate documentation
[...]
Interesting fact: he was commissioned, as an “expert of Negro folk spirituals” by Disney to write music for the controversial movie “Song of the South.” He wrote many songs for the movie (I’ve seen the original manuscripts!) but only the song “How Do You Do?” made it into the movie.
-snip-
I reformatted this excerpt to enhance its readability.
The word "dance" that is given in italics was printed that way in that article. I added Lydia Parrish's name in brackets to this post.
Rinna Rem wrote "I’ll update when this collection is public"... However, I can't locate any update of that site.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Louis Armstrong - Shadrack
Stra2M, Published on May 30, 2012
Louis and The Good Book
New York, February 6, 1958
MCA Records
****
Example #2: Mahalia Jackson Sweet Little Jesus Boy
1joker88, Published on Aug 6, 2009
****
This concludes this pancocojams post.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This serves as Part I of a four part pancocojams series on the Gospel, Pop, and Jazz song "Shadrack".
This post is also the first post is an ongoing pancocojams series on songs that are mistakenly thought to have Black composers. Other posts in the pancocojams series about songs that are mistakenly thought to have Black composers can be found by clicking the link that is given below.
This pancocojams post provides information about Robert MacGimsey, the White American composer of the songs "Shadrach" (Shadrach, Meshack, And Abendego), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and some other songs.
A sound file of "Shadrach" as performed by Louis Armstrong and a video of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" as performed by Mahalia Jackson are also included in Part I of this series. The arrangements and some of the lyrics for these renditions may differ from Robert MacGimsey's compositions.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-golden-gate-quartet-shadrach.html for Part II of this series.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-larks-black-gospel-group-on-ed.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube video of a 1952 clip of the Gospel group The Larks performing "Shadrach" on the Ed Sullivan show.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/louis-armstrong-shadrach-and-brook.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV showcases a video of Louis Armstrong performing "Shadrach".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and religious purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert MacGimsey for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROBERT MACGIMSEY
Excerpt #1:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacGimsey
"Robert MacGimsey (Pineville, Louisiana 1898 - Phoenix, Arizona 1979) was an American composer. His most famous song was "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (1934), a well-known Christmas carol written in the style of an African-American spiritual. MacGimsey also composed "Shadrack," which was a 1962 hit for Brook Benton that was also recorded by Louis Armstrong and many others.
MacGimsey is also known for the song "How Do You Do?" which was originally written for the Walt Disney live-action musical drama Song of the South. The song is also featured in the theme-park attraction Splash Mountain located in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland.
Born in Pineville, Louisiana, of white parents, Robert MacGimsey spent most of his formative years in the company of blacks who lived and worked for and with his family. Due to their influence he wrote in an "African American" style, and he is often mistakenly assumed to be a black composer."....
****
Excerpt #2:
From https://dhcfellow2013asu.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/slave-songs-of-the-georgia-sea-islands-by-lydia-parrish/
Arizona State University Archive Project 2013
Rinna Rem's Fellowship
Processing the Robert MacGimsey Collection
Image | Posted on July 30, 2013 by Rinna
"Robert MacGimsey (1898-1979) was a lawyer, composer, whistler, radio performer, and in my eyes, an ethnomusicologist. He followed his father’s footsteps and practiced law, but MacGimsey’s passion was always music. His popular compositions include “Shadrack” and the Christmas song “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” ...MacGimsey was so popular for his whistling that, at the time of the Depression, he was the highest paid performer ever. He was paid $100/minute to whistle on the radio!... What intrigues me the most, though, is MacGimsey’s lifelong project of documenting and preserving African American folk spirituals.
[...]
Robert MacGimsey was born in Pineville, Louisiana. African American folk spirituals were embedded in his life since birth. He grew up on a plantation and his parents employed African Americans, many former slaves, for help in their house and on the farm. MacGimsey’s nanny, whom he referred to as Aunt Becky, sang spirituals to him as a baby. Many of the hired help on his family’s property became mentors of Robert’s. They always taught him songs and he even attended Baptist church with his “uncles” to participate in singing spirituals. Thus, his passion in life was to learn, document, preserve, transcribe and make accessible to the public African American folk spirituals from the American South. The book pictured above, [Lydia Parrish's] “Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands”, includes music transcribed by MacGimsey. As a trained composer, MacGimsey transcribed these songs, previously transmitted via oral culture, onto paper. As a radio performer, he often sang folk spirituals on-air.
Again, keep in mind that MacGimsey performed pre-Civil Rights Movement, so although it would be best for the original singers to perform, the performers were probably barred from doing so. I believe MacGimsey was the best advocate for the singers as he could be in that pre-Civil Rights Movement era. For instance, on his 7″ tape reels, he labeled the singers individually. Often ethnomusicologists of that era didn’t treat their performers/informants as individuals, and thusly never gave credit where it was due. Instead, performers/singers/informants were just the “vehicles” of music, not recognized individuals of artistic expertise. MacGimsey, on the other hand, took great care to list the individual whom first taught him a song or the individual whom lent their voice to field recordings. Also, he aimed to maintain the dialect of singers in his transcriptions, while he considered other transcriptions as “white-washed.”
Now, what does ethnomusicology or African American folk spirituals have to do with dance? Personally, I see music and dance as imbricated and often dependent genres of performance. Turns out I’m not the only one, either! Check out the Society of Ethnomusicology’s section on Dance, Movement, and Gesture. African American folk spirituals were performed in multiple sites – while working outside, in private, and at church during the ring shout. A ring shout describes church worshippers shuffling and stomping in a circle together, often with ecstatic gestures. In an individual setting, folk spirituals might be sung while working outside on a plantation, the music providing rhythm (and solace) to the gestures of manual labor.
It was difficult to parse out MacGimsey’s transcriptions of folk spirituals from his original compositions (spirituals did influence his own song-writing), but I was able to identify transcriptions with the book Plantation Songbook: the Original Manuscript Collection of Robert MacGimsey. I highly recommend it to learn some songs, but it also includes short essays that reveal his personal relationship to folk spirituals and its performers and his passion for accurate documentation
[...]
Interesting fact: he was commissioned, as an “expert of Negro folk spirituals” by Disney to write music for the controversial movie “Song of the South.” He wrote many songs for the movie (I’ve seen the original manuscripts!) but only the song “How Do You Do?” made it into the movie.
-snip-
I reformatted this excerpt to enhance its readability.
The word "dance" that is given in italics was printed that way in that article. I added Lydia Parrish's name in brackets to this post.
Rinna Rem wrote "I’ll update when this collection is public"... However, I can't locate any update of that site.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Louis Armstrong - Shadrack
Stra2M, Published on May 30, 2012
Louis and The Good Book
New York, February 6, 1958
MCA Records
****
Example #2: Mahalia Jackson Sweet Little Jesus Boy
1joker88, Published on Aug 6, 2009
****
This concludes this pancocojams post.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)