One of my friends is celebrating a path that God is clearly carving into his life. A good path. A long-awaited path. An exciting path.
I’m excited about it, too, so I decided to help him celebrate. I thought: What better way than some upbeat, hand-clapping, foot-tapping old-time gospel music? Yes … I would find some online videos and send them to him – halfway around the world.
So I began the online search.
It didn’t take long until I hit pay dirt. Big time. At least in my book.
I sent the links to him only last night, so I haven’t gotten a reply yet, but I hope these time-honored songs speak to him. If they speak only a tenth as much to him as they do to me, well, then my mission will be rated “successful.”
Before we proceed, I must remind you, in case you’ve forgotten or have never known this fact: I come from a line of devotees to old-time gospel music. My heritage in worship services is a cappella, but I still vastly appreciate songs that are belted out in living rooms and on stage with the accompaniment of fiddles, banjos, guitars, bass fiddles and the like.
One of my favorite photos ever is of the Howards in Rocky Branch gathered in a family room, strumming up a storm with Papaw Hardy Howard right smack dab in the center and around him sons Kelton, Alton, Jack and V.E. along with in-law Broadus Smith. It warms my heart every time I see it. The Howards were like family to us.
And Mama could sing along with the best of them.
But back to my current tale ….
I’ve been listening repeatedly to the links that I recently found, the ones that I shared with my friend. In addition to speaking to me spiritually, the sound even made me want to get up and (dare I speak it?) clean my house. They are that energizing.
So … I thought I would share with you and maybe help put a little pep into your step. Even if this is not your favorite or most-listened to genre (actually it’s not mine either; it’s just one of several faves), I hope these historical gems brighten your day.
The first one I found was Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys’ “Hand-Clapping Gospel Songs” from 1968. Almost 28 minutes of sheer musical joy. Of course, I had heard about Roy Acuff my entire life, but I never had any – shall we say – real interaction with him. My loss. He was tremendous. My particular faves from this album: “I’ll Fly Away,” “Turn Your Radio On” and “I Saw the Light.” For the link, click here.
Since “I Saw the Light” spoke so deeply to me, I immediately looked up other renditions, notably from the original source, Hank Williams Sr., recorded in 1947. Click here for that. And another from Hank Jr., whom I really enjoyed listening to in the 1980s, here. This version appears to be from The Grand Ole Opry, with Acuff, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs and others joining in. Note to self: Drag out and dust off my old Bocephus albums.
Another true gem is a grainy video from a 1952 episode of “The Kate Smith Evening Hour” – “Glory-Bound Train.” It’s got a whole gaggle of stars – Acuff, Hank Sr., the Carter Family and more. What a treasure. See and listen here.
For those of you who may not be swayed by these historical recordings, I’ve got something for you, too. It’s “I’ll Fly Away” from the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Granted, the recording is still 24 years old and the original song was written in 1929 and it’s not as prone to producing toe taps as the ones above – but it’s a song that has brought immense comfort to millions over the years. To listen, click here.
In sharing these songs, I
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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