[41], Gospel historian Horace Boyer writes that gospel music "has no more imposing figure" than Dorsey, and the Cambridge Companion to Blues and Gospel Music states that he "defined" the genre. Dorsey penned many of the best known and familiar songs in gospel, among them "Precious Lord," "Peace In The Valley," "I Don't Know Why," "Search Me Lord," "Old Ship Of Zion," and "The Lord Will Make A Way." Doing the Lord's work, absolutely. An unintended consequence of his sales strategy helped spread gospel blues, as he worked with numerous musicians who assisted in selling his sheet music traveling to churches in and around Chicago. Give me a song, I stick to the note and play it like it is, you won't pay much attention to it. [28] Others took offense to such lively music overshadowing the minister's spoken word, or women delivering spiritual messages through song, taking the place of the preacher who was typically male. (Harris, p. 24. states three, Marovich, p. 71 states five), Sometimes titled "Standing at the Bedside of a Neighbor". "[30] However, once known, Dorsey could offer a "charming smile", according to Heilbut, and his enthusiasm "often lifts his voice to an irrepressible falsetto". Still in Chicago, he attended a Baptist Convention at the Pilgrim Baptist Church in 1922 and was so moved by the musical preacher he heard that night that he had a conversion experience, coining the term, ‘Gospel Music,’ and writing his very first gospel song all within a week. I think about all these blue-collar people who had to deal with Jim Crow, meager salaries, and yet the maid who cleaned up somebody else's house all week long, the porter, the chauffeur, the gardener, the cook, were nobody. Nix elongated some notes to emphasize specific syllables and words and sped up others. Recordings of these sold millions of copies in both gospel and secular markets in the 20th century.[1]. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, including "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Peace in the Valley". Aretha Franklin recorded Take My Hand, Precious Lord in 1956, the same year Tennessee Governor Frank Clement recited it. I like potato chips, moonlight and motor trips, How about you? Dorsey and Martin established a publishing company called Dorsey House of Music, the first black-owned gospel publishing house in the U.S.[21][22] His sheet music sold so well, according to Heilbut, it supplanted the first book of compiled songs for black churches, W. M. Nix's Gospel Pearls, and the family Bible in black households. "[45], Aside from his prodigious songwriting, Dorsey's influence in the gospel blues movement brought about change both for individuals in the black community and communities as a whole. Born in rural Georgia, Dorsey grew up in a religious family but gained most of his musical experience playing blues at barrelhouses and parties in Atlanta. (Staig, Laurence, "Obituary: Thomas Dorsey", Dorsey later filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Illinois Research Clinic in response. Some objected to the degradation of worship through blues shouting. Mahalia Jackson sang … In doing so, he became one of the first musicians to copyright blues music. But he never smiles, rarely relaxes, and when he talks it's with a brooding vigilance bordering on surliness. He did not seek publicity, preferring to remain at his position as music director at the 3,000-seat Pilgrim Baptist Church and running his publishing company. [31] Ministers who would not have considered changing their music programs just a few years before became more open to new ideas. The experience so transformed Dorsey creatively and spiritually, that legend has it that he composed his most famous gospel song, “Take My Hand Precious Lord,” during a mourning service that very week. Dorsey was the first black person to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Prominent hymnal publishers began including his compositions in the late 1930s, ensuring his music would be sung in white churches. He and the NCGCC were featured in the critically acclaimed documentary Say Amen, Somebody in 1982. [29][30], Simultaneously, a shift in Chicago's black churches was taking place. Thomas A. Dorsey Songs List Tracks of Disc 1 1. He also found time to marry Nettie Harper, a church girl. [3][4][5], Thomas A. Dorsey was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, the first of three children to Thomas Madison Dorsey, a minister and farmer, and Etta Plant Spencer. The manager of a gospel quartet active in the 1930s stated that songs written by Dorsey and other songwriters copying him spread so far in such a short time that they were called "dorseys". Dorsey served as the music director at Chicago's Pilgrim Baptist Church for 50 years, introducing musical improvisation and encouraging personal elements of participation such as clapping, stomping, and shouting in churches when these were widely condemned as unrefined and common. The lyrics, however, were written by Dorsey. He infused joy and optimism in his written music as he directed his choirs to do perform with uplifting fervor as they sang. When the pastor at Pilgrim Baptist, Chicago's second largest black church, saw the way it moved the congregation, he hired Dorsey as music director, allowing him to dedicate all his time to gospel music. Dorsey based the music of his most popular and widely performed gospel song on and old hymn called "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" For the big band trombonist and bandleader, see, Thomas Dorsey during his "Georgia Tom" blues period, late 1920s. Copyright Songwriters Hall of Fame © 2021. I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About In My Song - (with Marion Williams) 5. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Jimmy Durante, Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Boots Randolph, Lawrence Welk, Wayne Newton, Josh White and B.B. The first generation of gospel singers in the 20th century worked or trained with Dorsey: Sallie Martin, Mahalia Jackson, Roberta Martin, and James Cleveland, among others. After he finishes, Thereafter, he vowed to concentrate all his efforts in gospel music. [30], During his blues period, Dorsey presented himself as dapper and dignified, which carried over into his gospel work. He was also influenced by blues icons Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Furthermore, when Thomas' father traveled to preach at other churches, Thomas and his mother attended a church that practiced shape note singing; their harmonizing in particular making a deep impression on him. Obliging, Dorsey began, but the multinational group took over: "And they knew it in Damascus, too. The favorite hymn of Martin Luther King, it's been translated into over 50 languages and sung by everyone from Elvis to Leontyne Price, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" remains Thomas A. Dorsey… Thomas A. Dorsey: Charles Beck: June 16, 1937: Covered by : If You See My Saviour: Thomas A. [8][10], Two of his secular songs were recorded by Monette Moore and another by Joe "King" Oliver, ensuring Dorsey a place as one of Chicago's top blues composers. Lyrically, according to Boyer, Dorsey was "skilled at writing songs that not only captured the hopes, fears, and aspirations of the poor and disenfranchised African Americans but also spoke to all people". At the beginning of worship services, Dorsey instructed choruses to march from the rear of the sanctuary to the choir-loft in a specific way, singing all the while. Folk was wipin' their eyes, and some cryin' and bawlin' on, and I told ‘em, 'What is this happenin' here? He also taught black children at a one-room schoolhouse where his son accompanied him and listened to lessons. Dorsey died in Chicago, aged 93. Years later he would compose such compelling gospel classics as “Take My Hand Precious Lord,” “Peace in the Valley,” “The Old Ship of Zion,” “On the Battlefield,” “Walk All Over God’s Heaven” and “Search Me Lord,” which taken in [42][43] Folklorist Alan Lomax claims that Dorsey "literally invented gospel". Many churches sought prestige in their musical offerings, which were often ornate and sophisticated liturgical compositions by classical European composers, such as Handel's Messiah (1742) and Mozart's Alleluia (1773). The cathartic nature of gospel music became integral to the black experience in the Great Migration, when hundreds of thousands of black Southerners moved to Northern cities like Detroit, Washington, D.C., and especially Chicago between 1919 and 1970. [50][i], Due to Dorsey's influence, the definition of gospel music shifted away from sacred song compositions to religious music that causes a physical release of pain and suffering, particularly in black churches. ), McLin became a composer, singer, and voice coach for, Numerous sources state Dorsey coined the term "gospel" to refer to sacred music, but W. M. Nix, the singer who inspired Dorsey at the 1921 National Baptist Convention, compiled a songbook titled, NCGCC annual meetings were also attended by members of the, Dorsey later stated that all the praise he received for this song never eclipsed his grief, saying, "None of it's ever been soothing to me, from that day to this day." [12], Rainey enjoyed enormous popularity touring with a hectic schedule, but beginning in 1926 Dorsey was plagued by a two-year period of deep depression, even contemplating suicide. They had two children, a son named Thomas M. "Mickey" and a daughter, Doris. After the death of a close friend, Dorsey was inspired to write his first religious song with a blues influence, "If You See My Savior, Tell Him That You Saw Me". Still traveling the blues circuit, he began having his gospel songs printed in sheet music form and selling them for 10c apiece to musicians and pastors. And he would sit at the piano and play something and say, 'That's good stuff! His grief prompted him to write one of his most famous … Dorsey wrote the world's most popular gospel-blues song after his wife and newborn son died unexpectedly on August 26 and 27, 1932. Thomas A. Dorsey. Dorsey also recorded under the names George Ramsey, Memphis Jim, Memphis Mose, Railroad Bill, Smokehouse Charley, Texas Tommy, and others. Aretha Franklin recorded Take My Hand, Precious Lord in 1956, the same year Tennessee Governor Frank Clement recited it. It has been translated into more than 50 languages. Dorsey died of Alzheimer's in 1993, listening to music on a Walkman. During much of the decade of the ‘20s, Dorsey continued to straddle the fence between blues and jazz on the one hand and gospel music on the other. The night Rainey opened at Chicago's largest black theater Dorsey remembered as "the most exciting moment in my life". [7], Seeking a greater challenge, Dorsey relocated to Chicago in 1919, where he learned that his style of playing was unfashionable compared to the newer uptempo styles of jazz. Later, in 1940, he married Kathryn Mosely, a union that was blessed with two children. by George Allen. He demanded that members attend practice regularly and that they should live their lives by the same standards promoted in their songs. [6], The Dorseys moved to Atlanta to find better opportunities when Thomas was eight years old. [61], List of people considered a founder in a Humanities field, This article is about the pianist, and composer of jazz, blues, and gospel. The outcome of this is unknown other than the clinic stating they would no longer serve black patients. For a while, any new gospel-blues song, regardless of who wrote it, was called a “Dorsey” until Dorsey himself coined the name “gospel”. Widely regarded as the father of gospel music, Thomas A. Dorsey’s composing talent became a merging point in the early ‘20s, for many musical styles. [52] In 1936, members of Dorsey's junior choir became the Roberta Martin Singers, a successful recording group which set the standard for gospel ensembles, both for groups and individual voice roles within vocal groups. The 1981 meeting featured in the film was the last convention he was able to attend. [47], While presiding over rehearsals, Dorsey was strict and businesslike. : "The Secularization of Black Gospel Music" by Heilbut, Anthony in, This page was last edited on 5 May 2021, at 14:11. --The most famous track would be the title song, which Professor Dorsey recalls on record the composing of it, occurring shortly after the deaths of his wife and first child. The record sold more than seven million copies. ), The song is attributed to Dorsey; the melody is influenced by "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" In 1925, he married Nettie Harper, who Rainey hired as a wardrobe mistress despite her inexperience, so she could join Dorsey on tour. "[24][25], In addition to the high spirited choir performances, Dorsey began introducing uptempo Negro spirituals, what he referred to as "jubilees", alongside published hymns in worship services. "[39], To accomplish this, Dorsey traveled beyond the U.S., through Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East. Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom. Choir members were encouraged to be physically active while singing, rocking and swaying with the music. Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician.Dorsey was known as "the father of gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys". Rainey interacted with her audiences, who were often so enthralled they stood up and shouted back at her while she sang. Labowskie, Mark, ". And Dorsey's own Pilgrim Baptist Church choir performed at the 1933 World's Fair. She was asked to sing it twice more; the response was so enthusiastic that Dorsey sold 4,000 print copies of his song. He studied informally with musicians at the theater and local dance bands, always playing blues. He introduced rituals and standards among gospel choirs that are still in use. Born on July 1, 1899, Dorsey started his music career at the age of 5 when he began singing in local church choirs. It's all the same talent. Thomas Dorsey, the favorite gospel singer of the late Martin Luther King, was one of the United States' most prominent gospel singers and has often been referred to as the father of gospel music. Having already written several major gospel hit songs, he teamed up with guitarist Hudson Whittaker in 1928 and as “Georgia Tom” and “Tampa Red,” the pair co-wrote and recorded “It’s Tight Like That,” which ultimately sold seven million recordings, a record for the blues era, and inspiring a whole new style which came to be known as “Hokum Blues.” And from 1928 to 1932, working as ‘Georgia Tom,’ he contributed to over 300 blues records, working with such immortals as Big Bill Broonzy, Scrapper Blackwell, Kansas City Kitty, Bertha ‘Chippie’ Hill, Frankie ‘Half Pint’ Jackson and Jane Lucas, among January 23, 1993 - Villa Rica. A beat is a beat whatever it is. He gained fame accompanying blues belter Ma Rainey on tour and, billed as "Georgia Tom", joined with guitarist Tampa Red in a successful recording career. Dorsey's father was a minister and his mother a piano teacher. At their debut, Frye strutted up and down the aisles and sang back and forth with the chorus, and at one point Dorsey jumped up from the piano stool in excitement and stood as he played. The Thomas A. Dorsey Birthplace and Gospel Heritage Festival, established in 1994, remains active. Similarly, the NCGCC in 1933 is described by Dorsey biographer Michael W. Harris as "a women's movement" as nine of the thirteen presiding officer positions were held by women. I love a fireside when a storm is due. [16][17][d], Unsure if gospel music could sustain him, Dorsey was nonetheless pleased to discover that he made an impression at the National Baptist Convention in 1930 when, unknown to him, Willie Mae Ford Smith sang "If You See My Savior" during a morning meeting. Hundreds of thousands of newly arrived migrants from the South, with an appreciation of blues, began to outnumber an older guard of ministers and parishioners who favored classical European music in services. Thomas Dorsey | PBS", "Thomas A. Dorsey Is Dead at 93; Known as Father of Gospel Music", Spirit of Dorsey's Songs Fills His Funeral Service, Living Legends of Chicago Gospel Honor Tradition, Carry on Family Legacies, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee List, Frequently Asked Questions: National Recording Registry, Complete National Recording Registry Listing: National Recording Registry, "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again–Thomas Dorsey (1934)", "Peace in the Valley"–Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys (1951), "Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey", "'It's Tight Like That' by Tampa Red and Georgia Tom", "'Future Blues' – Willie Brown (Paramount 1930)", Biography by the Chicago Historical Society, "The Father of the Chicago Gospel Singing Movement", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_A._Dorsey&oldid=1021579618, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Governor's Award for the Arts in Chicago, given 1985, "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again" (1934), added in 2007 – recorded by Dorsey, written by John Whitfield Vaughan in 1922, "Peace In The Valley" by Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys (1951), added in 2006, "It's Tight Like That": Classic of Blues Recording–Single or Album Track, inducted 2014, Ferris, William, and Hart, Mary L., eds. Together they would produce what would later become known as the father Soon he began selling concessions there, and aspiring to join the theater band, honed his musical skills on his family's organ and a relative's piano, picking out melodies that he had heard and practicing long hours. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, he asked to have Mr. Dorsey's best-known gospel song, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord,… by George Nelson Allen (1852). [36][54][55], Despite racial segregation in churches and the music industry, Dorsey's music had widespread crossover appeal. This freed the choir members' hands to clap, and he knew anyway that most of the chorus singers in the early 1930s were unable to read music. [2] Dorsey was the music director at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, from 1932 until the late 1970s. Hide Me In Thy Bosom - (with The Dixie Hummingbirds) 4. “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” one of the most famous gospel songs ever written, was inspired by the personal tragedy of its author. They created enclaves within neighborhoods through church choirs, which doubled as social clubs, offering a sense of purpose and belonging. In 1932, he co-founded the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, an organization dedicated to training musicians and singers from all over the U.S. that remains active. "[b] after hearing him perform at the National Baptist Convention. [7], Directionless, Dorsey began attending shows at the nearby 81 Theater, that featured blues musicians and live vaudeville acts. That song, Take My Hand, Precious Lord has been translated into 32 languages. Including all the embellishments in gospel blues would make the notation prohibitively complicated. "Thomas Dorsey, Father of Gospel Music, Dies at 93". Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was known as “the father of black gospel music” and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as “dorseys.” [2] Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom. McLin remembered that her uncle was "soft-spoken, not loud at all, and very well dressed... he always had a shirt and a tie and a suit, and he was always elegant, very mannerly, very nice. While often living hand-to-mouth, the Dorseys were able to own an organ, which was rare for black families, and Dorsey's mother played during his father's church services. 209–240. Mary Don’t You Weep. [26] Faced with rapid changes, old-line church members who preferred formal, more sedate music programs objected, leading to conflicts in and between Chicago's black churches. Poe, Janita, "Thomas A Dorsey, Gospel Pioneer", National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey, Living legends of Chicago gospel honor tradition, carry on family legacies, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, "Thomas A. Dorsey | Songwriters Hall of Fame", "This Far by Faith . When he was eight years old, the family moved to Atlanta where he soon was working part time selling ginger ale at a local theater, halfway between a pool hall and a barber shop. https://believersportal.com/list-songs-thomas-dorsey-gospel-artist When a girl meets boy Life can be a joy But the note they end on Will depend on Little pleasures they will share So let us compare I like New York in June, how about you? Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. His song "Peace in the Valley", written in 1937 originally for Mahalia Jackson, was recorded by, among others, Red Foley in 1951, and Elvis Presley in 1957, selling more than a million copies each. '"[38][g], He remarried in 1941 to Katheryn Mosley. He returned to blues, recording "It's Tight Like That" with guitarist Hudson "Tampa Red" Whittaker despite his misgivings over the suggestive lyrics. This moving hymn was Martin Luther King, Jr’s favorite song. He recalled visiting Damascus, Syria, where he was approached in a bathroom by a man who recognized his name. [23] He also mentored many young musicians, including training a teenage Mahalia Jackson when she first arrived in Chicago, although he said she did not entirely accept his instruction: "She said I was trying to make a stereotyped singer out of her. thomas a dorsey most famous song Despite being meagerly compensated, he played rent parties, house parties, barrelhouses, and brothels, but enjoyed the social life of a musician. The Dorseys sharecropped on a small farm, while the elder Dorsey, a graduate of Atlanta Bible College (now Morehouse College), traveled to nearby churches to preach. [51], Encountering a "golden age" between 1940 and 1960, gospel music introduced recordings and radio broadcasts featuring singers who had all been trained by Dorsey or one of his protégées. The experience so transformed Dorsey creatively and spiritually, that legend has it that he composed his most famous gospel song, “Take My Hand Precious Lord,” during a mourning service that very week. [1] Billed as "Tampa Red and Georgia Tom" and "The Famous Hokum Boys", the duo found great success together, eventually collaborating on 60 songs between 1928 and 1932, and coining the term "Hokum" to describe their guitar/piano combination with simple, racy lyrics. [13][c], As the blues grew in popularity in the 1920s, black churches condemned it widely for being associated with sin and hedonism. As a result, his sales pitches and chorus performances were not always well-received. He moved to Chicago and became a proficient composer and arranger of jazz and vaudeville just as blues was becoming popular. The experience so transformed Dorsey creatively and spiritually, that legend has it that he composed his most famous gospel song, “Take My Hand Precious Lord,” during a … 20 ] Frye and Sallie Martin were two of the NCGCC opened in St. Louis and Cleveland Chapters of NCGCC... Attending shows at the second meeting of the first musicians to copyright blues music ' '' stuff of which are. 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