UNITED STATES
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Father I Stretched My Hands To Thee / Lord Remember Me – Peacock Records – 5-1868, recorded in 1962 (Vinyl 7 inch, 45 RPM)
Shaped by such pioneers as Thomas A. Dorsey (1899–1993), Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) and Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973), American gospel church music, born out of the African American religious experience in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stands as one of the most powerful bedrock influences in modern musical culture. Gospel, along with blues, has had a profound impact on soul, rock, pop, jazz, and other genres, including South African urban music.
I am particularly enthralled with vocal groups and ensembles from the 1940s and 1950s, especially the pioneers of what would become known as "hard gospel," a genre that includes groups like the Soul Stirrers and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, whom I feature here.
The singers formed the group in 1936 at the Piney Woods School for the Blind near Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating, they turned professional and eventually signed with Don Robey's Peacock Records in Houston in 1950. Their single "Our Father" (listen below) immediately became a Top Ten hit on the R&B charts, selling over half a million copies. This launched one of the most celebrated careers in Black sacred music.
At the heart of the Five Blind Boys' sound was vocalist extraordinaire Archie Brownlee. His tenor voice could start out relatively gentle and lyrical before suddenly erupting into a piercing falsetto, growl, moan, or agonizing scream. Brownlee could stretch a phrase almost beyond its breaking point before allowing it to collapse back into the rhythm. However, Brownlee’s life was tragically cut short when he died of pneumonia on February 8, 1960, at the age of 35.
Following his death, Roscoe Robinson (1928–2026) took over as the group's lead singer. In this 1962 recording of "Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee," a hymn written by Charles Wesley in 1742, Robinson and the other members of the group — tenor Wilmer "Little Axe" Broadnax, baritone Lloyd Woodard, bass T. Clinkscales, and tenor Jimmy Carter — deliver a performance for the ages, accompanied by a Hammond organ and electric guitar that add a drone-like rhythmic pulse.
Decades ago, listening to the stunning "Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee" (here on Side A) at full volume for the first time was a rare, frenzied, and blissful experience. I was blown away by its trance-like, fluid and sensuous collective intensity, as well as the group's amazing interlocking vocal call-and-response rhythms and harmonic tension.
"Lord Remember Me" (Side B), adapted from traditional prayer songs and spirituals on the themes of salvation and redemption, is a more classic and sprightlier gospel song; a humble plea for divine grace.
The recordings of hard gospel luminaries such as Archie Brownlee, Roscoe Robinson, and Julius Cheeks (1929-1981) from The Sensational Nightingales, greatly inspired the likes of secular R&B, soul, and rock and roll icons such as Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Little Richard.
Façonnée par des pionniers tels que Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) et Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), la musique gospel américaine, née de l’expérience religieuse afro-américaine de la fin du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle, compte parmi les influences les plus importantes de la culture musicale moderne. À l'instar du blues, le gospel a profondément influencé la soul, le rock, la pop, le jazz et bien d’autres genres, notamment la musique urbaine sud-africaine.
Je suis particulièrement fasciné par les groupes vocaux et les ensembles des années 1940 et 1950, notamment les pionniers de ce qui allait devenir le « hard gospel », comme les Soul Stirrers et les Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, que je vous présente ici.
Le groupe a été formé en 1936 à la Piney Woods School for the Blind, près de Jackson, dans le Mississippi. Après le lycée, ils ont entamé une carrière professionnelle avant de signer, en 1950, avec Peacock Records, le label de Don Robey basé à Houston. Leur single « Our Father » (à écouter ci-dessous) s’est immédiatement classé dans le top 10 des classements R&B et s'est vendu à plus d'un demi-million d'exemplaires. Cela a marqué le début de l’une des formations les plus célèbres de la musique sacrée noire américaine.
Au cœur du groupe des Five Blind Boys se trouvait Archie Brownlee, un chanteur d’exception. Sa voix de ténor pouvait partir de notes relativement douces et lyriques, puis se transformer brusquement en un falsetto perçant, un grognement, un gémissement ou un cri déchirant. Brownlee savait étirer un phrasé jusqu’au point de rupture avant de le laisser retomber dans le rythme. Sa vie fut cependant tragiquement interrompue lorsqu’il mourut d’une pneumonie, le 8 février 1960, à l’âge de 35 ans.
Roscoe Robinson (1928-2026) prit alors la relève en tant que chanteur principal du groupe. Dans cet enregistrement de 1962 de « Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee », un hymne composé par Charles Wesley en 1742, Robinson et les autres membres du groupe — le ténor Wilmer « Little Axe » Broadnax, le baryton Lloyd Woodard, le basse T. Clinkscales et le ténor Jimmy Carter — livrent une interprétation inoubliable, accompagnés d’un orgue Hammond et d’une guitare électrique qui ajoutent une pulsation rythmique semblable à un bourdon.
Il y a plusieurs décennies, découvrir pour la première fois, à plein volume, le magnifique « Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee », placé ici en face A, fut pour moi une expérience rare et véritablement extatique. J’ai été subjugué par son intensité collective, fluide et sensuelle, proche de la transe, ainsi que par les incroyables rythmes vocaux entrelacés en appel-réponse et par les tensions harmoniques du groupe.
« Lord Remember Me », sur la face B, est un gospel plus classique et enjoué, adapté de chants de prière traditionnels et de spirituals autour des thèmes du salut et de la rédemption. Ce morceau prend la forme d’une humble supplication adressée à Dieu pour implorer sa grâce.
Les enregistrements de figures emblématiques du « hard gospel » telles qu’Archie Brownlee, Roscoe Robinson et Julius Cheeks (1929-1981) des Sensational Nightingales, ont profondément marqué des icônes du R&B, de la soul et du rock’n’roll, comme Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett et Little Richard.
My other American music post:
Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians TLP 1007 here
Early 1960s photograph of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi:
(from left to right, top to bottom) Bobby Jackson, Lloyd Woodard,
Lawrence Abrams, Wilmer Broadnax, JT Clinkscales,
and lead vocalist Roscoe Robinson :
Note that the Five Blind Boys’ membership actually fluctuated
between four and six.
The Five Blind Boys on the 1950 recording of Our Father,
their first hit single on Peacock Records:
Lead vocalist Archie Brownlee, Lawrence Abrams,
Lloyd Woodard, Joseph Ford, and Rev. Percell Perkins.
Here’s Double Trouble by bluesman Otis Rush (1934 –2018) from
his terrific 1956-1958 Cobra recordings.
Before moving to Chicago, Rush grew up in Neshoba County, Mississippi, where he sang in local gospel choirs. This song exemplifies the influence of hard gospel on Rush’s vocal screams, shouts, and falsettos as well
as his guitar phrasing. Along with Buddy Guy (b. 1936) and Magic Sam
(1937-1969), Rush’s modern, intense, and dynamic style of Chicago
West Side blues influenced Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), who
transformed blues vocabulary into psychedelic rock.
Better Git It in Your Soul from Charles Mingus’ 1959
masterpiece, Ah Hum, on Columbia Records.
The album celebrates and revisits various jazz influences, from Jelly Roll Morton to Duke Ellington, Lester Young and Charlie Parker.
Mingus who grew up in Holiness and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches, where shouting and possession were commonplace, reenacts the trance-like, sanctified church experience in the album's opening track,
"Better Git It in Your Soul." The piece features hand-clapping and hollering, as well as five horns improvising freely and overlapping in call and response to mimic the participation of the entire congregation. Booker Ervin's tenor saxophone playing is particularly brilliant here.
This band features bandleader Charles Mingus on bass,
John Handy on alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet,
Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, Shafi Hadi on alto and
tenor saxophone, Willie Dennis and Jimmy Knepper on trombone,
Horace Parlan on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums:
Please help me purchase important traditional records here below
to pursue my global curation project and share the
best finds with you on this blog:
No comments:
Post a Comment