"It is a great joy and an . Dorsey also recorded under the names George Ramsey, Memphis Jim, Memphis Mose, Railroad Bill, Smokehouse Charley, Texas Tommy, and others. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Personal expressions such as clapping, stomping, and improvising with lyrics, rhythm, and melody were actively discouraged as being unrefined and degrading to the music and the singer. In order to improve his skills and identify himself as a professional, he briefly took piano lessons from a teacher associated with Morehouse College, as well as a harmony course at the college itself. (For more of Thomas A. Dorsey's work, see also "Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey," added to the National Registry in 2002.) "I just tried to make my little talk to the Lord but it was wasted, I think," Dorsey tells the audience. 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. As the head of the NCGCC, he traveled the "gospel highway": a circuit of churches and similar venues throughout the U.S. where he trained singers and choirs. 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". Report this film, "You mean to tell me you don't know 'bout this good news? ABOUT THE EPISODE, Guide My Feet traces African-Americans as they move from the rural South to the promised land of the industrial North. Thomas Andrew Dorsey, (born July 1, 1899, Villa Rica, Ga., U.S.died Jan. 23, 1993, Chicago, Ill.), American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose many up-tempo blues arrangements of gospel music hymns earned him the title of "Father of Gospel Music." Dorsey was the son of a revivalist preacher. In 1931, Dorsey experienced great personal tragedy again: the death in childbirth of both his wife and newborn son devastated him. Search the characters on YT, wonderful performances via 78's. It just makes you feel like you want to you hear me say I want to fly away somewhere? Learn more. Fulfilled, perhaps. ABOUT THE EPISODE. Young Thomas Dorsey describes feeling alienated from school and church during his first years in Atlanta. Extremely entertaining documentary that takes a look at religious music as we get to meet two key people. It may seem out of place for a documentary about gospel music, especially to a more modern audience. In the film, he tells the story of how the death of his wife and their newborn child led him to church music. It featured syncopated notes in an eight-bar blues structure; but instead of themes of defiance in the face of despair - the theme most common in the blues - this new music told stories of hope and affirmation. Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith. "[b] after hearing him perform at the National Baptist Convention. The biggest hinderance to the next thing God wants to do is the last thing God did. [3][a], Religion and music were at the center of the Dorseys' lives, and young Thomas was exposed to a variety of musical styles in his early childhood. Check out Charles Pike in the extras. In time, they discover that the true wounds lie within themselves. Dorsey based the music of his most popular and widely performed gospel song on and old hymn called "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" One of the most acclaimed music documentaries of all time, Say Amen, Somebody is George T. Nierenberg's masterpiece a joyous, funny, deeply emotional celebration of African American culture, featuring the father of Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey (""Precious Lord, Take My Hand""); Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith; and soul-shaking performances by the Barrett Sisters, the O'Neal Twins, and Zella . "From a childhood day I dreamed of being a great singer, and singing over in Europe. The companion book of the same title was written by NPR correspondent Juan Williams (with historical notes by University of Indiana professor Quinton Hosford Dixie). Out of that tragedy he wrote the song for which he is best known, "Precious Lord," which has been translated into 50 languages and recorded with success by gospel and secular singers alike, including Elvis Presley, much as Dorsey's "Peace in the Valley" was a hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford and others. 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. The Dorsey brothers' father, Thomas Dorsey, Sr., was a cornet-playing coal miner who also led the Shenandoah town band and gave music lessons on the side. This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys is a co-production of Blackside Inc. (Eyes on the Prize, Americas War on Poverty, and Malcolm X: Make it Plain) and The Faith Project, Inc. in association with the Independent Television Service. "You have this kind of new tradition of people singing and re-invigorating gospel music in a different sort of way," she says. With church no longer the focal point of his parents' lives, his connection to organized religion waned. Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022. 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. In 1923, he became the pianist and leader of the Wild Cats Jazz Band accompanying Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, a charismatic and bawdy blues shouter who sang about lost love and hard times. He spent his afternoons and evenings watching vaudeville performances. People are responding to these singers because it feels good! 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. Dorsey was the first black person to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Van Matre, Lynn, "Praises To Be For 'Father of Gospel'". Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022. Nierenberg's other main character was Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, one of gospel's pioneering female ministers and performers, and a mentor to younger singers. Courtesy Milestone Films 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). (Harris, pp. According to Harris, by then Dorsey's piano style was already somewhat out of vogue. I say this all the time, as someone who grew up in and out of the church, no matter how far Ive strayed from Christianity and the church itself, I will always love gospel music. In Chicago, Dorsey adopted the name Georgia Tom and found work as a session musician. Just a genuine soul of a man. eval(decodeURIComponent('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%5c%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%4c%61%4a%75%61%6e%61%20%42%61%6e%6e%69%6e%67%20%26%6c%74%3b%6c%61%6a%62%61%6e%6e%69%6e%67%40%70%65%6f%70%6c%65%70%63%2e%63%6f%6d%26%67%74%3b%5c%22%3e%4c%61%4a%75%61%6e%61%20%42%61%6e%6e%69%6e%67%3c%5c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b')). [8], Dorsey worked with Rainey and her band for two years, wherein he composed and arranged her music in the blues style he was accustomed to, as well as vaudeville and jazz to please audiences' tastes. He moved to Chicago and became a proficient composer and arranger of jazz and vaudeville just as blues was becoming popular. I bet he and God are having a ball in Heaven! There is no sense of social performance outside of what is naturally there. 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. There he was impressed by the singing of W. M. Nix. By far the best documentary Ive seen! Including all the embellishments in gospel blues would make the notation prohibitively complicated. The adjustment for the entire family was difficult, culminating in Thomas being isolated, held back at school, and eventually dropping out after the fourth grade when he was twelve years old. There was just something special happening when you walked into these churches and much of that power is on display in this. [9], 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. eval(decodeURIComponent('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%5c%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%41%6c%76%69%6e%20%4c%65%77%69%73%20%20%26%6c%74%3b%61%6c%76%61%6c%69%76%65%33%31%36%40%79%61%68%6f%6f%2e%63%6f%6d%26%67%74%3b%5c%22%3e%41%6c%76%69%6e%20%4c%65%77%69%73%20%3c%5c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b')). That's not surprising, but it is surprising that the filmmakers exposed it as they did because it's quite unflattering. Thomas Markle Sr has said he will not allow his daughter, Meghan Markle, to "bury" him while he is still alive.. But it hasn't been seen in theaters in nearly 30 years. Please try again. Film Critic Roger Ebert listed this as the 8th best film of 1983. July 25, 2003 Thomas Dorsey combined sacred and secular styles to create a revolution in music. The narrow focus of this doc lets us really dive into the world and upturn the furniture rather that only tread upon the surface of the genre and its leaders. We long for it, and when it comes to us it is directly from our heavenly Father. The tune he wrote, Take My Hand, Precious Lord, came, he says, direct from God. "[27] However, once known, Dorsey could offer a "charming smile", according to Heilbut, and his enthusiasm "often lifts his voice to an irrepressible falsetto". 1982 It charts the devbelopment of underground churches, and attempts by slaves and free blacks to unify the black community. [49] In Dorsey's wake, R&B artists Dinah Washington, who was a member of the Sallie Martin Singers, Sam Cooke, originally in the gospel band the Soul Stirrers, Ray Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, and the Coasters recorded both R&B and gospel songs, moving effortlessly between the two, as Dorsey did, and bringing elements of gospel to mainstream audiences. Ive been trying to get this DVD for a while Thanks, Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2022. Those sisters will forever be in my heart.. Recommended as an antidote to the blahs. [47], 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 protges.

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