| "Move On Up a Little Higher" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Mahalia Jackson | |
| Released | December 1947 |
| Recorded | Friday, September 12, 1947 |
| Genre | Gospel |
| Length | 3:01 |
| Label | Apollo |
| Songwriter(s) | Rev. William Herbert Brewster |
| Producer(s) | Art Freeman |
"Move On Up a Little Higher" is a gospel song written by W. Herbert Brewster, first recorded by Brother John Sellers in late 1946, [1] but most famously recorded on September 12, 1947, by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, a version that sold eight million copies [2] and is the best-selling gospel song of all time. The song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in (1998). [3] In 2005, the Library of Congress honored the song by adding it to the National Recording Registry. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century , by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock. [4]
Composer Rev. William Herbert Brewster (1897-1987) composed "Moved On Up a Little Higher," through the imagery of a "Christian climbing the ladder to heaven," the song encourages black upward mobility, hence reflecting the postwar Afro-modernist sentiments:"
"Move on Up" was written for one of Brewster's religious pageants or passion plays. Brewster's maintained that the entire piece—lyrics, melody, and harmony—came to him in one flow, and shortly thereafter he taught the song to Queen C. Anderson, his principal vocal soloist. It was Mahalia Jackson who, according to Brewster, "knew what to do with it. She could throw the verse out there." [6] Producer Art Freeman insisted Jackson record "Move on Up a Little Higher"; released in December 1947, [7] the single became the best-selling gospel record of all time, selling in such great quantities that stores could not meet the demand. [8] Brewster was pastor of East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church, one of the churches where young Elvis Presley studied the ecstatic moves of his gospel heroes. [9]
"Move on Up a Little Higher," September 12, 1947, New York City, Apollo: Mahalia Jackson (vocal), Mildred Falls (piano), and Herbert James Francis (organ). [10]
"I Will Move on Up a Little Higher," New York City, November 23, 1954, Columbia, (Rev. William Herbert Brewster/Arranger Mahalia Jackson): The Falls-Jones Ensemble, with Mildred Falls (piano), Ralph Jones (organ), Jack Lasberg (guitar), Frank Carroll (bass), Bunny Shawker (drums), and Mahalia Jackson (vocal). From The World's Greatest Gospel Singer album, Columbia CL 644; Originally Released March 14, 1955. [11]
Albert Leornes Greene, known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music.
The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on Soul, Doo wop, and the Motown sound, some of the secular music that owed much to gospel.
Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S. During a time when racial segregation was pervasive in American society, she met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world.
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes. Including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music is characterized by dominant vocals and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, including "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Peace in the Valley". Recordings of these sold millions of copies in both gospel and secular markets in the 20th century.
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The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group active from the mid-1920s to the late-1950s. The band featured harmonica, kazoo, fiddle and mandolin or banjolin, backed by guitar, piano, washboard, washtub bass and jug. They played slow blues, pop songs, humorous songs and upbeat dance numbers with jazz and string band flavors. The band made the first commercial recordings in Memphis, Tennessee, and recorded more sides than any other prewar jug band.
"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" is a gospel song. The lyrics were written by Thomas A. Dorsey, who also adapted the melody.
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"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. in 1939. It was first recorded on May 9, 1941, by Billie Holiday and released by the Okeh Records in 1942.
Apollo Records was a record company and label founded in New York City by Hy Siegel and Ted Gottlieb in 1944. A year later it was sold to Ike and Bess Berman. Apollo was known for blues, doo-wop, gospel, jazz, and rock and roll.
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. It is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of black gospel music.
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Mahalia Jackson was the preeminent gospel singer of the 20th century, her career spanning from about 1931 to 1971. She began singing in church as a child in New Orleans, then moved to Chicago as an adolescent and joined Chicago's first gospel group, the Johnson Singers. By demand, she began to sing solo at funerals and political rallies. For about 15 years, Jackson toured a circuit of churches and revivals spreading gospel blues throughout the U.S. working odd jobs to make a living. Her first recordings were made in 1931, produced by the owner of a funeral parlor in Chicago where Jackson often sang, although these have been lost.
