Six years later, he teamed with Mahalia Jackson, and the team ushered in what was known as the Golden Age of Gospel Music. Dorsey himself became known as the father of gospel music. [39][40] Folklorist Alan Lomax claims that Dorsey "literally invented gospel". [29], Despite the objections, within months gospel blues had proven to be established in Chicago's black churches. [23] 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. Ma Rainey's Pianist Thomas Dorsey "Say Amen, Somebody" (1982) - YouTube 0:00 / 1:30 Ma Rainey's Pianist Thomas Dorsey "Say Amen, Somebody" (1982) 3,888 views Feb 1, 2021 Thomas A.. 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. In so many words, it's about rising above poverty while still living humble deserting the ways of the world while retaining its best tunes. Glad i was able to get the remastered copy. It goes beyond the series to explore the full diversity of African-American religious expression. Despite being meagerly compensated, he played rent parties, house parties, barrelhouses, and brothels, but enjoyed the social life of a musician. [33][24], Notably, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" was the favorite song of Martin Luther King Jr., who asked Dorsey to play it for him on the eve of his assassination. 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. Warts and politics. It is the story of two sourthern migrants, Rev. Young Dorsey was also influenced musically by his mother's brother, an itinerant blues musician, and by her brother-in-law, a teacher who favored shaped note singing--also known as "fasola" (fa-so-la), a rambunctious, 19th-century congregational style propagated by songbooks and popular in the rural South in which four distinct shapes (the diamond, for one) correspond to specific notes on the musical scale. Chicago ' s Blues Syncopator. As the blues grew in popularity in the 1920s, black churches condemned it widely for being associated with sin and hedonism. Gospel music did not start with Dorsey. 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. '"[27], When he gave interviews later in his life, he never condemned blues music or his experiences in that period. He was soon making printed copies of his gospel blues, but since he relied on the performer to embellish the music, they did not sell well. Mahalia Jackson sang at his funeral when King did not get to hear it. This was a documentary on the history of American Gospel music with clips of some of the greats from the early years of the 1930s and also those, later, like Mahalia Jackson. There were also a growing number of influential choirs in Chicago challenging the musical norms of the established churches, though Dorsey was usually more associated with the rise of the solo tradition. I realize the color barrier in the early days and say it's a shame folks couldn't understand him better.His music has helped me along in tough times and I appreciate all he has done in the world of gospel music. Dorsey was the son of a Baptist preacher; his mother was the church organist. And Dorsey's own Pilgrim Baptist Church choir performed at the 1933 World's Fair. 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. As the popularity of the blues increased in New York and Chicago, especially among non-black audiences, Dorsey was able to adapt his style to the tastes of the day, though singers like Bessie Smith, who embodied the southern tradition, were also popular, especially among black Americans. He experienced a spiritual re-invigoration of sorts in 1928. ", Wade In The Water Ep. However, mainstream churches rejected his songs. So spiritual and uplifting! When Muhammad's son, Warith Deen, assumes leadership after his father's death, he transforms the organization to follow the practice of orthodox Islam (Louis X. Farrakhan resurrected the ideology of the old Nation of Islam in 1978). Thomas Dorsey 1899 - 1993. In Chicago,. In the film, Mother Smith talks about her husband's resistance to her traveling; Delois Barrett Campbell's husband objects, too. In doing so, he became one of the first musicians to copyright blues music. Music publisher. He married his sweetheart, Nettie Harper. In actual fact, his first musical impact was as a blues stylist as both writer and performer. I bet he and God are having a ball in Heaven! Less than a year later, however, Dorsey was back in the secular blues business full-time. I guarantee you watching this program you will be touched in same way watching this show!! In addition, the blues factor of the gospel blues equation had associations with secular venues and activities often discouraged by the church. Spirit of the Church: A Celebration of Black Gospel Music, Volume 1, Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Feature), The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song, American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free, Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. "You know, Frank, this has been my life dream to go abroad," Barrett says to her husband in one scene. Film data from TMDb. By the time Ma Rainey finished her song, she was "in her sins" - and Georgia Tom was right there with her, his rhythmic piano filling the grooves. Status is huge in this world. Extremely entertaining documentary that takes a look at religious music as we get to meet two key people. 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. Dorsey died of Alzheimer's disease on January 23, 1993. Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022. 102. Well known within the African-American community, Dorsey nonetheless remained relatively obscure outside of it--though people were singing his songs all over the world--until he became the subject of a BBC documentary in 1976. Thomas Dorsey | PBS During the early 1930s, Thomas Dorsey created gospel music -- the African American religious music which married secular blues to a sacred text. However, both used their voices in very different ways-one chooses retribution and the other, engagement. Dorsey married again in 1941. [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. I feel I've thoroughly blessed over the years with an abundance of songs and materialThere is definitely God behind this thing that I do. The pressures of touring overwhelmed him, and Dorsey considered suicide. Under the name "Georgia Tom". In 1924, Dorsey made his debut as "Georgia Tom" with Ma Rainey at the Grand Theater and continued to tour with her, even after he wed in 1925, until he suffered the second of his breakdowns in 1926. There was just something special happening when you walked into these churches and much of that power is on display in this. I grew up going to countless churches when I was younger and it was always something special to walk into a black church and feel the power that was behind the walls. Black gospel choirs were asked to perform at several white churches in Chicago. [4], Directionless, Dorsey began attending shows at the nearby 81 Theater, that featured blues musicians and live vaudeville acts. [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. 'Say Amen, Somebody' Restoration Unveils The Wonder Of The Gospel Pioneers, Thomas Dorsey, the Father of Gospel Music. Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2022, Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2022. 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, 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 AgainThomas 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=1150701726, 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, Ferris, William, and Hart, Mary L., eds. In 1975 he appeared in WBBM TV's documentary film The Devil's Music - A History of . 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. The record sold more than seven million copies. The efforts of student workers on the front lines of the civil rights movement are shown from the perspective of Rev. 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". And I think that that respect is then reflected in the way in which the film is produced and directed. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Bennett, Tom, "OBITUARY: Thomas A Dorsey, 93, 'Father" of Gospel Music'", O'Neal, Jim, Van Singel, Amy: "Georgia Tom Dorsey" in. "Ministers didn't want them there. Played for parties and bordellos in Atlanta; became music director of New Hope Baptist Church, Chicago; performed with the Whispering Syncopators, early 1920s; as "Georgia Tom," debuted, with Ma Rainey, at Grand Theater, Chicago, 1924; composed "It's Tight Like That," 1928, and "Precious Lord," 1931; became music director of Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago, 1932; with blues singer Sallie Martin, formed National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, 1932; became minister, 1960s; featured in BBC documentary, 1976; with gospel singer Willie Mae Ford Smith, featured in documentary Say Amen Somebody, 1984. The biggest hinderance to the next thing God wants to do is the last thing God did. He studied informally with musicians at the theater and local dance bands, always playing blues. He visited a faith healer, Bishop H.H. Cecil Williams and Thomas A. Dorsey, born a generation apart, both seeking to bring the reality of the streets into the church. ABOUT THE EPISODE, "Inheritors of the Faith" follows those who seek spiritual fulfillment outside of Christianity. 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. 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. Documentary performer: "Opus One" - as Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra: Cold Case: 2006: TV Series 1 episode: Anytown, USA: 2005: Documentary performer . He also taught black children at a one-room schoolhouse where his son accompanied him and listened to lessons. Thomas A. Dorsey was one of the gospel pioneers profiled in George Nierenberg's Say Amen, Somebody. In 1925, rural, or so-called "downhome," or "moanin'" blues was popular, and Ma Rainey, a master of the form, became an all-out success. [4], 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.