It would appear that I accidentally moved the LP while scanning the A side. Kind of a cool effect, actually. Meanwhile, I had to clone out some upper right hand discoloration that, while only mildly noticeable on the jacket, showed up as an epic blemish on the scan. I guess my old Epson scanner does a superior job, considering the highly detailed results I get. Which, on the minus side, means extra work for me on the photoshopping front. But do I complain? Not me!
The Prophets Quartet of Knoxville TN (actually, this LP says Nashville) enjoys 30 entries on Discogs, so I guess the group was pretty popular. And I just today found another one of theirs--like today's LP, it's a Queen City Album, Inc. production with no label name, and no notes, and stock front cover art. Small world. Oh, and no author/composer credits for the songs. And that's why this post didn't go up last night, as planned--being my obsessive self, I just had to find out who wrote these familiar titles, and in all but one instance I was able to, though it was not a quick process. As ever, I found myself amazed at the lack of online author/composer information when it comes to gospel songs, sometimes for even the most famous titles. I mean, maybe I can understand a fairly involved search for Lee Roy Abernathy's Miracles Will Happen on That Day, especially since it's billed merely as Miracles, but Prayer Is the Key and What a Happy Day?? I believe I found the author/composer of the latter via a sheet music scan on Amazon, and all I can conclude is that, except for the folks who write the words and tunes for these numbers, few others give a hoot. It's as if authorship isn't even a thing in gospel music--all that matters is who recorded a given number. And, often, we're talking twenty different people. There must be folks who think Johnny Cash or Lester Flatt wrote half the classic gospel titles. Or Don Gibson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jim Reeves, and so on.
And did you know that Anne Murray was the first person to record Put Your Hand in the Hand? I didn't, but I do now. I remember the recording by Ocean, at least. Now, Hand is an example of a "pop" gospel number that became a standard, like In the Sweet By-and-By, Whispering Hope, The Bible Tells Me So, and another title which I just forgot. Meanwhile, the Prophets' Will the Circle Be Unbroken is the version associated with A.P. Carter (Can the Circle...), and I have yet to decide whether Circle has a folk source or if the Carter version was a variation on the 1907 Ada R. Habershon/Charles H. Gabriel classic. With gospel LPs, you never know which one you're going to get. And, in today's performance, we hear the standard text variation, "There's a better home awaiting...," which was originally "Is a better home awaiting...?" This makes the song a happier one.
Save for the toe-tapping title waltz, I Know, the only other uptempo numbers are Miracles (Will Happen on That Day) and What a Happy Day, but the pace never seems to drag, possibly because of the highly professional performances and the superior fidelity. (A great combination.)
Why Should I Worry? may or may not be the song Why Should I Worry When Jesus Is Near? by Woodie W. Smith, though I'm doubting it, since that song goes back at least as far as 1915, and these words sound very post-1915. At any rate, to the excellent gospel. And remember: "A phonograph record is a miracle of modern ingenuity," especially if we "take care to use the proper needle at the correct turntable speed." I guess QCA felt it was better to share this vital advice than to tell us anything about the group...
DOWNLOAD: The Prophets Quartet--I Know (Queen City Album 10339; 1971)
Put Your Hand in the Hand (Gene MacLellan)
Going Home (Bill and Gloria Gaither)
I Know (Mullican-Rouse-Tripp)
Mansion Over the Hilltop (Ira Stanphill)
Miracles (Lee Roy Abernathy)
What a Happy Day (Jack W. Campbell)
Prayer Is the Key (Samuel T. Scott-Robert L. Sande)
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
How Beautiful Heaven Must Be (A.S. Bridgewater-A.P. Bland)
Why Should I Worry?
Lee
6 comments:
"Put Your Hand in the Hand" was part of that Top 40 era when Jesus songs had "a moment" on the pop charts. Also "Jesus Is Just All Right" and "Oh Happy Day" and a few others. I don't remember any controversy about it, or radio listeners up in arms, or anything, They were catchy/good songs and people liked them, and that was that. Americans used to be "just all right," too -- "o happy day" if it should happen again.
Lee,
Haven't taken the time to listen to this album yet (a lot, more than usual, is going on these days), but, wasn't QCA a label too, not just a pressing plant? I remember hearing an air check from 1979, from an old friend and him saying there in, after playing a song from a soloist I can't remember the name of, that is on the QCA label. Also, somewhere, I have the album from The Kingsmen (the Southern Gospel quartet based in Asheville, NC for years, later moved to Nashville, TN, I believe) entitled Suddenly, There's A Valley and someone told me it was on the QCA label, as well. I know what QCA stands for and they are in the same town as Wright, but I figured they (QCA) were more than a pressing source. In my experience, I believe I've seen more Wright pressings from all over the place and of all kinds of budgets than QCA, just wondering though, if they were more involved in the actual album production process (pardon the unintended pun) than their neighbor. 'Til later, love and praying for y'all!
Romans 11:33-36 KJB
Josh
Podcast: http://www.jeremiah616.sermon.net
Phone Ministry: (563) 999-3967
Hi, Josh!
Excellent question, and I guess I added the word "production" in my essay since the packaging gives no actual label name. For the label field, Discogs says "Not on label," so I guess I compromised. But I'm fine with regarding QCA as a label--it certainly makes sense, especially in this case. These things get really complicated, especially in the world of custom pressings and "jobber rack" labels. To give a "fake"-hits example, at Discogs someone has given "Hits A' Poppin'" status as a record label, even while acknowledging that "Hits A' Poppin'" is the name of a series. Whereas, whenever I encounter a "Hits A' Poppin" LP which doesn't specify the Prom label (Prom reissues often dispensed with the Prom label name and design), I simply treat the label as "SPC." That's actually the label group, but in the final analysis, it doesn't really matter, I guess. We can only wish QCA had made it easier for us. Thanks for checking in, and I might pose this question at a FB group I belong to, where there are plenty of experts on this subject.
i do have an actual QCA LP in my collection called "Earth Bound-Heaven Bound" by LaVerne Tripp (he is credited as the co-writer of "I Know" on this LP, however, I think he wrote the song by himself). He is still very active.
There is a mostly solid Southern Gospel element to this album. I was impressed with the slightly Jazzy elements that they put into "Put Your Hand in the Hand" and "Going Home" . So far, from what I have heard, it is solid stuff in the vein of the Blackwood Brothers, the Inspirations, and the pre-Pop albums from the Imperials on Benson/Impact Records.
The Blackwoods were the first artists I thought of when I was editing these tracks! The Inspirations, too. Thanks for the info on LaVerne Tripp. And it's aggravating, the way that gospel songwriting credits get so jumbled on line and in label credits. Half the time, a group credit will include someone whose only contribution was perhaps to first perform the song. Oh, and those LPs which list author, composer, and publisher--that drives me nuts. I try to keep the credits honest...
Fellers,
Since y'all've been talking this one up so much, thought I'd better take the time to at least, spot-check it. Interesting, I feel a Jazz feel throughout several of the cuts, especially in the piano playing and I do see little similarities here and there, with the Blackwood Brothers (in maybe their earlier, say, RCA Camdon stuff) and The Inspirations (in the Tenor-heavy department). I don't know much about the group, just a few of the members names and voices and they were from Knoxville, BTW. Not sure who is on this album. Is that Big Lew (Garrison)? Also, not sure if he's on the album but, according to an article I just found (link forthcoming), a founding member of the group, is Ed Hill, who is famous for being the one who announced, Elvis has left the building, when he was with The Stamps, of course. He also worked for WPET, Greensboro, NC as an Announcer (my old home town and a station where I cut my teeth), not sure when he was there though.
https://fusonsfindings.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/my-top-10-quartets-9-the-prophets/
On I Know, I believe Tripp did write the lyrics, but he borrowed the melody of Sweeter Than The Flowers, hence the Mullican (Moon) credit. Such practice isn't new (borrowing secular tunes for Gospel lyrics), The Lifeboat (or The Lifeboat Soon Is Coming) is set to the tune of The Knoxville Girl and if not right on, pretty close to my ears anyway. They say that even Amazing Grace's melody is borrowed, the one everybody knows, that is. I wonder, did they mean to be so informal (if that's the word here) on Why Should I Worry, with the talking and all? Overall, the album has a softer touch, not bad treatments to the songs. Oh and on author/composer/company credits, isn't that the way it's done in song books? I remember several years ago, a group who shall remain nameless for the time being, recorded a song published by Sesac, then was told right afterwords, not to sing any Sesac songs. Reckon that's changed by now, 'cause I've heard at least one other group record the same song and use the older group's arrangement! Well, I've rambled on enough, got more things to get to, so 'til later, love and praying for y'all!
Romans 11:33-36 KJB
Josh
Podcast: http://www.jeremiah616.sermon.net
Phone Ministry: (563) 999-3967
Post a Comment