Topic: Religious Folk Music Revival
The founder of the John T. Benson Publishing Company died in 1930. [1] John 1’s youngest son, John 2, [2] assumed his role as song leader in the local Nazarene church. [3] His older sons ran the printing company, which produced high school yearbooks. [4] John 2 spent most of the 1920s and 1930s as its traveling salesman. [5]
John 2 said he learned the elements of the printing trade in the Depression. [6] His work in his church and on the road brought him into contact with people who kept him informed on their preferences in religious music. [7] With the revival of the economy in 1940, the music publishing company began issuing new song books. The first may have been Camp Meeting and Revival Songs. [8]
World War II and material shortages halted that business resurgence.
At the end of the war, Youth for Christ began holding its rallies. [9] John 2 sensed a new market was developing, and left the printing company in 1948 [10] to devote his energies to publishing songbooks.
The business grew in the 1950s. John 2 signed Elmo Mercer as a songwriter in 1951, [11] and, like Lynn Rohrbough, was producing customized versions of his songbooks for private groups by 1952. [12] He also expanded into sheet music sales. [13]
The emergence of Elvis Presley coincided with an increased interest in gospel music. John 2 published Ira Stanphill’s Heartwarming Songs in 1956 in a spiral-bound format. [14] His All American Church Hymnal was marketed to churches. [15]
Benson’s oldest son, John 3, went to work for his uncles in the printing company. [16] The younger boy, Bob, was ordained as an elder by the Nazarenes, [17] and served congregations in Florida, Missouri, California, and Tennessee. [18] He left the church to join John 2 in the publishing venture in 1961. [19]
Soon John 2 and Bob launched a music label for southern gospel music. [20] To support the increased demand, the company hired Mercer as a full-time music editor in 1961. [21] In 1966, they hired Bob MacKenzie as creative director for Heartwarming Records. [22]
When the Now Generation emerged, MacKenzie began experiments to reach it. In 1968, he had the youngest member of the Rambos [23] record a solo album titled On the Folk Side of Gospel. [24] At the same time, he produced The Now Sound of Ed Lyman. [25] It included two uplifting songs from Broadway musicals ("Climb Ev’ry Mountain" [26] and "The Impossible Dream" [27]), along with a spiritual popularized by Peter, Paul, and Mary ("All My Trials" [28]). The rest were contemporary religious songs.
John 2 retired in 1969, [29] and John 3 moved over to the publishing house from the printing company. [30]
In 1970, MacKenzie sponsored two projects that included "Kumbaya." One was the record by The Bill Gaither Trio that was discussed in the post for 17 December 2017. The other was the Now Sing Now songbook. Its version of "Kum Ba Yah" was close to the original. It did not use the verse order introduced by Tommy Leonetti.
Ed Lyman composed seven songs in Now Sing Now. Howard Lovett wrote six. Lyman billed himself as a sacred folk singer. [31] Lovett was part of a Florida band that was pioneering Christian Rock. [32]
In total, 60% of the 85 songs in Now Sing Now were controlled by the Benson company. Another 25% were in the public domain. The remaining 15% included songs by country-music artists, like Glen Campbell [33] and Roger Miller, [34] who had been accepted by the audience for Easy Listening music. [35]
The connection to the commercial folk-music revival in Now Sing Now was through the traditional music. Most were spirituals, though only "There Is Joy in the Land" was identified as "American Negro." The company seemed to think the others, like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Study War No More," had been sung so often by whites that they were part of a shared religious tradition. "Kum Ba Yah" was identified as "African."
While MacKenzie was attempting to reach the Now Generation, he maintained some ties to the past. He included contemporary settings for three Psalms that satisfied Presbyterians who believed only psalms should be used in services. [36]
The collection also included "Brethren, We Have Met To Worship" from the shaped-note tradition. The last line of the first verse was "All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down." [37]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: single melodic line
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar chords
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
African
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: no comment
Verses: kumbaya, come by here, praying, crying, singing
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: 5-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: Gently, with feeling
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords: C F G7
Basic Structure: strophic repetition; volume varies by verse with "come by here" and "praying" softer and "singing" loud.
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for final "Lord"
Ending: none
Notes on Performance
7" x 10" octavo sheet music format. The cover was a wash of colors dominated by purples. It did not contain photographs or references to recording artists.
Audience Perceptions
The copy of Now Sing Now I purchased from Amazon had been used. All the public domain songs were marked with a pencil with a note "Negro Spirituals in here." Another song was identified as a Christmas one, and performance cues were added to three songs. "Kum Ba Yah" was not particularized.
Notes on Performers
MacKenzie was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. [38] He studied conducting at Houghton College, and choral music with Harry Wilson at Columbia. He was choir director at Carl McIntire’s Shelton College [39] when he accepted an offer in 1964 to manage the Nashville Symphony. [40] Two years later, Benson hired him. [41]
Nothing is known about MacKenzie’s religious affiliation in 1970. The conservative Presbyterian church that handled his memorial service [42] was not founded until 1981. [43] Houghton was a Wesleyan Methodist college. [44] Shelton was McIntire’s conservative Presbyterian school in New Jersey. [45]
In 1984, MacKenzie and Ron Kerr bought the publishing company established by Ralph Carmichael. [46] Fred Bock, who worked for Sacred Music, recalled "Bob MacKenzie is the greatest creative catalyst that I’ve had in my life." [47] Both Carmichael and Bock were associated with Word Records, mentioned in the post for 5 July 2020 and 12 July 2020.
Availability
Book: "Kum Ba Yah." In Now Sing Now. Edited by Bob MacKenzie. Nashville: John T. Benson Publishing Company, 1970. 29.
End Notes
1. Jno T. Benson, Sr (1). Obituary. Nashville Tennessean. 25 June 1930. 5.
2. The forms of the Benson names changed when men died; I’m standardizing on a simple number to make clear the identities of men through three generations.
3. John T. Benson (2). A History 1898-1915 of the Pentecostal Mission, Inc. Nashville: Trevecca Press, 1977. 11. John 2 took over leading songs after John 1 had a stroke in 1927.
4. Benson 2. 10.
5. Benson 2. 11.
6. Benson 2. 11.
7. John 2 remembered his work as song leader "took me to meetings outside church." [48]
8. Camp Meeting and Revival Songs. Nashville: John T. Benson Publishing Company, 1940. [Amazon]
9. Youth for Christ was discussed in the post for the post for 15 December 2017.
10. Benson 2. 11.
11. Pat Barker. "Where Are They Now?" Singing News Magazine. February 2014. Republished by Bruce Jeffers. "Elmo Mercer’s Journey into Southern Gospel Music History." W. Elmo Mercer’s website. 2 March 2014. His most popular song was "Each Step I Take My Savior Goes Before Me." [49]
12. For example, the John T. Benson Publishing Company released Spiritual Power in 1947. [Amazon] In 1952, it included a special insert for an edition created for the Churches of Christ in Christian Union’s mid-winter indoor camp meeting in Indianapolis. [Amazon]
13. There’s no complete bibliography or discography for the Benson companies. I used Amazon on 21 April 2020 to find books that had survived long enough to be offered for resale. I supplemented it with a search in WorldCat. One example of the sheet music was Ira F. Stanphill’s "Follow Me" in 1953. [Amazon] Several people told Amazon users how much they liked his compositions. [50]
14. Ira Stanphill and John T. Benson. Heart Warming Songs. Nashville: John T. Benson Publishing Company, 1956. Amazon described the binding as comb.
15. Earl Smith and John T. Benson. All-American Church Hymnal. Nashville: John T. Benson Publishing Company: 1957 eleventh edition. Periwinkle wrote "this is the hymnal we’ve used in our church for over fifty years so I’m probably biased in my opinion of it. Since I was very young the contents of this book have been both a treasure and a comfort to me." [51]
16. "John T. Benson III." Gospel Music Hall of Fame website. 1 January 2018.
17. "Robert ‘Bob’ Benson, Sr." Gospel Music Hall of Fame website. This entry has been removed.
18. "God Chose You." James Dobson’s Family Talk website. 13 July 2012.
19. Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Bob Benson.
20. Gospel Music Hall of Fame, John 3.
21. "W. Elmo Mercer, Gospel Music." His website.
22. Item in Bob Green. "Shaped Notes." Billboard 78:50:4 June 1966.
23. The Rambos were Dottie Rambo, her husband Buck Rambo, and their daughter Reba Rambo. Dottie became an important songwriter.
24. Reba Rambo. On The Folk Side Of Gospel. Heart Warming Records HWM 1985. 1968. It included songs by Ed Lyman, [52] Glen Campbell [53] and Sonny Salisbury. [54] Most were by Dottie Rambo. [Discogs]
25. "Ed Lyman – The Now Sound Of Ed Lyman." Impact Records HWS 1948, and Heart Warming Records HWM 1948. 1968. [Discogs entry.] Both record labels were owned by Benson.
26. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. "Climb Ev’ry Mountain." From the 1959 Broadway musical Sound of Music. [55]
27. Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)." From the 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. [56]
28. Peter, Paul, and Mary’s version of "All My Trials" was mentioned in the post for 28 June 2020. It first was popularized by Joan Baez in 1960 on Joan Baez. Vanguard VSD 2077.
29. John 2. 11.
30. Gospel Music Hall of Fame, John 3.
31. Item in "Shaped Notes." Billboard 80:34:6 January 1968.
32. "Howard Lovett." Discogs website. The group was Joyful Noise. The name is common, and I couldn’t find any information for this particular group.
33. The Glen Campbell song was "Less of Me."
34. Roger Miller. "Walking in the Sunshine." Nashville: Tree Publishing Company, 1967. This also appeared in Now Sing Now.
35. Easy Listening music was discussed in the post for 19 April 2020.
36. The Presbyterian preference for psalms was discussed in the post for 25 November 2017.
37. George Askins. "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship." Social and Camp-Meeting Hymns for the Pious. Baltimore: John J. Harrod, 1817. [57] The melody was "Holy Manna." [58]
38. MacKenzie’s early life was discussed in the post for 17 December 2017.
39. Item. Doylestown [Pennsylvania] Intelligencer. 3 April 1964. 22. Harry Robert Wilson was the subject of the post for 15 July 2018.
40. "Bob MacKenzie." Gospel Music Hall of Fame website. 1 January 2018.
41. Item in Bob Green. "Shaped Notes." Billboard 78:50: 4 June 1966.
42. Bob MacKenzie. Obituary. The [Nashville] Tennessean. 22 October 2000. 35.
43. According to its website, Nashville’s Christ Presbyterian Church was founded in 1981, and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America. The mainline denomination is the Presbyterian Church U. S. A.
44. Wikipedia. "Houghton College."
45. Wikipedia. "Shelton College." McIntire founded a separate denomination, the Bible Presbyterian Church. [60]
46. The Tennessean, MacKenzie.
47. Fred Bock. Quoted by Gospel Music Hall of Fame, MacKenzie.
48. Benson 2. 11.
49. W. Elmo Mercer. "Each Step I Take My Savior Goes Before Me." Nashville: Benson Publishing, 1953. The Hymnary entry for the song said it had been included in 17 hymnals.
50. Sheila Wells. Comment on Amazon website for Heart Warming Songs No. 3. 16 March 2016.
Mom. Comment on Amazon website for Heart Warming Songs No. 3. 6 November 2014.
51. Periwinkle. Comment posted to Amazon website for hardcover edition of All-American Church Hymnal. 12 June 2017.
52. Ed Lyman. "In A Silent World." Copyrighted by The Rodeheaver Company, 1967. This also appeared in Now Sing Now.
53. Glen Campbell. "Less of Me." Copyrighted by Beechwood Music, 1965. This also appeared in Now Sing Now.
54. Sonny Salisbury. "Psalm 19." Copyrighted by Sacred Songs, 1968. This also appeared in Now Sing Now and Warren Stitt’s Sing In, which was discussed in the post for 12 July 2010.
55. Wikipedia. "Climb Ev’ry Mountain."
56. Wikipedia. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)."
57. C. Michael Hawn. "History of Hymns: ‘Brethren, We Have Met to Worship’." The United Methodist Church Discipleship website. 18 July 2019.
58. William Moore. "Holy Manna." The Columbian Harmony. Cincinnati: William Moore, 1825. [59]
59. Hawn.
60. Wikipedia. "Carl McIntire."
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