Kurt Carr - Kumbaya

Topic: Seminal Versions
Kurt Carr was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1964, too late to have sung "Kumbaya" as an adolescent and too far from the South to have heard "Come by Here" in church. Indeed, he said, he did not start spending time in church until he was thirteen, [1] and his first musical influence was Walter Hawkins. [2]

The African American spent his teen years in a private school where most of the students were Jewish, [3] and studied classical music at the University of Connecticut, where he pledged Phi Beta Sigma. [4] He did not have any real contact with Black gospel music until he was hired as a pianist by James Cleveland, and met artists like Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, and Inez Andrews. [5]

He also worked for Andrae Crouch, who told him, "I believe that you have something that is not too ‘black’, and is going to reach the world; not just our own people." [6] This isolation from both the "Kumbaya" and "Come by Here" traditions meant that, when Carr did record "Kumbaya," he was able to alter the melody and write additional words. The most memorable were ones asking the Lord to "shower down" blessings.

Carr was primarily a chorale director. His vision for his group was that it be composed of "unique" individuals who were genuinely religious and could work with one another. [7] Yvette Williams remembered he wanted individuals who were committed to God, not to their art. [8]

This view emanated from an older African belief that individuals only flourished when they were members of communities, and that communal life directed, but did not eliminate their specialness. [9] There were no solos in "Kumbaya." Instead, Sherron Bennett emphasized what the group said by echoing it with embellishments.

Despite this emphasis on the group, the lyrics did not treat "Kumbaya" as the stereotype that underlaid references to the kumbaya moment. Carr emphasized its older "Come by Here" verses that petitioned the Holy Spirit for a blessing.

His version has been especially popular in Asia. Partly, this may be because he had successful tours to places like Japan. He told Dwayne Lacy that at one concert, with an unidentified set of songs,

"God used us that night. The anointing fell. People were speaking in tongues, and didn’t realize what they were doing. They don’t even understand what I am saying, but it’s the music —the substance and the heart of the music —that’s going to change them and lead them to conversion." [10]

The other possible reason for its popularity was five of the six members of the Kurt Carr Singers were women. The African-American gospel quartet tradition was primarily male; women who became famous were soloists. This rendition provided a singing opportunity for groups of young women who wished to perform together.

Performers
Soloists: Sherron Bennett and Kurt Carr
Vocal Accompaniment: Kurt Carr Singers
Instrumental Accompaniment: synthesizer dominant
Rhythm Accompaniment: drum set

Credits
Adapted melody and lyrics by Kurt Carr
© 1997 K. Cartunes/Lily Mack Music (BMI)

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English

Pronunciation: kum-bye-ya, with the accent on the second syllable

Verses: kumbaya, needs you, praying, need a blessing, need a miracle, shower down on me

Vocabulary:
Pronouns: somebody, I
Term for Deity: Lord

Down on me: this phrase was popularized by Janis Joplin in 1967. It came from a religious song recorded in Livingston, Alabama, by Dock Reed in the 1930s. [11]

Line Meter: iambic trimeter
Line Repetition Pattern: ABAB
Line Form: statement-refrain.

Format: ritual prelude-denouement structure
Prelude: verses were sung
Transition: repetitions of "Oh Lord"
Denouement: phrases were used

Notes on Music
Basic Structure: choral group with subdued instrumental accompaniment

Singing Style: solos were highly ornamented

Solo-Group Dynamics
Prelude: Carr spoke the first line before each verse began, as if he were a song leader, then the group sang the verse. On the second line, an extended "oh" was sung in an arc of notes.

Denouement: the group sang a phrase that Bennett repeated in a higher register with embellishments; many were wordless high-pitched sounds.

Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: before the choir began, the synthesizer played the melody with the drums. Then, they both faded into the background. After the choir was finished and the audience was applauding, the drums continued until the group began the coda.

Notes on Performance
Recorded in the West Los Angeles Church of God in Christ church where Carr was the choir director. [12] Applause could sometimes be heard, especially during the denouement when Bennett was particularly masterful, and again throughout the coda.

Viewers’ Perceptions
Several of the YouTube comments on "Kumbaya" were about the song.

One man said in 2013: "This is a real 1997 praise party song right here." [13]

That same year, another said: "Can’t wait for IVOP to sing this to close out Black History Month at First AME Zion in Brooklyn USA!" [14]

Earlier, another man wrote: "I remember when I was little my parents used to always play this cd and this song would come on. And even though I was little I would sit there and jam cause I loved this song. Its been about 12 years since I heard this song, and I still know every single word." [15]

When I searched for information on the lead singer, Sherron Bennett, I came across the following comments posted for another song she recorded with the Kurt Carr Singers.

"that was Sherron because no one can sound like her." [16]

"sherron knew how to sang and praise God." [17]

Curious, I checked for information on the other singers and found the same pattern: they were remembered as having unique voices while they were part of the Kurt Carr Singers.

Jackie Boyd
"I Remember Her From The kurt Carr Singers Years back She Was One Of The Best In That Group I Was Wondering Was She Still Singing With That Great Voice I Am Glad That She Is Still Lefting Up The Name Of Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!" [18]

Kesha Ealy
"She’s still powerful." [19]

Shervonne Wells and Yvette Williams
"G5’s and G#5’s for days. She just sang that made me think of her with the Kurt Carr Singers...She and Yvette were the core of his Soprano sound." [20]

For whatever reason, I found no comments about the tenor, Corey Briggs.

Notes on Performers
Carr has made few comments on his denominational affiliation. He worked for Baptist churches in Connecticut and Houston, Texas, and for a Church of God in Christ congregation in California. Perhaps, like any modern performer and any evangelist, he wanted to reach as wide an audience as possible, and learned the best way to overcome sectarian bias was not to be identified with any faction. After his tour in Japan, he began talking about the universal aspects of Christ’s message. He told Rene Williams:

"Though I never want to forsake my base—which is the black church, the Pentecostal movement, the Charismatic movement—this time, it’s time for Kurt Carr to reach out to the world." [21]

Availability
Album, CD: No One Else. Gospel Centric Records. 1997.
YouTube: uploaded by onedadou1984, 16 April 2009.


End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Kurt Carr."

2. Margena A. Christian. "Kurt Carr Receives His Blessing." Ebony website. 5 February 2015.

3. Dwayne Lacy. "Kurt Carr Interview." Gospel Flava website.

4. Wikipedia, Carr.

5. Christopher Heron. "Interview with Kurt Carr." Black Gospel website. November 2008.

6. Lacy.

7. Heron.

8. Yvette Williams. Interviewed by Edward Donalson, III, on Genius Show. Uploaded to YouTube 18 May 2013.

9. John S. Mbiti wrote Africans believed "to be human is to belong to the whole community." African Religions and Philosophies. New York: Praeger Publications, 1970. 2-16. Quoted by Margaret Washington Creel. "A Peculiar People." New York: New York University Press, 1988. 59.

10. Lacy. As mentioned in the previous post, the division between religious groups who relied on text for conversion and those who depended on contact with the spirit is fundamental in Anglo-American Protestantism. One man wrote an article severely criticizing Carr for thinking it was possible for anything but the word to be useful. David J. Stewart was more critical than the Presbyterians were of the Baptists in the post for 12 August 2017. "Kurt Carr's Music EXPOSED!" Jesus Is Savior website.

11. Wikipedia. "Down on Me (Traditional Song)."

12. Wikipedia, Carr.

13. chrispleasantable. "Kumbaya." YouTube. 2013.

14. EM Rollins. "Kumbaya." YouTube. 2013.

15. Jordan Gregory. "Kumbaya." YouTube. 2008.

16. im4Christ4life. "The Kurt Carr Singers-Send The Holy Ghost." YouTube, uploaded 27 January 2010. Comment posted 2012.

17. male alto1. "Send The Holy Ghost." Comment posted 2001.

18. Rita Coleman. "Jackie Boyd de Raat RAW." YouTube, uploaded 29 December 2010. Comment posted 2013.

19. marquis halsell. "Original Kurt Carr Singer Kesha Ealy Marvelous at West Angeles COGIC HD!" YouTube, uploaded 15 March 2016. Comment posted 2016.

20. Marvin McCoy. "Shervonne Wells’ Praise Medley." YouTube, uploaded 23 January 2013. Comment posted 2013.

21. "Kurt Carr’s One Church." Gospel City website. 16 September 2005. No longer available. Quoted by "Kurt Carr Biography." JRank website.