“I Need Thee Every Hour”: the Brooklyn homemaker’s hymn of daily dependence
Annie Sherwood Hawks, a homemaker in Brooklyn, wrote the words of "I Need Thee Every Hour" in 1872 during an ordinary morning of housework. Her pastor,…
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Gospel Music
New gospel songs, albums and music videos from artists across Nigeria, Ghana, the USA, the UK and beyond.
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”: Edwin Hatch’s quiet prayer to the Holy Spirit
"Breathe on Me, Breath of God" was written by Edwin Hatch, an Oxford scholar, in 1878. Its four short verses ask the Holy Spirit for new…
Blind Willie Johnson: the street evangelist whose gospel blues went to space
Blind Willie Johnson, a Texas street evangelist, recorded thirty gospel blues songs between 1927 and 1930. His wordless "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground"…
“And Can It Be”: Charles Wesley’s hymn of chains that fell off
"And Can It Be That I Should Gain" was written by Charles Wesley in 1738, around the time of his conversion. Its fourth verse, describing chains…
“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”: Charles Wesley’s anniversary hymn
Charles Wesley wrote "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" in 1739 to mark the first anniversary of his conversion. Inspired by a remark from the…
“Go Down, Moses”: the spiritual that turned Exodus into a song of freedom
"Go Down, Moses", an African American spiritual, retells God's command to Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt. Sung by enslaved people, it carried a message…
“Like a River Glorious”: Frances Ridley Havergal’s hymn of perfect peace
Frances Ridley Havergal, the English poet who also wrote "Take My Life and Let It Be", published "Like a River Glorious" in 1874. Based on the…
“Fairest Lord Jesus”: the German hymn of creation and the beauty of Christ
"Fairest Lord Jesus" began as a seventeenth-century German hymn, Schönster Herr Jesu. Translated into English in the nineteenth century, it compares the beauty of meadows, woodlands,…
Soweto Gospel Choir: the South African choir that took township gospel to the world
Formed in 2002, the Soweto Gospel Choir brought the harmonies of South African church music to international stages. The choir has won several Grammy Awards and…
Sacred Harp singing: the shape-note tradition that fills American halls with raw harmony
Sacred Harp singing takes its name from a shape-note hymnbook first published in Georgia in 1844. Singers sit in a hollow square facing each other and…