NRR Project: 'John the Revelator' (1938)

 

NRR Project: ‘John the Revelator’

Music and lyrics by Blind Willie Johnson

Performed by the Golden Gate Quartet

Recorded 1938

3:01

First of all, you have to read the explanatory essay by Kathyrn Kemp, which you can click onhere. It is outstanding, and tells you pretty much everything you need to know.

The evolution of gospel music is well worth looking into. How did religious music switch from solemn hymn-singing to the vibrant and jubilant sound of gospel music? The Golden Gate Quartet is one of the leading purveyors of what was this new kind of music. Integrating elements of the blues, close-harmony singing, and a throbbing beat, early gospel music was compelling and propulsive.

Many in the religious community objected to what they perceived as the secularization of church music. It took several years of success with the pubic to make the scoffers change their minds. Once adopted, the thrilling vocal techniques that give gospel its pep became an entry point into faith. (Later on, some gospel performers made the transition into rhythm and blues, most notably Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke.)

The Golden Gate Quartet attacks the song with fervor, with the supporting voices forming a chugging, insistent background to the verbal curlicues of the lead singer. The energy and feeling is intense, even transcendent.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: the Jelly Roll Morton interviews.