Communication through Teams (and email)

From now until further notice. For technical reasons. I will communicate with the class through Teams and with individual students through Teams and/or email.

Listening List for May 05, 2026 (and notes for Gospel)

Okay, first here are the notes for Gospel (Can I get an 'Amen'?!)

Anyway, here is the listening list for class May 05, 2026.

I don't have the time to check if each video is still there. If you find any dead links, please let me know.

Extra credit for anyone who can figure out the theme (yes, there is one).

Ethel Waters (1933)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zywZUhaUqMo

One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
Lena Horne (1945)

Tired
Pearl Bailey (1945)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz5gV6_MRoQ

Blue moon
Billy Eckstine (1948)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g83L5M_8Nt8

Nature boy
Nat King Cole (1948)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQerH4nRTUA

Banana Boat Song
Harry Belafonte (1956)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMigXnXMhQ4

Wonderful wonderful
Johnny Mathis (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7wr2FBxcyI

Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
Leontyne Price (1960)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXhFiUaNksU

Guess who I saw today
Nancy Wilson (1960)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFbDj5RBouE

Do you know the way to San Jose?
Dionne Warwick (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnzTgUc5ycc

Kiss an angel good morning
Charley Pride (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-pU-DHEVaU

Wedding bell blues
The 5th Dimension (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhtCGZbxTfc


Some auxiliary videos:

Ethel Waters singing "His Eye is on the Sparrow" in the 1952 movie "Member of the wedding"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gua-NE8y8lE

Pearl Bailey and Nat King Cole (1957 TV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmnx49qMs2U

Harry Belafonte British pop singer Petula Clark in 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQXVjY1oqRo

Ethel Waters singing Suppertime on TV in 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Zvjjbc-Hk

Pearl Bailey doing Hello Dolly! (Tony Awards 1968) Pearl's part begins around 3.45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4eS0x16v1k

Pearl Bailey with Ethel Waters (around 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpSmPaisB6o

Charley Pride and Johnny Cash (in 1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=276aBrM2-FM

The Pointer Sisters singing Fairytale (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQWgKvvbT1g

Leontyne Price at the White House (around 1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGwyXrWuSyw

see y'all in class in May!

Notes on Jazz, Lyrics for Gospel

Here are the notes from jazz.

Here are the lyrics for gospel.

See y'all in class!

Listening (and Watching!) List for class April 21, 2026

This week's list is longer than usual and I split it up between things that should be listening to (that is the sound is more important than the visual) and videos that should be seen.

More than almost any other kind of music in this course, Gospel is about public live performance and many songs are far more expressive and emotional with audience feedback than their studio versions suggest.
As always, if you find dead links, please let me know.

NB. PRIORITY SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE WATCHING SECTION, ESPECIALLY THE LAST THREE VIDEOS IN THE LIST, BY JAMES CLEVELAND, THOMAS DORSEY AND THE CLARK SISTERS!

LISTENING

Arizona Juanita Dranes
I Shall Wear a Crown (1927)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79hhWYVY75s
Proto gospel, has elements of ragtime and honky tonk.

Thomas Dorsey
If You See My Savior (1932)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2-twJpqjFY
Early song by the man known as the father of gospel music. Has a lot in common with white country gospel of the time.

The Heavenly Gospel Singers
Precious Lord, Take My Hand (1937)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTi0KwX5bb0
The first recording of what is generally thought to be the first gospel song, written by Dorsey.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Strange Things Happening Every Day (1944)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88l-M0KgkI
A joyful number that revolutionized the genre. It's influence went far beyond the field of gospel and pre-figures many features of rock 'n roll. Tharpe was one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century.

Mahalia Jackson
Move on up a Little Higher (1947)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtJbvdzXas4
Another record that helped create the genre. Originally a two-sided 78, the second side begins at around 2:39. Jackson went onto become the most iconic gospel performer.

Brother Joe May
Search Me Lord (1950)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ExcTBYpBU
Uptempo and syncopated number by the most famous gospel male soloist. The influence of Bessie Smith is very strong.

Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers
(He's So) Wonderful (1956)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMVJPsfnXr8
Smooth sound with a lead vocal by Sam Cooke who become something of a gospel teen idol before beginning a career in secular pop music.

Madame Edna Gallmon Cooke
At the Gate (1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50fNe-__d8
At one point one of the most popular gospel performers. She had a modest voice that could not boom out like Mahalia Jackson, and achieved emotional intensity through melisma (moving between notes on a single syllable) and was a key figure in mainstreaming this technique in gospel singing.

Bottle of Tears (1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8i0wRtROY4
Cooke was also known for "sermonettes" short spoken and partly sung messages. This is an interesting example of a woman 'sightseeing' in Heaven.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers
Oh Happy Day (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJohGa66FJM
A recording of a hymn from 1755 that unexpectedly became a worldwide hit in 1969.

The Dixie Hummingbirds
I Found a Friend (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvogNMKule4
A catchy number with a non-trivial influence from white country gospel.

Andraé Crouch
Take Me Back (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0I9iEUfRvI
More an arranger than a performer, Crouch freely mixed elements of secular popular music with gospel formulas. He also closely worked with a number of secular artists including Michael Jackson, Madonna and Elton John.

The Winans
It's Time (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7-4BWW6W1M
This number mixes elements of hip hop (including rap).

WATCHING

Ethel Waters
His Eye is on the Sparrow (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3-p3GDV6w
Her career lasted over 50 years and included both secular and sacred music as well as performances on stage and screen (film and TV) for both black and white audiences. This song, more than any other, was associated with her and was the title of her autobiography. The song begins at 0:54.

Five Blind Boys of Alabama
Too Close (1962)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5OnA6JOacE
Many gospel groups last for decades with regular changes of membership. The very committed lead vocal is by Charles Fountain. The emotional charge seems to invoke not just spiritual but perhaps also erotic ecstacy (there is a long history of one leading to the other).

Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Up Above My Head (1962)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ
A live performance showing off, among other things, her mastery of the electric guitar which was far more advanced than anything happening in secular music at the time.

The Clara Ward Singers
Medley (1963)
(Travellin Shoes; He's got the Whole World in his Hands; When the Saints go Marchin' in)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoWZX3If9gs
Clara Ward was second only to Mahalia Jackson in recognition with the general public. She led the group but only occasionally sang lead. In this clip she plays the piano for the first two numbers before assuming the lead of the third. The massive wig was very on brand for her in the 1960s.

Where is your faith in God?
Rev. James Cleveland (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wl4ogb0ZbQ
Cleveland was known as the "King of Gospel" and was responsible for mixing elements of popular music or jazz into performances.

Thomas Dorsey
Oh Precious Lord (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2YlkpLGkSg
The song that made gospel music almost 50 years later. Dorsey, himself, was in his 80s. Part of the 1982 documentary "Say Amen, Somebody".

The Clark Sisters
Medley (1983)
(including Name it, Claim it; Is My Living in Vain?; Halleluja)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmA2M6yVa70
The biggest selling female gospel group of all time. This set is the highlight of the 1983 concert movie "Gospel" and one of the finest and most emotional gospel performances caught on film.

BONUS - SERMONS:
Recorded sermon (audio only).
Rev. C.L. Franklin (father of Aretha).
Dry Bones in the Valley (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67nR827F-aw

Recorded sermon (video).
Rev. B.W. Smith
Watch Them Dogs (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hlHPYbTPZI

Enjoy! And see you sinners in class!

Listening List for April 14

UPDATED!!!!

Here are the lyrics for April 14, 2026. A lot of instrumental stuff this week so not so many lyrics.

Time to get back to jazz.

Boogie Woogie

Cleo Brown (1935)
Boogie Woogie

Gene Rodgers (1939)
Jukebox Boogie

Fats Waller (1943)
Ain't Misbehavin' (from the film Stormy Weather)

Evolution from Pop to Jazz singing

Duke Ellington / Adelaide Hall (1927)
Creole Love Call

song: More than you know (1929)
(In class we'll just listen to a short section)

Helen Morgan (1929) Torch (nightclub) singer

Ruth Etting (1929) Pop Singer

Mildred Bailey (1936) Pop (proto-)jazz singer

Billie Holiday (1939) Jazz singer

Big Bands

Chick Webb and his Orchestra (vocal by Ella Fitzgerald)
A-tisket a-tasket

Count Basie and his Orchestra (1940)
Lousiana

Duke Ellington (1952)
Satin Doll

Duke Ellington (from the movie Reveille with Beverly, 1943)
Take the A-Train

Lionel Hampton (1942)
Flying Home

Bebop

Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (1942)
Salt Peanuts

Charlie Parker (1946)
Confirmation

Big Bands and Dance

Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers (1943)
Jumpin' Jive

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (1941)
from Hellzapoppin

Bonus: Info on the movie Stormy Weather, from which a number of clips are taken.

And the whole(?) movie itself.

(just for fun)
Chicago Steppin' (2010)

See y'all in class!

Lyrics for March 31, 2026

Here are the lyrics for tomorrow, March 31, 2026.

A few are repeated from last week and others are just added.

See y'all in class!

Notes on the Blues and Lyrics for March 24, 2026

Here are the notes for the Blues.

Here are the lyrics for this week. No, we won't get through all of them (or anywhere near all of them) so it may be revised next week. (nb some of the lyrics are NSFW).

See y'all in class!