Robert M. Marovich
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780252044113
- eISBN:
- 9780252053054
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252044113.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Chapter 7 is a track-by-track description of Peace Be Still, from preparations for the recording and a history of each selection to the arrangements and lyric interpretations. Professor Braxton ...
More
Chapter 7 is a track-by-track description of Peace Be Still, from preparations for the recording and a history of each selection to the arrangements and lyric interpretations. Professor Braxton Shelley provides an understanding of the music theory supporting each track. The chapter also reveals the identities of the album’s musicians and the female soloist on “I Had a Talk with God,” subjects of long-standing speculation. It also resolves the question of whether the recording took place on a Sunday or a Thursday and why it was recorded in a Seventh-day Adventist church in Newark. The narrative profits immensely from recollections by participants in the recording session.Less
Chapter 7 is a track-by-track description of Peace Be Still, from preparations for the recording and a history of each selection to the arrangements and lyric interpretations. Professor Braxton Shelley provides an understanding of the music theory supporting each track. The chapter also reveals the identities of the album’s musicians and the female soloist on “I Had a Talk with God,” subjects of long-standing speculation. It also resolves the question of whether the recording took place on a Sunday or a Thursday and why it was recorded in a Seventh-day Adventist church in Newark. The narrative profits immensely from recollections by participants in the recording session.
Robert M. Marovich
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780252044113
- eISBN:
- 9780252053054
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252044113.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Chapter 9 explores the critical and commercial success of Peace Be Still and the two-part 45-rpm single of the title track. The records were not marketed aggressively in the trade press but instead ...
More
Chapter 9 explores the critical and commercial success of Peace Be Still and the two-part 45-rpm single of the title track. The records were not marketed aggressively in the trade press but instead through the tried-and-true channels of radio airplay, live programs, and word of mouth. Further, Peace Be Still relied almost exclusively on the African American community for sales. To promote Peace Be Still and raise the money to complete construction of the church, the Angelic Choir toured nationally and appeared on television. The chapter also includes a biography of the album cover’s enigmatic artist, Harvey Williams.Less
Chapter 9 explores the critical and commercial success of Peace Be Still and the two-part 45-rpm single of the title track. The records were not marketed aggressively in the trade press but instead through the tried-and-true channels of radio airplay, live programs, and word of mouth. Further, Peace Be Still relied almost exclusively on the African American community for sales. To promote Peace Be Still and raise the money to complete construction of the church, the Angelic Choir toured nationally and appeared on television. The chapter also includes a biography of the album cover’s enigmatic artist, Harvey Williams.
Robert M. Marovich
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780252044113
- eISBN:
- 9780252053054
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252044113.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
One evening in September 1963, the Angelic Choir of the First Baptist Church of Nutley, New Jersey, assembled in nearby Newark to record their third live album with gospel music’s rising star, James ...
More
One evening in September 1963, the Angelic Choir of the First Baptist Church of Nutley, New Jersey, assembled in nearby Newark to record their third live album with gospel music’s rising star, James Cleveland. Nobody that evening could have predicted the album’s overwhelming popularity. For two years, Peace Be Still and its haunting title track held top positions on gospel radio and record sales charts. The album is reported to have sold as many as 300,000 copies by 1966 and 800,000 copies by the early 1970s—figures normally achieved by pop artists. Nearly sixty years later, the album still sells. Of the thousands of gospel records released in the early 1960s, why did Peace Be Still become the most successful and longest lasting? To answer this question, the book details the careers of the album’s musical architects, the Reverends Lawrence Roberts and James Cleveland. It provides a history of the First Baptist Church and the Angelic Choir, explores the vibrant gospel music community of Newark and the roots of live recordings of gospel, and, most important, assesses the sociopolitical environment in which the album was created. By exploring the album’s sonic and lyrical themes and contextualizing them with comments by participants in the recording session, the book challenges long-held assumptions about the album and offers new interpretations in keeping with the singers’ original intent.Less
One evening in September 1963, the Angelic Choir of the First Baptist Church of Nutley, New Jersey, assembled in nearby Newark to record their third live album with gospel music’s rising star, James Cleveland. Nobody that evening could have predicted the album’s overwhelming popularity. For two years, Peace Be Still and its haunting title track held top positions on gospel radio and record sales charts. The album is reported to have sold as many as 300,000 copies by 1966 and 800,000 copies by the early 1970s—figures normally achieved by pop artists. Nearly sixty years later, the album still sells. Of the thousands of gospel records released in the early 1960s, why did Peace Be Still become the most successful and longest lasting? To answer this question, the book details the careers of the album’s musical architects, the Reverends Lawrence Roberts and James Cleveland. It provides a history of the First Baptist Church and the Angelic Choir, explores the vibrant gospel music community of Newark and the roots of live recordings of gospel, and, most important, assesses the sociopolitical environment in which the album was created. By exploring the album’s sonic and lyrical themes and contextualizing them with comments by participants in the recording session, the book challenges long-held assumptions about the album and offers new interpretations in keeping with the singers’ original intent.
Claudrena N. Harold
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780252043574
- eISBN:
- 9780252052453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252043574.003.0009
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter charts the ups and downs of one of gospel’s most talented vocalists, Vanessa Bell Armstrong. It details her early years in Detroit under Mattie Moss Clark’s tutelage and then charts her ...
More
This chapter charts the ups and downs of one of gospel’s most talented vocalists, Vanessa Bell Armstrong. It details her early years in Detroit under Mattie Moss Clark’s tutelage and then charts her rise to superstar status in the gospel world during the early 1980s. Armstrong’s first two records on Onyx, Peace Be Still and Chosen, performed remarkably well on the gospel charts, leading to her later signing with the secular label Jive. Through an analysis of her Jive material and its uneven performance on the gospel and secular charts, this chapter underscores the dangers involved in overt crossover attempts and partnerships with secular labels unfamiliar with the Christian music market.Less
This chapter charts the ups and downs of one of gospel’s most talented vocalists, Vanessa Bell Armstrong. It details her early years in Detroit under Mattie Moss Clark’s tutelage and then charts her rise to superstar status in the gospel world during the early 1980s. Armstrong’s first two records on Onyx, Peace Be Still and Chosen, performed remarkably well on the gospel charts, leading to her later signing with the secular label Jive. Through an analysis of her Jive material and its uneven performance on the gospel and secular charts, this chapter underscores the dangers involved in overt crossover attempts and partnerships with secular labels unfamiliar with the Christian music market.