Song Sunday: Call Her Blessed
Happy Mother’s Day!!! I came across this beautiful song that I would like to share with you this Mother’s Day.
Read moreCategory: songs/music
Behind the Song: Mansion over the Hilltop
Mansion Over the Hilltop was written by Ira F. Stanphill in 1949. He is described as a gifted musician, who had been playing the piano, organ and other instruments since he was ten years old. He was composing songs and singing by the age of seventeen. He went on to become a pastor and was known as a singing evangelists. […]
Read moreBehind the Song: I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Ira Stanphill was an accomplished musician and minister. Ira served with 9 different organizations in the capacities of youth director, music director and pastor. He preached across America, and in 40 other countries. He wrote over 500 gospel songs, such as “Mansion Over The Hilltop”, “Jesus and Me”, “We’ll Talk It Over” and “Happiness is the Lord”. On April 23, […]
Read moreBehind the Hymn: Footprints of Jesus
Mary Bridges Canedy was born on January 18, 1826 in Fall River, Massachusetts. She was the eleventh of thirteen children born to William and Susan Luther Canedy. As a young woman she married Albion King Slade and the couple had at least four children. She was a teacher and served as assistant editor of The New England Journal of Education […]
Read moreBehind the Song: Room at the Cross for You
He was saved at the age of twelve. By the time he was seventeen he was composing and performing his own songs and began preaching by the time he graduated college at the age of twenty-two. He was ordained into the ministry on April 28, 1939. Stanphill served several churches and was known as a singing evangelist, singing and preaching […]
Read moreBehind the Hymn: Take Up thy Cross, the Savior Said
Take Up Thy Cross, The Saviour Said is not to be confused with the more popular Take Up Thy Cross and Follow Me {Wherever He Leads I’ll Go}. Take Up Thy Cross, The Saviour Said was written by Charles William Everest. Charles William Everest was born on May 27, 1814 in East Windsor, Connecticut. After graduating Trinity College, he took […]
Read moreBehind the Hymn: Hallelujah! Christ is Risen
Happy Easter! Today we are taking a look at a lesser known Easter hymn. Christopher Wordsworth was the nephew of noted poet, William Wordsworth. Christopher was born on October 30, 1807. Both he and his brother, Charles, were distinguished athletes while in school. In both 1827 and 1828, he won the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for poetry. He became an Anglican […]
Read moreBehind the Song: He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels
When we hear a hymn, it is usually with the belief that the hymn writer was a believer. However, the author of He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels, was led to Christ by his own song. Ray Overholt was born in 1924 in Gaines, Michigan. He was introduced to music by his mother, Clara, at a young age. “My […]
Read moreBehind the Song: Were You There {When they Crucified My Lord}
When you think of Spirituals, often upbeat songs such as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho comes to mind. However, some spirituals, such as Were You There {When they Crucified My Lord} are much slower and thought provoking. Were You There enhances the pain those bound to slavery suffered. The tune and words are almost […]
Read moreBehind the Hymn: I Will Sing the Wondrous Story
I Will Sing the Wondrous Story was written by Francis H. Rowley in 1886. Francis Harold Rowley was born in Hilton, New York on July 25, 1854. His father was a doctor. After graduating from Rochester University, Rowley attended Seminary and was ordained to the ministry in 1878. Rowley wrote, “I was minister of the First Baptist Church of […]
Read moreBehind the Song: There is a Redeemer
There is a Redeemer was written by Melody Green in 1977. Melody had grown up in the Jewish faith of her forefathers, who survived persecution in tsarist Russia. Today Melody says, “My family history has played a large part in shaping my heart to absolutely disdain all types of persecution, prejudice, and injustice. Some things are just wrong. My […]
Read moreBehind the Song: The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus taught us how we should pray to our God in heaven. His prayer became known as The Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer can be found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. The Lord’s Prayer tells us how to approach and honor God, to seek God’s will, to thank him for all things, to ask for forgiveness and to […]
Read moreSong Story: Put Your Hand in the Hand
Put Your Hand in the Hand is a catchy, upbeat tune that was written by Gene MacLellan. Anne Murray first recorded the song for her 1970 album Honey, Wheat and Laughter with Capitol Records. I’ve not been able to find the details which prompted MacLellan to write the song. Gene MacLellan was born on February 2, 1938 in Quebec, Canada. […]
Read moreSong story: The Love of God
Frederick M. Lehman, the 20th Century author and composer of the hymn The Love of God, wrote a pamphlet in 1948. He wrote the following account of writing the song in his pamphlet “History of the Song, The Love of God.” “While at camp meeting in a mid-western state, some fifty years ago in our early ministry, an evangelist climaxed […]
Read moreSong Story: Where Could I Go But To the Lord
Where Could I Go, But to the Lord was written in 1940 by James Buchanan {also known as J.B.} Coats. Mr. Coats was born on April 6, 1901 in Summerland, Mississippi. By the time he was fourteen, he was teaching music classes and leading evangelistic singings. The inspiration for the song came years earlier when Mr. Coats was sitting beside […]
Read moreBehind the Song: The Uncloudy Day
The Unclouded Day is a popular gospel song, especially with quartets and church groups. I was surprised to discover the song was written in 1879. The song was written by Josiah Kelley Alwood. He wrote in A Rainbow at Midnight and A Song with Morning in 1896, the following account that inspired the song: “It was a balmy night […]
Read moreBehind the Song: I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy
I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy is a beautiful contemporary song that expresses how we will feel when we reach heaven. The song was written by Nettie {Neith} Dudley Washington and the music was written by E.M. Dudley Cantwell. The tune is known as Cried Holy. Washington was born March 31, 1881 and died in January 1963. Information […]
Read moreBehind the Song: Just a Little Talk with Jesus
Just a Little Talk with Jesus is one of those songs I love to warm up with when sitting down to play the piano. Many quartets love to sing this song and have fun with it. The song was written by Rev. Cleavant Derricks, pastor of a small African-American church in Alabama. Cleavant Derricks was born On May 13, 1910 […]
Read moreBehind the Song: He is My Everything
If you’ve listened to any of Elvis Presley’s gospel songs, you may have heard him sing, He is My Everything. The song was written by Dallas Frazier. Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter. He was born on October 27, 1939 in Oklahoma. He stated in an interview that he began writing music when he was about 11 […]
Read moreBehind the Christmas Carol: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks is a Christmas carol that describes the angels appearance to the shepherds as described in Luke 2:8-14. The song was written by Nahum Tate, who was England’s poet Laureate, and an Irish hymnists. He is best known for his adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks is the only Christmas […]
Read more