Behind the Hymn: Standing on the Promises
“Standing on the Promises” was written and composed by Russell Carter in 1886. Carter was a professor at the time at the Pennsylvania Military Academy, a school in which he had been a member of…
Behind the Song: Kum ba Yah
Kum ba Yah is a spiritual song dating back to at least the 1920s, when the earliest known recordings took place. According to the Library of Congress the two earliest versions were both collected in…
Behind the Hymn: All the Way the Savior Leads Me
All the Way the Savior Leads Me is one of the songs that runs through my mind at times. The hymn was written in 1875 by Fanny Crosby. “A frequently told story about this hymn…
Behind the Christmas Song: We Three Kings
In honor of Epiphany, which we just celebrated, I thought We Three Kings would be a great song to take a closer look at. We Three Kings describes the journey of the Wise Men to…
Behind the Christmas Song: Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Sweet Little Jesus Boy finds it’s roots in the African-American spirituals. The song was written by Robert MacGimsey. According to legend, MacGimsey left the midnight Christmas Eve service he’d been attending that cold night in…
Behind the Christmas Song: O Come O Come Emmanuel
The words and music of “O Come O Come Emmanuel” developed separately. The original text, which was in Latin, was first documented in 1710 in Germany. The tune has it’s origins in 15th Century France.…
Behind the Christmas Song: What Child Is This?
What Child is This? was written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865 in England. Dix worked as a manager for an insurance company before being afflicted with a severe illness that left him bedridden and…
The Untold Story: The Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key We all know our National Anthem, but do you know how it originated? The author, Francis Scott Key, was at Fort McHenry when the British Royal Navy bombed the fort in 1814.…
Song Story: God Bless America
Irving Berlin’s patriotic love song to his adopted homeland was hidden away for over twenty years before being publicly made known. Irving Berlin was a Russian immigrant living in New York City. Growing up, Berlin…
Behind the Hymn: I Must Tell Jesus
I was recently discussing this beloved hymn with a family member. However, I can so relate to the story. There have been times when I had no one to tell my sorrows except Jesus. I…
Behind the Song: His Kind of Love
Have you wondered where I got my tag, “Sharing HIS Kind of Love” from? The phrase comes from the song by the same title. His Kind of Love was written by Marijohn Wilkin. For 15…
Behind the Song: One Day at a Time
Many times it is difficult to see the path ahead. All we can do is take things one day at a time. The song “One Day at a Time” was written by Marijohn Wilkin when…
Behind the Hymn: My Jesus, I Love Thee
My Jesus, I Love Thee was written as a devotional poem by a young teen who had recently come to faith. That teen was William Ralph Featherston. Featherston considered this hymn his “legacy of love.” …
Behind the Hymn: Holy! Holy! Holy!
When I was growing up Holy! Holy! Holy! was the first hymn found in the Baptist Hymnal. I remember often requesting this song at hymn sings, when I was in elementary school. I’m sure this…
Behind the Hymn: Victory in Jesus
Eugene Monroe Bartlett, Sr. is considered to have made a major impact on the development of Southern Gospel Music. He was born on December 24, 1885 in Waynesville, Missouri. At a young age he relocated…
Behind the Story: He Touched Me
He Touched Me was the song that propelled Bill Gaither onto the national stage. Gaither had been writing songs for years, but nothing struck the chord with the American public the way He Touched Me…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: Send the Light
Send the Light was written by Charles H. Gabriel. Charles Hutchinson Gabriel was born August 18, 1856 in Wilton Iowa and raised on a farm. As a boy, Gabriel taught himself to play a small…
Behind the Song Sunday: Just As I Am
Charlotte Elliott spent the majority of her life as an invalid. During this time she said the only thing she could do was “worship God.” Ms. Eliott began her life with a lot of promise…
Behind the Song Sunday: In The Garden
Dr. Adam Geibel, a music publisher, asked pharmacists and composer, C. Austin Miles, to write a hymn that would bring hope. Miles retreated to ” a cold, dreary and leaky basement in New Jersey that…
Behind the Song Sunday: How Great Thou Art
Today How Great Thou Art is a staple in the protestant church and often requested for funerals. The song did not gain popularity until after celebrating its fiftieth birthday. Cliff Barrows, the song leader for…