I'm crazy about this a capella gospel song "Move Upstairs", sung by Della Daniels and Ester Mae Smith--
--and it's the kind of movable song I'm thinking about when I think about how music survives.
The lyrics are about that too--what helps you survive. (Preparing for release from this world...)
(I'm sure people have written wonderfully about this––how music travels through hardness––I'm not much of a music person, and it's kind of new to me...)
It's from the album Como Now: The Voices of Panola County, Mississippi (2008):
--and it's the kind of movable song I'm thinking about when I think about how music survives.
The lyrics are about that too--what helps you survive. (Preparing for release from this world...)
(I'm sure people have written wonderfully about this––how music travels through hardness––I'm not much of a music person, and it's kind of new to me...)
It's from the album Como Now: The Voices of Panola County, Mississippi (2008):
"Deep in the heart of Panola County, Mississippi lies Como, a small rural town where children and grown folks alike have been living and breathing gospel for as long as they can remember.
In the summer of 2006, Daptone Records placed a small ad in local papers and on the radio inviting singers to come down to Mt. Mariah Church to record their songs.
The result is COMO NOW, a stirring collection of traditional and original a cappella gospel from the voices of Panola County’s own families."
Como (this might be in the liner notes) was the home of Mississippi Fred McDowell, famed for “You Got to Move,” among other songs.
ReplyDeleteFor incredible recordings of music which includes Fred McDowell, check out the Alan Lomax library of sound recordings available at http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/home-audio.jsp
ReplyDeleteHe spent years recording around the US and the world (1933-1990s). Even has an incredible recording by Bob Dylan called Masters of War.
Kirsten
Ah, thanks, both of you--
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Fred McDowell and listened to recordings last night:
LOVE HIM!!!
And that sort of repetitive music (?)--not sure what you call it--I love it!