Past Programs
Gospel - 2008
A Change Is Gonna Come
14/11/2008
We look back at Remembrance Day with a hymn sung at services around the world and a favourite in Australia, 'O God, Our Help in Ages Past'. An Isaac Watts hymn with music by William Croft it was first published 300 years ago in 1708. We'll also take in the Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe's evocative orchestral piece 'Small Town' which features the Last Post threading through the work. And with a United States President-elect raised in the African-American church, we look ahead with songs of hope from that tradition including one from the preacher's son, Sam Cooke, 'A Change is Gonna Come'.
Ira Tucker and the Dixie Hummingbirds
08/08/2008
One of the grand old men of American gospel music, and one of the great singers of the 20th century, passed away recently and you probably didn't even hear about it. Ira Tucker, who died in Philadelphia on the 24th of June this year, was the flamboyant lead singer for gospel quartet the Dixie Hummingbirds for an amazing 70 years.
Pioneers of the modern gospel quartet sound, the Dixie Hummingbirds were one of the most enduring and successful groups of their time. Formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, the group started singing in the Bethel Church of God. In 1938 a teenage Ira Tucker joined and stayed until his death this year. The young Tucker had a baritone voice that surpassed most others with its range and strength, but Ira Tucker's showmanship also captivated audiences and congregations wherever the Dixie Hummingbirds played. He would jump off stages and race down aisles and many believe his style paved the way for soul singers like James Brown.
The Soweto Gospel Choir
23/05/2008
There are almost 50 million South Africans and four out of every five are evangelical Christians. Church singing is at the heart of the Soweto Gospel Choir, and this week we hear the choir performing, and reflecting on, their unique combination of Protestant hymns and African tribal traditions.
Bluegrass Angels
16/05/2008
Born in the hills of Kentucky in the 1930s, bluegrass music is noteable for its use of mandolin and banjo, simple harmonies, and its powerful streak of Protestant fatalism. In recent years, a new wave of female singers and songwriters have revitalised the gospel heart of bluegrass music and this week we hear some of the best, including Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and the Cox Family.
The Staple Singers
07/03/2008
For almost fifty years the Staple Singers were God's greatest hitmakers. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, the family led by their father Roebuck 'Pops' Staples joined the Great Migration to Chicago and in the late 1940s began performing gospel music in local churches. Pops and his children - daughters Cleotha, Yvonne and Mavis, and son Pervis - landed a record deal in the early 50s and cut their first hit single in 1956, 'Uncloudy Day'. The song showcased the family's strengths - Southern gospel quartet harmonies, Pop's reverbed Delta-blues guitar playing and Mavis' rich contralto voice. We'll hear the first family of gospel, with some of their hits from the 1950s to the 1970s and up to today, including a track from Mavis Staples' latest album, We'll Never Turn Back.
After establishing themselves as a gospel force, the Staple Singers became active members of the Civil Rights movement in America during the 1960s, recording protest standards and their own classic 'Why (Am I Treated So Bad)'. Released in 1967 it marked a new direction for the group - gritty message-songs strongly influenced by southern soul music.
In the 1970s after moving to Stax Records the Staples recorded some of their biggest hits including 'Respect Yourself' in 1971 and a year later the #1 hit 'I'll Take You There'. Pops Staples died in 2000 and the band effectively ceased, but Mavis continues to perform and to record fine albums of gospel-inspired music, including 2007's stunning collection of Civil Rights era songs, 'We'll Never Turn Back'. Mavis Staples will be touring Australia in March 2008.
Freedom Songs
04/01/2008
They were the songs that galvanised the American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and early 60s. Taken up first by street protesters, and then by musicians like Pete Seeger, The Weavers and The Staple Singers, songs like 'We Shall Overcome' and 'Study War No More' became international anthems for freedom. But how many people realised they were singing versions of 19th century gospel songs and hymns?
When I was a student in Brisbane in the early 1980s I remember hearing protest songs being sung during the street marches that took place then. But it wasn't until recently that I found out many of those songs came out of the church. So tonight I thought I'd play you some of those songs, those reworked hymns, including 'Down by the Riverside' and 'We Shall Not be Moved'. And they're still going strong even now. We'll hear two very recent versions by Mavis Staples, and Bruce Springsteen, as well as some of the Civil Rights performers like The Weavers and The Freedom Singers.
First broadcast 13 July 2007.
