Our Better Angels …

Music and religion go together like love and marriage used to. I never did well at retreats at St. FX--sometimes you had to maintain silence for three days. Agony. This list mixes themes of worship, faith and encouragement.

At about 14, I began losing my religion, and by my twenties considered myself an atheist. Years later, as the human genome was being mapped, I started seriously studying biology, chemistry, physics, and philosophy. The more I learned, the more I realized how little we know for certain. “Trust the science” sounds reassuring, but science is not a fixed body of truth. Its theories are like bookmarks in an early chapter: useful until better evidence moves the story along. Science doesn’t hand us final proof; it tests explanations and discards those that fail.

What struck me most was the extraordinary information embodied in DNA--something Bill Gates famously compared to computer code. The deeper I dug, the more intelligent design made sense to me. Last year, I took a couple of university-level courses in philosophy and cosmology. That cemented my awakening. To me, an intelligence beyond our imagining creating existence and making us self-aware seems no greater miracle than insentient matter somehow randomly becoming alive, thinking, storing and transforming information, and communicating thoughts about its own existence.

Amazing Grace--Pentatonix:

A timeless anthem of redemption, hope and spiritual awakening, it appeals to many folks--religious or not. At the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Halifax, its celebratory message was conveyed by the skirl of pipes--it seems the more bagpipes, the more goosebumps! Most know the words were written by a former slave ship captain as a testimonial to his gradual conversion following a violent storm at sea, but few realize he became an Anglican clergyman who supported the abolitionist cause of William Wilberforce from 1788 onward. Here, it’s performed by Pentatonix, an a cappella group formed by high school friends in Texas. You’ll have no trouble believing they have earned several Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

You Raise Me Up--Josh Groban:

Few modern songs sound so much like a hymn without actually being one. The “you” is never identified: it may be God, a parent, a lover, a friend--or simply the human spirit strengthened by another. The listener gets to decide. That ambiguity helped the song travel effortlessly between churches, funerals, weddings, sporting events, and pop concerts. It is a big song that requires a big voice. The melody was written by Norwegian composer Rolf Løvland, the keyboardist and guiding musical force behind the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden. It was played at his mother’s funeral. Irish novelist Brendan Graham wrote the lyrics. The melody has the Celtic colouring of the traditional “Londonderry Air.” Producer David Foster recognized its potential for his young discovery, Josh Groban. Foster first met Groban when the singer was only sixteen and later had him stand in for Andrea Bocelli during a Grammy rehearsal. Groban recorded “You Raise Me Up” for his 2003 album Closer. His rich, restrained baritone begins almost conversationally; then Foster’s arrangement kicks in with strings, choir, and percussion. The recording topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks and earned Groban a Grammy nomination. He also sang it during the Super Bowl XXXVIII tribute to the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, giving the song a solemn national association.

Oh Happy Day--The Edwin Hawkins Singers:

A church choir recorded an album to finance a trip, pressed only 500 copies and accidentally created one of the greatest gospel records ever made. “Oh Happy Day” crossed every boundary--gospel, soul, pop, race, nationality, and denomination--because it sounded less like a sermon than a volcano of joy. Young pianist and choirmaster Edwin Hawkins took an old hymn, reworked it into a modern gospel groove, and voila--a hit was born. Hawkins said his gently rippling piano introduction was influenced by Sérgio Mendez. The singers were originally the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ. In 1967, they cut a record hoping to sell enough copies locally to pay their way to a church convention. Hawkins did not even consider “Oh Happy Day” one of the record’s strongest selections. But a local disc jockey found a copy and played it on a rock station. It eventually sold millions and earned Hawkins the 1970 Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance. The unforgettable voice belongs to Dorothy Combs Morrison. You can feel the exuberance!

Because We Believe--Andrea Bocelli:

Blind since age 12, Bocelli has sold over 90 million records. Though he was already successful in Europe, David Foster’s song “The Prayer” made Bocelli a household name in North America. The two became friends and collaborators.

Grandma’s Hands--Gladys Knight:

That warm, gospel feel is perfect for this. Navy vet Bill Withers, who wrote “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “ Lean on Me,” wrote this about the grandmother who helped raise him. He places us next to the two of them in the pews, where his great ears honed his craft.

He--Jerry Vale:

I wrote a song called “Julie” at 11--and found out later that I’d stolen this melody. The lyric never actually says “God,” referring only to the divine power as “He.” That allowed the song to function simultaneously as a hymn, inspirational popular song, and personal expression of faith--an ambiguity rather like “You Raise Me Up,” although “He” is unmistakably religious. I once read that Jerry was an elevator operator in Vegas; as Perry Como rode up to his floor, he auditioned and was helped by the fellow Italian to launch his career. Great story, but I think it was Canadian Guy Lombardo who discovered Vale in New York and Guy Mitchell who brought him to producer Mitch Miller. Sinatra mentored him in Vegas. Sinatra had a reputation for being dismissive, especially with reporters, but the more I learn of him, the more I respect him. It was Sinatra after all who warned race-jittery club owners that if Sammy Davis Junior couldn’t come in, he wouldn’t either. What do you think Frankie’s presence was worth to a Vegas nightclub? Sammy came in through the front door!

Lucky Old Sun--Dutch Robinson:

This is a cut from Into the Light, a CD given to me by a friend, Russ Brennan. Russ told me that this cut came about one evening when he and Dutch Robinson shared a bottle of good wine in Russ’ basement recording studio. Dutch delivers the message believably, like he has lived it, with all that gospel infusion and experiential pain. In my opinion, Dutch is an underrated vocalist who can do almost anything with that unparalleled, natural instrument--a soul singer’s emotional authority combined with jazz improvisational chops. I’d always thought he was from the Halifax area, but he’s a transplanted New Yorker. We were lucky to have him in Nova Scotia for a few years.

How Great Thou Art--Carrie Underwood:

Maybe you will agree that Carrie was the best of the American Idol winners? And not just because she had the good sense to marry a Canadian hockey player. I love this performance! She clearly gives it her all!

Just a Closer Walk with Thee”--Mahalia Jackson:

Frankie Laine’s version set at #1 in the U.K. for a staggering 18 weeks. A secular hymn with a sweeping melody and gradual build, it seems appropriate that it was not unnoticed by the “Queen of Gospel,” the same Mahalia Jackson who shaped history itself as she interrupted MLK’s speech in Washington with, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” Her deep, resonant voice carried the weight of the gospel not just the sentimentality, and at times one stood in awe that the needle hadn’t skidded off the record as she preached in a contralto spanning three octaves.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken--The Staple Singers:

200 years ago there were many very large families. Infant mortality was common. About half of children died before their 5th birthday. There was no welfare or social security so if folks wanted to live a decent life when they got old they had to have adult children to help farm the land. There was no electricity either so folks used to sit around the fire at night, maybe tell stories or share dreams, and enjoy each other. When someone died there was an empty spot around the fire--the circle was broken. This song expresses a Christian hope for a family reunion in heaven. The Staple Singers group was formed in Chicago in the late 1940s by Roebuck “Pops” Staples (guitar and vocals) with his children. One of the very first songs Pops taught the children was “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”--a piece he had sung with his own family back on Dockery Plantation in the Mississippi Delta.

May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You--Jajai Singsit:

I came across this the other day. This is Jajai Singsit, a baritone from Northeast India. Some will be surprised that he sounds kinda like Ray Price who had a big hit with this song. Clearly that is no accident, Singsit has built a reputation covering the greats of the country-gospel era, but I think he actually has a better voice than Price in the lower registers. We have to hear more of this guy!

May You Always--McGuire Sisters:

This warm, sentimental 1958 pop ballad comes across as a heartfelt wish for someone’s happiness, fortune, and love. Larry Markes was a Brooklyn-born lyricist, comedy writer, and later screenwriter. He teamed early with Dick Charles; their first success was a 1942 Dinah Shore recording. This peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The McGuire Sisters had had Number 1 hits with “Sincerely” and “Sugartime” previously and their syrupy harmonies embodied the innocent optimism of a post-war, pre-rock era, giving it the sentimental, well-scrubbed sheen of a ’57 Chevy, a whitewashed picket fence, or perhaps a diamond ring in the window of a downtown hawk shop.