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My Lord's Gonna Move This Wicked Race

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"My Lord's Gonna Move This Wicked Race" / "My Lord's Going to Move This Wicked Race" is a spiritual song that has been recorded by various groups.[1] It was recorded for the Ozark Folksong Collection in 1951.[2]

F. M. Askew is credited as the song's composer and lyricist.[3] He copyrighted the song in 1925.[4] The song was popular, and a version by Norfolk Jubilee Quartet recorded in 1923 or 1924,[1] continued to be printed nine years after its first recording; it was only removed from active printing when the printing company dissolved.[5] It was one of the quartet's most popular songs,[6] and unlike the version later produced by the Dixie Jubilee Singers, did not feature a sole woman singing the main lead.[7]

The Norfolk Jubilee Quartet's version was the 35th "race record" (records produced by racial minorities) by Paramount Records, and it was a commercial success.[8] The Selah Jubilee Singers produced a recording of the song in 1942 in a style consistent with their earlier barbershop-style songs; they moved to the jubilee style and the 1942 recording had an unusual style for popular music at the time.[9]

Shortly before his death in 1965, Malcolm X gave a speech about African American history and said that the song was sung by slaves. He said the song, alongside "Good News, Chariot's-a-Comin'", were emblematic of black spiritual life of the time: That they wanted to escape from the harsh realities of enslavement.[10]

Recordings

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References

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  1. ^ a b Oliver, Paul; Russell, Tony; Dixon, Robert M. W.; Godrich, John; Rye, Howard (2001-02-22). Yonder Come the Blues: The Evolution of a Genre. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-78777-2.
  2. ^ "My Lord's gonna move this wicked race". University of Arkansas Libraries & Digital Collections. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Askew, F. M." Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Vol. 3. Library of Congress. 1926. p. 1317.
  5. ^ Lornell, Kip (2001). "One hundred years of black gospel quartet singing". In Rubin, Rachel; Melnick, Jeffrey (eds.). American popular music: New approaches to the twentieth century. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 158. ISBN 9781558492684.
  6. ^ Heilbut, Anthony (1985). The gospel sound: Good news and bad times. New York: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 42. ISBN 9780879100346.
  7. ^ Dodge, Timothy (2013). The school of Arizona Dranes. Lexington Books. p. 123. ISBN 9780739167120.
  8. ^ "The Mayo Williams era". 78 Quarterly. Vol. 1, no. 4. 1989. p. 12.
  9. ^ a b Allen, Ray (1991). Singing in the spirit: African-American sacred quartets in New York City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780812230505.
  10. ^ Malcolm X (March 1967). "Afro-American History". International Socialist Review. Vol. 28, no. 2.
  11. ^ My Lord's gonna move this wicked race (Media notes). New York Recording Laboratories. 1923. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  12. ^ Heilbut, Anthony (1985). The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-87910-034-6.
  13. ^ "My Lord's gonna move this wicked race". August 20, 1934 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ "OKeh matrix S-72804". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Complete Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Volume 3: 1947-1951". Internet Archive. 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  16. ^ RCA Victor 48-0485
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