Hymn of the Week: Precious Lord, Take My Hand

As you can hear in the soulful rendition of this hymn recorded by our own Phil Campbell, “Precious Lord” is a powerful and reassuring affirmation of the strength and compassion of the Lord. We know that no matter what our need, God is there “through the storm, through the night” to “lead [us] home.”

Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899-1993) wrote the words to “Precious Lord” in 1932, after the death of his wife in childbirth and the death, two days later, of his newborn son. Dorsey is considered the "father" of the African American gospel tradition (in distinction to the spiritual tradition). "Precious Lord" was chosen by Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of the "freedom anthems" of the Civil Rights Movement; since that time it has been included in many hymnals.

The origins of the tune of Precious Lord are not entirely clear, but it is known that Dorsey arranged the tune in this unforgettable and beautiful form. Dorsey’s adaptation was of a tune sometimes called “Maitland,” often attributed to George N. Allen who used it for a hymn he wrote in the 1830s called “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?” (more on Allen below)! (Just as a reminder, most hymns have both a title and a named tune. The tune name is generally meaningful to the composer in some way, but can also be borrowed from the text or the meaning of the text.)

Born in the southern state of Georgia into a Baptist preacher's family, Thomas Dorsey moved to Chicago at age 16, where he studied at the Chicago College of Composition and Arranging. In the evenings, he played in nightclubs under the name of "Georgia Tom," accompanying blues singers such as Tampa Red, Ma Rainey, and Bessie Smith. Dorsey was active in the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago and, in 1932, began a forty-year tenure as the church's choral director. He wrote at least two hundred gospel songs and his total works number more than a thousand.

Dorsey was a trailblazer in his industry as well. Unhappy with the treatment he received at the hands of publishers, he established the first black gospel music publishing company, Dorsey House of Music. He also was a founder and the first president of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses.

Thomas Dorsey was the first African American to be elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame; in 1982, he was elected to the Gospel Music Association’s Living Hall of Fame. Dorsey was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame under his blues stage name “Georgia Tom Dorsey” in 2018.  His papers are preserved at Fisk University.

Dorsey’s song “Peace in the Valley,” written in 1937 for Mahalia Jackson, reached an audience of 5.7 million when Elvis Presley sang it on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. The song was also covered by Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Faith Hill, among others.

[As an aside, during his 1957 performance, Presley dedicated Dorsey’s song to Hungarian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country. His plea raised the equivalent of almost $50 million for that cause. I note this because my piano teacher, and “spiritual mother,” Lili Simon, was one of those Hungarian refugees benefiting from American sponsorship. It is thanks to her that your music director is who she is].

The association of George Nelson Allen (1812-1871) with the tune of “Precious Lord” provides an opportunity to point out some relevant black history. Allen was Professor of Music and Professor of Geology and Natural History, as well as the Secretary and Treasurer, of Oberlin College from its earliest years.

Oberlin College, now firmly ensconced as one of the premier music schools in the world as well as a fine liberal arts college, was founded in 1833 as a Christian college. It was co-educational from the start, but also began regularly admitting black students from 1835. In 1844, George B. Vashon was the first black student to earn a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin, and Mary Jane Patterson earned her BA in 1862, becoming the first black woman to earn a degree from any American college. The town of Oberlin itself had a reputation for abolitionist activities, and was an important stop along the Underground Railroad. 

 Faithfully yours,

Mary Therese