Show 68: Lawdy Blues
This is a sacred-and-profane program, built around the way blues and gospel keep borrowing one another's language, melody, and ache. The mix of field holler, spiritual warning, sanctified singing, and hard secular blues shows the two streams were never as far apart as folks liked to pretend.
I'm your host. For today's 68th episode, we will be making a special of gospel influence in the blues. Up first is a glorified introduction by Slim and the Supreme Angel Singers to James Brown's song "The Old Landmark."
This is a sacred-and-profane program, built around the way blues and gospel keep borrowing one another's language, melody, and ache. The mix of field holler, spiritual warning, sanctified singing, and hard secular blues shows the two streams were never as far apart as folks liked to pretend.
| Order | Track | Artist | Segment | Bridge | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Precious Lord | B.B. King | 1 | - | |
| 1 | Precious Lord (excerpt) | Slim and the Supreme Angel Singers | 1 | - | |
| 2 | I Got Drunk For The Lord/Train Is Moving On | Rev. Johnny L. 'Hurricane' Jones | 1 | - | |
| 3 | Going Home With My Jesus | Brother James Anderson | 1 | - | |
| 4 | Oh Happy Day | The Blind Boys Of Alabama | 1 | - | |
| 5 | Motherless Child | O.V. Wright | 1 | - | |
| 6 | Uncloudy Day | The Staple Singers | 1 | Yes | - |
| 7 | People Get Ready | The Impressions | 2 | Yes | - |
| 9 | Smooth Sailing | The Dixie Hummingbirds | 2 | - | |
| 10 | Son Of A Preacher Man | Mavis Staples | 2 | - | |
| 11 | My Journey To The Sky | Sister Rosetta Tharpe;Marie Knight;Sam Price Trio | 2 | - | |
| 12 | Joy to the World | Marion Williams | 2 | - | |
| 13 | Wade in the Water | Big Mama Thornton | 2 | - | |
| 14 | Swing Low (Sweet Chariot) | Etta James | 2 | - | |
| 15 | I Will Move On Up a Little Higher | Mahalia Jackson | 2 | - | |
| 16 | Oh Mary, Don't You Weep | The Swan Silvertones | 2 | - | |
| 17 | Hole In the Wall | Little Richard | 2 | Yes | - |
| 18 | Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho | Josh White | 3 | Yes | - |
| 19 | Down By The Riverside | Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee | 3 | - | |
| 20 | The Prodigal Son | Robert Wilkins | 3 | - | |
| 21 | I Am The Light Of This World | Rev. Gary Davis | 3 | - | |
| 22 | Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning | Mississippi Fred McDowell | 3 | - | |
| 23 | In My Time of Dying | Josh White | 3 | - | |
| 24 | Lord I Just Can't Keep from Crying | Blind Willie Johnson | 3 | Yes | - |
| 25 | Monolgue on Old Songs; Old Time Religion, Amen | Blind Willie McTell | 4 | Yes | - |
| 26 | I Got to Cross de River O'jordan (Alternate Take) | Blind Willie McTell | 4 | - | |
| 27 | On the Rock Where Moses Stood | The Carter Family | 4 | - | |
| 28 | I'll Fly Away | Hank Williams | 4 | - | |
| 29 | I Saw The Light | Hank Williams;Drifting Cowboys | 4 | - | |
| 30 | He Arose from the Dead | Blind Lemon Jefferson | 4 | - | |
| 31 | If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day | Robert Johnson | 4 | - | |
| 32 | God Is Real | Skip James | 4 | - | |
| 33 | Swing Low, Sweet Chariot | Big Bill Broonzy | 4 | Yes | - |
| 34 | No More, My Lawd | Jimpson And Men With Axes;Alan Lomax | 5 | Yes | - |
| Just as Well Get Ready, You Got to Die / Climbing High Mountains / Tryin' to Get Home | Blind Willie McTell | - | |||
| Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go (with Mavis Staples, Joe Ligon & The Franklin Sisters) | Aretha Franklin;Mavis Staples;Joe Ligon;The Franklin Sisters | - | |||
| The Old Landmark (feat. James Brown with Rev. James Cleveland Choir) | The Blues Brothers;James Brown;Rev. Cleveland James Choir | - |