My Lord's Gonna Move This Wicked Race

"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

• Norfolk Jubilee Quartet ca. 1923[11][12]
• Frank Luther Quartette
• Dixie Jubilee Singers (1934) Decca[13]
• Southland Jubilee Singers[14]
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe, re-released on the Decca Singles Vol. 3[15]
• King's Heralds
• Alex Bradford
• Brooklyn Allstars on Nasboro 952
• "Wicked Race' The Gospel Sons Soul-Po-Tion SP-136
• Selah Jubilee Singers (1942)[9]
• Charlie Monroe and his Kentucky Pardners[16]

References

1. 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. 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