For some reason I thought Theodore Frye wrote this. Maybe it was just an arrangement of his I heard. Either way I love this song. Love anything R.M.S. did. As always good post.
Absolutely right about Lucy's vocal range. And if you ever track down an o. p. album, "The Soul of Chicago," you can hear her doing an impressive a cappella meter hymn and a song, "Seeking for Me," in which she drops to a baritonal range. I've always thought she was a great singer but she preferred to concentrate on the keyboards. As a kid she played Chopin and Brahms, and dreamed of a career in classical music. A fascinating artist.
Norsalus McKissick is leading this Lucy Smith composition. This dates from the period when Delois Barrett was raising her children and Bessie Folk had left the group. The dominant soprano voice is the great Myrtle Jackson, one of Chicago's premier soloists and a recording artist of note. I think the top soprano notes are provided by Little Lucy. But that's only an educated guess. Could be Myrtle.
I have a couple of Myrtle's solo sides cut in the 1960's and those don't sound like her high notes. Lucy Smith had one of the sweetest 1st sopranos in gospel when she sang it, though with Delois Barrett she generally sang the second soprano lines. Barrett had the grander head voice---I suspect Lucy could match her note for note and perhaps then some, but Barrett could always do it bigger; hence, her dibs on the 1st soprano. Check out their split on "I'm Determined".
Wait a minute!! Lucy could sing soprano? I never knew she could hit high notes. Why did Roberta decide to put Lucy above Delois. I thought she had a stronger, more rising soprano and Lucy was more of a mezzo.
His voice is like velvet. What a smooth singer. All I can say is WOW.
ElderPinkerton 1 year ago
For some reason I thought Theodore Frye wrote this. Maybe it was just an arrangement of his I heard. Either way I love this song. Love anything R.M.S. did. As always good post.
wcta0608 1 year ago
Absolutely right about Lucy's vocal range. And if you ever track down an o. p. album, "The Soul of Chicago," you can hear her doing an impressive a cappella meter hymn and a song, "Seeking for Me," in which she drops to a baritonal range. I've always thought she was a great singer but she preferred to concentrate on the keyboards. As a kid she played Chopin and Brahms, and dreamed of a career in classical music. A fascinating artist.
appetancy 3 years ago
Norsalus McKissick is leading this Lucy Smith composition. This dates from the period when Delois Barrett was raising her children and Bessie Folk had left the group. The dominant soprano voice is the great Myrtle Jackson, one of Chicago's premier soloists and a recording artist of note. I think the top soprano notes are provided by Little Lucy. But that's only an educated guess. Could be Myrtle.
appetancy 3 years ago
@appetancy I think it's Myrtle on soprano. It sounds like her. I think Little Lucy was the mezzo soprano
jddrew1000 1 year ago
@jddrew1000
I have a couple of Myrtle's solo sides cut in the 1960's and those don't sound like her high notes. Lucy Smith had one of the sweetest 1st sopranos in gospel when she sang it, though with Delois Barrett she generally sang the second soprano lines. Barrett had the grander head voice---I suspect Lucy could match her note for note and perhaps then some, but Barrett could always do it bigger; hence, her dibs on the 1st soprano. Check out their split on "I'm Determined".
direfranchement 1 year ago
@direfranchement
Wait a minute!! Lucy could sing soprano? I never knew she could hit high notes. Why did Roberta decide to put Lucy above Delois. I thought she had a stronger, more rising soprano and Lucy was more of a mezzo.
jddrew1000 1 year ago