There Will Be A Happy Meeting In Glory

Alan Lomax "discovered" the gospel guitarist Joseph Spence, with his individual and idiosyncratic style of playing, while on a field trip to the Bahamas. Spence's playing - and his eccentric humming and grunting while playing - caused quite an impact on the folk guitar scene. Guitarists like Ry Cooder, Bob Fox and Davy Graham have all done versions of "There Will Be A Happy Meeting In Glory". Mine's a fairly straight version, in the standard key of D, but I've added an extra couple of bars on an A chord here and there - just as a little nod to Davy Graham's far more way out version! Music, tab and chords - without the extra A chord bars - is on my website at:

http://www.mjra.net/WillFly/tabs.shtml

High quality video & sound version at: http://www.vimeo.com/3379609

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Will
• Fly
• Joseph
• Spence
• acoustic
• fingerstyle
• gospel
• blues
• guitar

[2300skiddo]

Nicely played. Please note, however, that it was Samuel Charters who first recorded Spence, not Lomax, who already gets too much credit for things he either didn't do or only deserves a share of the credit for.

[HenfieldWill]

@2300skiddo Sam Charters, eh? Thanks for that info - the only recording references I've come across were the liner notes on a CD of Spence's music. :-) I'll change the "info" box for the video accordingly...

[blindbonder]

This is fantastic. I have been working on some Spence material lately as well. It's fun to try to break out of the blues typical alternating bass lines and into Spence's way of playing and thinking. One question, I thought Spence was of the few people that Lomax didn't discover. Are you sure it was Lomax who found him? Thanks, Ami, Israel

[HenfieldWill]

Hi Ami - as far as I know, Lomax certainly recorded him - whether he was the one who came across him initially, I don't actually know for sure.

Cheers, Will

[RodneySTR]

great playing will !!! on another note.. hehe.. what kinda video camera do u use? and do u use high definition? the reason i ask is cause on some videos . not yours . u have a option for high quality video. its not giving me that option here. but your video looks extremely good. so im curious if u filmed this in HD :D

[HenfieldWill]

I've just spotted the new red box with "HQ" in it underneath the video... :-)

[Labrabob]

@mkeenan204

Yea, "Dave and Morley" music. THANKS FOR THE TABS also.

[mkeenan204]

@ZOLOCA: Yeah, that's what always comes to my mind as well when I hear this tune. (That version is Ry Cooder's, and a very nice arrangement it is, too).

[ZOLOCA]

The sweet theme song to the Vinyl Cafe.

[Kurtz1974]

thanxxxxx!!! Grazie mille, consigliato a tutti

[SadChristian]

Very nice song! Sounds a lot like "Walk in the Light". (Beautiful Light, down where the dew drops of mercy shine bright...)