Overview

This book celebrates the people who sang Sacred Harp songs in the Deep South in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and brings to light their vanished worlds. Rich in lively anecdotes and period photographs, the narrative, through treasured heirloom stories, guides our gaze to Alabama abolitionists, forgotten ballads, drone singing, shoutin' happy singers, swept yards, red-eye gravy, and Baptist biscuits. And the author delights in telling his own early journeys into Sacred Harp singing.

Full Product Details

9781088062609

Table of Contents

Reviews

Larry Brasher's book is a fascinating account of the lives of north Alabama Sacred Harp singers and teachers through the Civil War up to the end of the twentieth century. It draws on prolific family stories spanning 200 years and focuses on the 129 year history of the Warrior River Sacred Harp Convention. We've never before had this level of detail about the singers' personalities, musical tastes, and convictions-and all told, in the singers' voices, with both great humor and poignancy. It's a monumental achievement-and a must-have for every fan of Sacred Harp! -Buell Cobb I received your book in the afternoon and finished reading it before bedtime. It grabbed me by the collar and jerked me back 50 years. You did a fabulous job pulling all that information into a coherent whole. Thank you for a most interesting and entertaining read! -Kay Wall Ward

Author Information

John Lawrence Brasher, PhD, a native of New Jersey, is Denson N. Franklin Professor of Religion Emeritus at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. Educated at Duke University and Yale University, his publications and research include eighteenth- and nineteenth-century religion in America, Revolutionary War history, folklore, oral history, American music, American decorative arts, American environmental history, environmental ethics, and botanical history and field studies. He has taught at Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Catawba College, and Birmingham-Southern College. He received the Preservationist Award from the Alabama Sierra Club for his work in preserving old-growth forests and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Birmingham-Southern College.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available