And this also gives me a chance to revisit, once again, song-poet extraordinaire Edith Hopkins. As I've written before, Edith Hopkins wrote several songs which appeared on the "Carellen" label, an outfit that appears to have provided vanity pressings and semi-legit releases for a number of songwriters and performers. But she then created her own label, "Inner-Glo", and utilized the folks at Globe and at Film City, as well as other performers, to perform her songs on that label.
I have heard from members of her family over the years, and they have confirmed my suspicion she was the composer of her songs; that is, that she wrote the words AND the music for the songs which carried her name, unlike a 100% song-poem where someone at the song-poem factory wrote the music. So her releases sort of cross the song-poem/vanity line, at least on those records where someone like Sammy Marshall (or, as he's identified here, Sonny Marcell) is performing her work. Other releases were likely attempts to market actual potential hit records.
For my money, Edith Hopkins was one of the best writers working within the environs of song-poems. Examples abound, but here are two: one from my site, and one which is available on YouTube. Oh, and there is the little matter about how she wrote my favorite record - by a country mile - that ever came out of anything even adjacent to the song-poem/vanity world. The first bridge of that record is quite likely my favorite 15 seconds ever record. Ever.
Anyway....
Today it's another religious song from the pen of Ms. Hopkins, appropriate, as it turns out, for the first week of Lent, I suppose, but that's a coincidence - the appeal to me here is the bouncy track and the engaging and warm vocals, not the lyrics (although they're quite effective, too). It's got the clunky title "Hurry Lord God, Reach Down For Me", and I'm guessing that no song-poem ever had more commas in a title. Something dreary could easily have been made out of this, and if so, I wouldn't be featuring it. But happily, it's a country pop groove, which becomes more and more gospelly as it goes along, what with the handclaps and the wailing soprano in the final minute. And, like so many of her songs, it's a capably written song, with effect lyrics and a really good melody (although I must admit that the words of the last verse, which touch on the crucifixion, sound more than a bit weird when combined with this peppy, upbeat music.
Download: Sonny Marcell - Hurry Lord God, Reach Down For Me
Play:
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Well, they can't all be winners. On the flip side we find "Just a Whisper". Musically, this is professionally done, and Sammy Marshall rather gave anything less than his all. But aside from a few minor pleasures (I like the harmonies), it's a pretty dang dull effort.
By the way, for those who might be interested, this record is from 1962.
Download: Sonny Marcell - Just a Whisper
Play:
1 comment:
These Inner-Glo records almost sound too good to be song-poems. Perhaps Edith Hopkins paid more money for better treatments of her material. Even side B, which isn't much of a song, is a pretty good record. Thanks!!
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