If I Don't Get There

Album: The Great Gospel Songs (1921)

Songfacts®:

  • Thomas A. Dorsey can rightly be said to be the father of gospel; his most famous song was "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," but the first song he wrote in the genre was "If I Don't Get There."

    According to Eileen Southern in the Second Edition of The Music Of Black Americans: A History, Dorsey was inspired to write the song after attending the National Baptists Convention in 1921 where he heard the Reverend A. W. Nix perform the hymn "I Do, Don't You."

    Dorsey himself wrote: "In 1921 at the National Baptist Convention in Chicago, I heard a Professor Nix and saw him raise that huge audience singing a religious song, 'I Do, Don't You.' I was converted in that meeting and said that is the type of music I would like to do."

    Up until then, Dorsey had been a "secular" musician, playing with jazz bands, demonstrating songs in record stores, arranging, and the like. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."