Can I get a Witness?
On songs with the spiritual touch
“I grew up with gospel because my folks took me there…When I got old enough, I started to sing in church.”
Elvis Presley
Let’s start with the church. As you know, it’s my background, it’s a natural setting for me and it’s definitely my roots.
Aretha Franklin
How many singing careers began in Church?
I’d wager more than we can imagine, from a broad range of characters, both secular and spiritual, spanning Cash and Cooke to Perry and Presley, Jerry Lee to Johnson. That’s ACDC’s Bryan Johnson, I kid you not. Here he is in his intelligent, hilarious and often entertaining autobiography:
“I was told that the Head Choir Boys got two shillings and sixpence. Wow, a promotion and a pay rise, all in the name of God! My greatest moment as a choir boy was at midnight mass, Christmas 1960. I sang 'Silent Night' solo. All lights in the church were out, and it was candlelight only. It really was a beautiful place to be.”
The…