Music Notes – Sunday, June 15th:
This week’s musicians are UUCC Pianist Karin Tooley and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Prelude: Spirit Says Do – African American Spiritual
“When the Spirit Says Sing” (also known as “I’m Gonna Sing”) is among the best-known of traditional African American Spirituals. Its origins are unknown, but the song first began appearing in hymnals during the 1950s and became one of the rallying anthems of The Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. It is included in our Singing the Journey hymnbook as #1024 under the title “When the Spirit Says Do”. As the spirit moves you, please sing (and clap, dance, etc.) along with the music this Sunday!
Song: For All That Is Our Life – Rickey/Findlow
#128 in Singing the Living Tradition, “For All That Is Our Life” has been a favorite UU hymn for many years. The song resulted from a collaboration between composer Patrick Rickey (b. 1964), a California-based songwriter and church musician, and Rev. Bruce Findlow (1922-1994), a British author, educator and UU Minister who wrote the song’s lyrics.
Centering Music: (Everything I Do) I Do It for You – Adams, Kamen, and Lange
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” is a 1991 pop ballad written by Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams (b. 1959) along with American songwriter Michael Kamen (1948-2003) and South African music producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange (b. 1948). The song rose to prominence as the lead single from the soundtrack album of the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and was also released on Adams’s studio album Waking Up the Neighbours. “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” was a massive commercial success, spending seven weeks at #1 on the charts in the U.S., a record-setting sixteen weeks at #1 in the U.K, and reaching #1 in over a dozen other countries. “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” also received a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
Offertory: Brave – Bareilles & Antonoff
Eureka, California native Sara Bareilles (b. 1979) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and actor. Bareilles has sold over 3 million albums and 15 million singles to date and has earned three Grammy Awards among other accolades. Aside from her success as a performer and songwriter, Bareilles is also known as the creator of the 2015 hit musical Waitress, which ran more than four years on Broadway, was nominated for Tony and Grammy Awards, and was acclaimed for its all-female production team. Co-written with singer-songwriter and frontman for the group Fun Jack Antonoff (b. 1984), “Brave” was released in 2013 on Bareilles’s fourth studio album The Blessed Unrest. The song was inspired from the struggles that a close friend dealt with after deciding to come out as gay. “Brave” was praised by critics and became a top 25 hit. The song remains a favorite among Bareilles’s fans.
Song: Love Will Guide Us – Rogers
Sally Rogers is an award-winning folk musician, songwriter, and children’s arts educator. 2019 marked Sally’s 40th year as a songwriter, performer, and educator, and she is still steaming ahead, warming hearts and minds wherever she goes. Her songs “Lovely Agnes” and “Touch of the Master’s Hand” have frequently been mistaken for traditional, while “Love Will Guide Us” and “Circle of the Sun” are now anthems for rituals of passage and protest (from sallyrogers.com). Rogers’ gospel-inspired “Love Will Guide Us” is #131 in our Singing the Living Tradition hymnal and is a favorite of many UUs.
Postlude: Leader of the Pack – Greenwich, Barry, & Morton
A #1 pop hit in 1964, “Leader of the Pack” was co-written by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Barry (b. 1938) and Ellie Greenwich (1940-2009) along with songwriter/producer George “Shadow” Morton (1941-2013). The song was written for and first recorded by the American girl group the Shangri-Las, and it became one of their best-known hits. “Leader of the Pack” is one of several ‘teenage tragedy’ songs that became hits in the late 50s and early 60s – other examples include “Teen Angel”, “Moody River”, and “Tell Laura I Love Her”.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director