By Eli (151.197.38.107) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 03:09 am:

Can anyone think of any songs which were originally Gospel songs that have been remade into secular recordings as in Theola Kilgore's I had a talk with my man which was originally I had a talk with God and Stand by me which was originally Stand by Jesus Yo've got the picture.

By PhilH (203.220.97.149) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:03 am:

Hi Bobby,

Ray Charles had a couple - "Leave My Woman Alone" was originally "Leave That Liar Alone" by somebody (I have a 1970's version by the Zion Harmonizers, but don't know if they did it originally), and I think "Lonely Avenue" was originally "How Jesus Died" by the Pilgrim Travelers. Another Travelers song that went secular was their "A Soldier's Plea" which became "Keep A Light In The Window" for Solomon Burke. One of the Nashboro groups did "Step By Step", remade under the same title by Clarence (Carter) and Calvin (Scott) at Fame. One of my favourites is the Sweet Inspirations' remake of the Staple Singers' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)".

Phil

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:07 am:

"Wonderful" by the Soul Stirrers became "Loveable", the first Sam Cooke pop recording. The single, released on Specialty Records on January 31, 1957 listed the singer's name as Dale Cook, so as to not offend his gospel following as he was still officially a Soul Stirrer. Remember, Sam Cooke was the first name gospel artist to cross over to pop. The session was produced by Bumps Blackwell at J&M Studios in New Orleans on December 12, 1956. By the way, "Wonderful"/"Loveable" was an original Sam Cooke composition.

Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" from 1961 was a reworking of the spiritual, "Stand By Me, Father".

Brook Benton had a mild hit with "Shadrack" in 1961. The song was written in 1931 as "Shadrack, Meshack, Abednigo".

In 1964, James Brown's "Oh Baby, Don't You Weep" peaked at #23 on the pop chart. You might recognize it as being taken from "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep".

During the fifties, many vocal group recordings were adapted from spirituals and gospel songs.

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:08 am:

In 1956, Ray Charles reworked the spiritual, "This Little Light Of Mine" and made it "This Little Girl Of Mine".

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:25 am:

The Womack brothers - aka The Valentinos - even secularised themselves... Their "Lookin' For A Love" (later a solo hit for Bobby) was cut originally for Sam Cooke as "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray".

By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 08:39 am:

I CAN'T REMEMBER IT'S GOSPEL NAME BUT THE DRIFTERS[I SHOULD HAVE DONE RIGHT}THEY JUST CHANGED THE LYRICS.

By Eli (151.197.5.24) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 09:29 am:

Wade in the Water was remade as Hey Little Walter by Toni, Tony Tone.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 11:17 am:

Bert Bern's "Heart Be Still" was based on the Reverend James Cleveland's "Peace Be Still."
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Mark Speck (65.56.218.171) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 12:45 am:

"Children, Go Where I Send You" was turned into "Land of 1,000 Dances".

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't "Meet Me at Mary's Place" by Sam Cooke copped from a gospel tune?

And also Etta James with "Something's Got a Hold on Me"--in her hit version, she sings "it must be love", but the original version has the lyric "it must be the Lord".

Best,

Mark

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 07:06 am:

Mitty Collier's 1964 hit, "I Had A Talk With My Man" came from a Reverend James Cleveland composition, "I Had A Talk With My Lord Last Night".

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 03:05 pm:

Probably half of the "secular" songs on SAR/Derby
were re-writes of gospel songs. "Looking For A
Love" definitely was.

I've always felt a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing of "rewriting" gospel songs where the
original composer doesn't get a credit - it seems even less ethical than ripping of pop or r&b songs
given the nature of the source material.


Another one was Roscoe Robinson's "That's Enough"
- has anybody heard "That's Enough" by Judy Hart
(actually folk singer Judy Henske)? - in an interview in "Bomp" Jack Nitzsche said the Judy
Hart track was a re-write of a Gospel Harmonettes
song - I've wondered if Roscoe Robinson got "his"
song from the same source.

By medusa9e (66.73.8.168) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 10:28 pm:

You Light Up My Life by Debbie Boone, was later recorded by Rev. Isaac Douglas, singing Lord You Light Up My Life.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 11:36 am:

Sam & Dave's "Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody" was lifted from a Gospel song with the same lyric("said I wasn't gonna tell nobody but I couldn't keep this to myself..")
Kevin Goins - KevGo