Glory to the Newborn King

Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child


I. First Recording and Publication

Philadelphia musician Margaret Wells Allison (1921–2008) started her gospel career at a young age by accompanying a group called the Spiritual Echoes, but just a few years later, she had a vision for a group of her own. She recruited Ella Mae Norris and Lucille Shird from the Spiritual Echoes, added her sister Josephine Wells McDowell, and formally launched a new quartet, The Angelic Gospel Singers, in 1944. Initially, they sang for churches and revivals and conventions, then entered the recording industry when they signed with Gotham Records in Philadelphia, where they worked with musician and executive Harry “Doc” Bagby (1919–1970). Over the course of five years, from 1949 to 1954, the group recorded 50 tracks on 78-rpm records (25 2-sided discs). Gospel historian Viv Broughton described their success:

Their downhome versions of the old hymn and gospel tunes, loosely sung to piano and sometimes organ accompaniment, turned them into one of Gotham Records’ hottest properties in the early 1950s.[1]

Their overall sound as a group, what Horace Clarence Boyer described as “the old-fashioned southern style of church music, gospel, and hymns,” was characterized by “percussive attacks, sliding from one pitch to another, vocal interjections by each member of the group, and repetition of any portion of the song that struck a spiritual chord.”[2]

One of their most enduring songs has been “Glory, glory, to the newborn King,” recorded in 1950 as Gotham G-675, with the B-side “Jesus Christ is born.” The song began with its memorable chorus, “Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child,” sung together by the group, then they continued together into the verse, “He was herald by the angels; yes, born in a lowly manger,” returned to the chorus, followed that with an instrumental chorus (piano and organ), then returned again to the group chorus. This original recording featured the quartet accompanied by a gently swinging piano and electric organ; Margaret Allison was the pianist, while Doc Bagby probably served as the organist, uncredited.

Some matter of confusion has surrounded the proper authorship of the song. On the original 78-rpm record, the songwriter credit was given simply as “Carney,” and on the sheet music, which was published in Philadelphia by Andrea Music Company in 1951, the composer was “H. Carney.” The official registry of the sheet music with the Library of Congress, dated 28 Nov. 1950, was filed under the name Harry Bagby, with “H. Carney” annotated as a pseudonym.[3] Therefore, at least initially, the song was credited to Bagby, but historically a different tale has unfolded.

 

Image courtesy of Bob Marovich.

 

II. Additional Recordings by the Angelic Gospel Singers

In 1955, before the impending dissolution of Gotham Records, the group signed with Nashboro Records in Nashville, Tennessee. They eventually re-recorded their Christmas song as a 45-rpm single in 1968 (No. 946), this time opposite the single “Father, I stretch my hands.” On the face of this disc, “Glory to the new born King” was credited to “Allison.” This track was re-issued on the album Nashboro Nativity: A Christmas Gospel Collection, Vol. 1 (1995), where it was credited to “M. Allison.” The 1968 recording is similar in style to the 1950 issue, but slightly slower and adding electric bass and drums. Margaret Allison’s distinctive piano stylings laid the same foundation as before; this time, the vocals consisted of her and her sister and Thomas Mobley. The outline of the song followed the simple pathway of chorus, chorus, verse, chorus.

In 1982, the Angelic Gospel Singers entered into a recording contract with Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi. They recorded their song once again, and it appeared on the compilation album Gospel at Christmastime (MAL 4404, 1985). Here, the song was credited unmistakably to Margaret Allison. Musically, the style had not changed much, with Allison’s familiar piano, joined by electric organ, electric bass, a mild electric guitar, and drums. The structure was familiar too, tracing chorus, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus. The personnel at the time was apparently Margaret Allison, Josephine McDowell, Bernice Cole, and Pauline Turner, with Darryl Richmond (bass) and John Richmond (guitar).[4]

 
 

Based on what limited information is available, a couple of possibilities account for why the song was initially credited to Bagby but later to Allison. With Bagby being in a position of authority over a relatively young group, inexperienced in the legalities of the recording industry, Bagby was able to leverage his involvement in the musical arrangement into a full credit without acknowledging Allison, or she simply sold the rights in a deal she could not have fully appreciated at the time. Additionally, if Bagby was responsible for having the song scored, he might have felt ownership over the final product. Whatever happened between them, by 1968 Allison clearly did not feel Bagby deserved any credit, and his name was omitted from any further recordings (Bagby died in 1970). One curious exception was made when the song was printed in Sing! A New Creation: Leader’s Edition (Grand Rapids: Faith Alive, 2002). In that instance, the text was credited to Bagby, the music to Allison. Allison’s granddaughter Monica Allison explained what the situation was like from her grandmother’s perspective:

At the time of that writing, Nana said that she didn’t know about owning masters or as she put it, “any of that legal stuff,” she was focused on the music. Once she was signed, the process of getting credit was explained to her. She told me that she and the Dixie Hummingbirds would perform that together and collaborated on the arrangement. What people don’t know about her is that my grandmother played by ear, she never learned how to write music. A song would come to her, and she would keep playing until she found the sound she wanted.[5]

At some point, Allison became a member of BMI, and 131 of her songs are registered there, including “Glory to the newborn King.”

III. Additional Recordings by Others

In the meantime, the song had exploded across the gospel choir community, although rarely with proper credit. Horace Boyer once remarked, “Although not apparent from its early modest success, ‘Glory to the newborn King’ (1950) became as popular in gospel music circles as ‘White Christmas’ in the popular music world.”[6] Yet unlike “White Christmas,” the apparent lack of a published score after 1951 meant the song circulated aurally, taught by rote, such that the name of the composer was lost in transmission. This problem has also been exacerbated by the song being known popularly by the first line of the chorus rather than the last, leading to difficulties in tracing its lineage.

Among gospel artists, it was recorded by Dr. Charles G. Hayes and The Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir on their double album Everytime I Feel the Spirit (Savoy SGL 7076, 1982), renamed “Jesus, oh what a wonderful child,” taken up in tempo and energy, led by a soloist, and strung out to seven minutes by the use of an added gospel vamp. On the disc, the song was credited as “Public Domain.” The song appeared on an album by Luther Barnes and the Red Budd Gospel Choir, It’s Christmas Time Again (Atlanta International Records AIR 10150, 1989), also going by the alternate title, and credited as “Public Domain, Arranged by Luther Barnes.” Barnes’s version, infused with a 1980s funk sound, featured a new verse a new vamp. The song reached even bigger and broader audiences when it appeared on Mariah Carey’s popular album Merry Christmas (Sony Records, released 29 Oct. 1994). On the album and in the published score, credit went only to the arrangers, Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff, and Loris Holland.

 
 

IV. Publication in Hymnals

Similar problems followed the song into the world of published hymnody. The song was printed in a hymnal for the first time in The New Century Hymnal (1995), where it was called “African-American traditional,” arranged by Jeffrey Radford (1953–2002), music director at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. This version used an unusual variation on the last line, “Glory, glory, glory, let the heavens ring,” which has no known precedent and could be by the editors of the hymnal. In the corresponding New Century Hymnal Companion (1998), Robert L. Anderson said the song “demonstrates the strong rhythmic characteristics of the spiritual genre” and called it a “traditional African American Christmas song or chorus.”[7]

 

New Century Hymnal (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1995), excerpt.

 

Radford’s arrangement was repeated in This Far by Faith (1999), Sing! A New Creation (2001), and several other collections, as was the traditional ascription. Curiously, when the song appeared in the Presbyterian Glory to God (2013), the harmonization was credited to Radford, but the arrangement to Horace Clarence Boyer, 2000, the same scholar who had written about the song in 1995 and knew its source, and yet the hymnal’s commentary said, “Specific sources for the words and the music of this piece from the African American heritage remain uncertain. The predictable rhymes suggest . . . it may have originated as a reflection on an existing Christmas carol.”[8] In Glory to God: A Companion (2016), editor Carl P. Daw Jr. wrote, “This text comes out of the African American tradition, possibly from the 20th century,” and “This tune reflects several African American musical styles,” including “closely woven harmonies,” “a gospel piano style,” and a melody whose shape is “more horizontal than vertical, covering only [a] fifth.”[9]

V. Possible Precursors

If the song has any antecedents in traditional expressions within the African American community, it would be via the spiritual “Mary, what ya’ goin’ to name that pretty little baby” with its refrain “Glory be to your newborn King,” published as early as 1903,[10] or “Oh, who do you call the wonderful counselor? . . . Glory hallelujah to the newborn King,” published as early as 1949.[11] These expressions might have been known to Margaret Allison and/or Harry Bagby, but they should not be confused with what was effectively a brand new song as it was recorded in 1950. The longstanding practice of calling the song “Traditional” is unfortunate and ought to be abandoned in light of the song’s documented history and its registry with the Library of Congress.

by CHRIS FENNER
with C. MICHAEL HAWN
for Hymnology Archive
and The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology
20 January 2021

Footnotes:

  1. Viv Broughton, Black Gospel: An Illustrated History of the Gospel Sound (1985), p. 74.

  2. Horace Clarence Boyer, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel (1995), pp. 112.

  3. Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Published Music, Ser. 3, Vol. 4, Pt. 5A, No. 2 (July–Dec. 1950), p. 435: Archive.org

  4. Sherry Sherrod DuPree, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, (2005), p. 14.

  5. Correspondence with Monica Allison, 20 January 2021.

  6. Horace Clarence Boyer, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel (1995), p. 112.

  7. Robert L. Anderson, “Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child,” New Century Hymnal Companion (1998), p. 279.

  8. “Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child,” Glory to God (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2013), no. 126.

  9. Carl P. Daw Jr. “Jesus, Jesus, O what a wonderful child,” Glory to God: A Companion (2016), p. 130.

  10. Jeannette Robinson Murphy, “The true negro music and its decline,” Independent 55 (23 July 1903), 1723–1730: HathiTrust

  11. Hall Johnson, “Glory hallelujah to de new born King,” Thirty Spirituals (NY: G. Schirmer, 1949), pp. 80–82.

Related Resources:

Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Published Music, Ser. 3, Vol. 4, Pt. 5A, No. 2 (Washington, DC: Copyright Office, July–Dec. 1950), p. 435: Archive.org

Viv Broughton, Black Gospel: An Illustrated History of the Gospel Sound (NY: Sterling, 1985), p. 74.

Horace Clarence Boyer, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel (Washington, DC: Elliott & Clark, 1995), pp. 111–113.

Robert L. Anderson, “Jesus, Jesus, oh what a wonderful child,” New Century Hymnal Companion, ed. Kristin L. Forman (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1998), p. 279.

Sherry Sherrod DuPree, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, ed. W.K. McNiel (NY: Routledge, 2005), pp. 13–14.

Bil Carpenter, “Angelic Gospel Singers,” Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2005), pp. 20–21.

Bob Marovich, “RIP: Margaret Allison of the Angelic Gospel Singers,” Journal of Gospel Music (31 July 2008): JGM 

Carl P. Daw Jr. “Jesus, Jesus, O what a wonderful child,” Glory to God: A Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016), p. 130.

“Glory, Glory to the Newborn King,” Hymnary.org: https://hymnary.org/text/jesus_jesus_oh_what_a_wonderful_child