Precious Lord

“Precious Lord,” perhaps the world’s most popular Gospel song, established its composer, Tom Dorsey, as the architect of Gospel Music. “Precious Lord’s” appeal crosses denominational lines and has been translated into thirty-two languages. During the 1920s, Dorsey had achieved a measure of fame as a jazz musician, and it was in that period that he became intrigued with the idea of blending jazz and blues with Church music.

In August 1932, Dorsey was scheduled to be the featured soloist in a St. Louis Church. Because his wife, Nettie, was pregnant, he worried about leaving her at home in Chicago. “Something was telling me to stay,” he said later. But he decided to keep his commitment and so left for St. Louis. During the performance, a Western Union messenger handed Dorsey a telegram. Dorsey opened the envelope and read these four heartbreaking words: “Your wife just died.” He quickly returned home and learned that just before his wife died, she had given birth to a…