Skip to main content
Penn State University Press
Fulcrum logo

Share the story of what Open Access means to you

a graphic of a lock that is open, the universal logo for open access

University of Michigan needs your feedback to better understand how readers are using openly available ebooks. You can help by taking a short, privacy-friendly survey.

  1. Home
  2. Nothing but Love in God’s Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement

Nothing but Love in God’s Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement

Robert Darden 2014
The first of two volumes chronicling the history and role of music in the African American experience, Nothing but Love in God’s Water explores how songs and singers helped African Americans challenge and overcome slavery, subjugation, and suppression. From the spirituals of southern fields and the ringing chords of black gospel to the protest songs that changed the landscape of labor and the cadences sung before dogs and water cannons in Birmingham, sacred song has stood center stage in the African American drama. Myriad interviews, one-of-a-kind sources, and rare or lost recordings are used to examine this enormously persuasive facet of the movement. Nothing but Love in God’s Water explains the historical significance of song and helps us understand how music enabled the civil rights movement to challenge the most powerful nation on the planet.

Volume 2 of Nothing but Love in God's Water is also available on Fulcrum.

Buy Book
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-271-05084-3 (hardcover)
Subject
  • Religion
  • General Interest
  • History
  • Music
Citable Link
  • Resources

  • Stats

Search and Filter Resources

Filter search results by

Keyword

  • African-American Studies7
  • United States History7
  • Gospel Music6
  • Music History5
  • Civil Rights Movement4
  • more Keyword »
Filter search results by

Format

  • image7

Search Constraints

1 - 7 of 7
  • First Appearance
  • Section (Earliest First)
  • Section (Last First)
  • Format (A-Z)
  • Format (Z-A)
  • Year (Oldest First)
  • Year (Newest First)
Number of results to display per page
  • 10 per page
  • 20 per page
  • 50 per page
  • 100 per page
View results as:
List Gallery

Search Results

A 19th-century black-and-white photograph of Harriet Tubman, with handwriting describing Tubman as "nurse, spy and scout."

Photo of Harriet Tubman

Freedom fighters like Harriet Tubman found inspiration in the heroic stories of Moses, Daniel, and Jesus as they inspired an enslaved people to act.

A black-and-white group photo of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Photo of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

The Fisk Jubilee Singers were initially reluctant to turn to spirituals, but their popularity soared in the United States and Europe once they did. Their success spawned an entire genre of sacred part-singing and numerous similar groups.

A black-and-white photograph of Paul Robeson

Photo of Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson was one of many artists to have recorded “John Brown’s Body.” The song influenced many to convert to the antislavery cause. The Fisk Jubilee Singers helped perpetuate the song’s popularity after the Civil War.

An advertisement by Columbia Records for Blind Willie Johnson, Record No. 14276-D, with the songs listed: I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole, and Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed.

Photo of Columbia Records advertisement featuring Blind Willie Johnson

Today, Blind Willie Johnson is the best-known songster, but he has a recorded legacy of only 30 songs. Despite the scarcity of his recordings and the fact that virtually nothing is known about him, his singing and slide-guitar playing are deeply influential on modern musicians.

The black-and-white cover of the book Negro Songs of Protest.

Photo of book cover: Negro Songs of Protest

Many of the songs that Lawrence Gellert encountered on the road and wrote about for New Masses were collected and published in Negro Songs of Protest (1936).

The cover of the July 1933 issue of The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races

Photo of Journal Cover: The Crisis

The Crisis, the journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In July 1933, The Crisis reported that the Glee Club of Hampton Institute entertained guests at the White House, including the former premier of France. Also that summer, the Morehouse College Glee Club performed spirituals for the President.

A photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is well known to even casual readers of American history. Martin Luther King, Sr., said his son had a “fine, clear voice” and a passionate love for Baptist music.

213 views since July 14, 2017
© Penn State University Press 2020

Powered by Fulcrum logo

  • About
  • Blog
  • Feedback
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Accessibility
  • Preservation
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Service
  • Log In
http://www.psupress.org
x This site requires cookies to function correctly.