Origins: Calling My Children Home

Subject: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: freda underhill
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 08:39 AM

hi

I've heard this song recorded by Emmy Lou Harris and also by
The Country Gentlemen may be a Shaker song. does anyone know anything about the origins of this song?


freda

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: greg stephens
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 08:49 AM

Didnt Emmlou Harris write it?
The phrase "Calling my children home" is an old one, though, perhaps from an earlier song? There is a reference to Buddy Bolden(early New Orleans jazz trumpeter) saying it, but whether he was quoting someone else I dont know.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: freda underhill
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 08:53 AM

song is attributed to Doyle Lawson, Charles Walter & Robert Yates.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: masato sakurai
Date: 31 Mar 04 - 09:54 AM

From BMI:

CALLING MY CHILDREN HOME    BMI Work #171915

Songwriter/Composer Current Affiliation CAE/IPI #

LAWSON DOYLE WAYNE BMI 53148790
WALLER CHARLES OTIS BMI 55204602
YATES ROBERT B SR BMI 232507793

Publishers
FAUQUIER MUSIC BMI 80998139
ZAP PUBLISHING CO BMI 33518401

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: freda underhill
Date: 01 Apr 04 - 08:49 AM

thanks greg and masato

i'm enquiring on behalf of chris wheeler, an Oz songwriter - your feedback is much appreciated

best wishes

freda

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: rich-joy
Date: 01 Apr 04 - 10:59 PM

Doyle Lawson leads Gospel groups, like "Quicksilver", but the other two names are not mentioned on my only LP of theirs ...

It is a beautiful song (my a cappella harmony group is at present learning it) and I'd be interested in knowing more of the story behind it too.

Cheers! R-J

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 01 Apr 04 - 11:55 PM

The album Calling My Children home was recorded in 1977, and was re-released on CD in 1992.

I have the album somewhere, and the CD is right in front of me, but I can tell you that the notes are of no real help.

"The title piece, which is sung unaccompanied, is a real gem"

And this:

Arr: Lawson - Waller - Yates (Zap/Fauquier - BMI)

Note the Arr: which I have emphasized ~~ you can see that they were NOT claiming authorship, just the arrangement.

The Country Gentlemen at the time was composed of Charlie Waller, Doyle Lawson, Bill Yates and James Bailey. The first three were partners. Bailey, the banjo player was an employee as I understand it. Only Charlie Waller remains with the group to this day. I can't tell you where the Robert Yates above comes from. It is either an error or the name was totally unused by him, because I have never heard him called anything but Bill.

Doyle Lawson will be here this season.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Saturday, September 4, 7:30 pm in the
Folk Center Theater
Noted for their harmonies and a cappella singing,
they are very active and respected in
bluegrass and gospel music.

During our Tribute to Grandpa Jones
Admission Price: $15

I make no promises, but if I think of it, I will ask him. That definitely is a show I am looking forward to! It has been a little over ten years since I saw him last, and that is too long.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: GUEST,freda
Date: 02 Apr 04 - 12:08 AM

this is fantastic, thanks so much, Dale!

best wishes

feda

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 05:43 PM

Good version in the archives of A Prairie Home Companion. You can search there by song title.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 20 - 02:22 PM

My guess: This is based on a Negro spiritual, and is about a black woman slave whose children were taken away. But in the song, she is turned into Jesus.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 03:52 PM

https://secondhandsongs.com/work/11452

Three writers credited in that link. It's also a good take of the song, imo.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: cnd
Date: 17 May 20 - 08:52 PM

Starship, that link is partly correct. The song was a "traditional" song, and the Country Gentlemen copyrighted their arrangement, a fairly common practice for arrangements of traditional tunes, done so the band can reap the extra benefits related to having a copyrighted song performed (source; note the use of the word "arranged" as opposed to "written by"). The CG also often get credited with the song because they were the first group known to record it.

I've found references to a song written by prolific hymn composer John B. F. Wright (whose most well-known song is Precious Memories, popularized by Bill Monroe) titled Calling My Children Home in the 1950s but have found no evidence it was published, and the next time a search result for a song of the same name comes up is in the late 70s, when the Country Gentlemen published their take on it.

This is purely speculation, but it's plausible that the song was sung on live radio or at tent meetings in the 1950s and spread by word of mouth without ever being formally published in a song book or recorded by another group--unlikely, but possible. I believe that's the most likely case because otherwise I find it unlikely that a "traditional" song would have never once surfaced before 1978; as best as I can find, never appeared in a previous recording, song book, collection of folk songs, etc.

Subject: RE: Origins: Calling My Children Home
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 09:26 PM

Yeppers. Thank you, cnd.