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Forums > Music: Non-Prince > who originally sang'MOTHERLESS CHILD'
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Thread started 08/05/06 8:41pm

jonylawson

who originally sang'MOTHERLESS CHILD'

thanks
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Reply #1 posted 08/05/06 8:53pm

MoonSongs

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I've always thought there was some controversy about the origins of this but most agree it was an old gospel song. Many artists have performed it ~ there was a band in the late 60's named "Sweetwater" that did a beautiful job with it. The lyrics and melody are incredibly powerful ~ it is one of my favourite songs! Which version have you heard? Check out Van Morrison's if you've not heard it already.
Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife. --Kahlil Gibran
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Reply #2 posted 08/05/06 8:58pm

CHIC0

MoonSongs said:

I've always thought there was some controversy about the origins of this but most agree it was an old gospel song. Many artists have performed it ~ there was a band in the late 60's named "Sweetwater" that did a beautiful job with it. The lyrics and melody are incredibly powerful ~ it is one of my favourite songs! Which version have you heard? Check out Van Morrison's if you've not heard it already.




nod

i believe the author of the song is annonymous. which i would think woud make it near impossible to find it's original singer, or 1st recordig of it.
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Reply #3 posted 08/05/06 9:05pm

theAudience

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It's a traditional spiritual that dates back to the 1800s.
Some early recordings by folks you've heard of would probably include Paul Robeson and Ethel Waters.



tA

peace Tribal Disorder

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"Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all."
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Reply #4 posted 08/05/06 10:25pm

jone70

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There was a video clip of Prince covering this on HQ a while ago (at least I think it's the same song you all are talking about). It was from a Spanish TV performance, iirc. I think from around the Rave era. Larry on bass, Mr. Blackwell, Mike Scott(?) and the purple Habibi. He made it funky and tore it up, of course. cool
The check. The string he dropped. The Mona Lisa. The musical notes taken out of a hat. The glass. The toy shotgun painting. The things he found. Therefore, everything seen–every object, that is, plus the process of looking at it–is a Duchamp.
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Reply #5 posted 08/06/06 1:27am

sallysassalot

richie havens covered it at woodstock (and prince covered richie's version of it at the park during the acoustic night of the celebration) and that's always been my favorite version. though, with prince's mom having just died prior to the celebration, it was really powerful hearing his version.
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Forums > Music: Non-Prince > who originally sang'MOTHERLESS CHILD'