The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've often been in church and heard a particular song which made me think, "Wow, Brian and his band could do an awesome cover of this song!"

Many times I'll hear the choir and try to imagine the vocal blend and harmony voices of Brian's band performing the song.

Has anyone else thought this?  These songs would sound awesome by Brian's band:

On Eagle's Wings
How Great Thou Art
Be Not Afraid

Old Rugged Cross.

Peace In The Valley

I like this thread!  I can imagine it too now that you mention it.  I would also love to hear them do How Great Thou Art, the first hymn I remember learning in school!

I'd like to see him try his hand at some gospel songs. He'd be in good company with Elvis as far as rock 'n rollers who also performed gospel.

I would love to hear:

Be Thou My Vision
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Just As I Am on the Sloop John B

Ever since seeing "That Same Song" done with the Double Rock Baptist Choir, I've wanted a gospel album from Brian...

I can't imagine Brian performing any of the songs mentioned above, but that doesn't mean he couldn't. I just can't hear in my head what keys they'd be in and the arrangements. Not exactly gospel, but I can easily imagine him singing Turn Turn Turn. Or Morning Has Broken.

I was about to post the same hymn.

You must be a fellow Catholic.

Oh yes, Morning Has Broken would be fantastic!

Milky White Way
In My Father's House

and of course...

Drop Kick Me, Jesus, Thru The Goalposts of Life

He and his band did an amazing job with O Holy Night. 

"In The Garden"

"Just A Closer Walk With Thee"

How Great Thou Art was written in 1885 by Carl Boberg, who was a priest in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden - which is a protestant denomination.

 :lol :lol

I'd love to see him do something like "Farther Along", maybe faster with more harmony. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVm9Mh0afr8


If he got up and did the whole bit at the beginning introducing the song like this guy it'd be awesome. 

To be honest I don't know why the Beach Boys didn't do more religious music, everything they ever sang was a spirtual experience.  It would have been incredibly powerful... and there's plenty of ways to do it where you don't offend. 

Missed opportunity if you ask me. 

Not technically hymns I guess, but Brian covering some of Dylan's tunes from his religious period might be interesting. Songs like 'Gotta Serve Somebody'and 'Every Grain of Sand' come to mind.

I don't know about Brian and Gospel. Of course there are a lot of sub-genres in Gospel and I guess he would be tuned on by the vocal quartets. He tried some with "He came down" and "Walking down the path of life" and didn't do too shabby.

When I talk about vocal groups I mean black and white groups. Some examples I think might get Brian's attention:


You Better Run - Golden Gate Quartet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Mo9xGQpwk



Thy servant's prayer - Thomas A. Dorsey with R. H. Harris  (btw make sure you get this album!!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyoAEtw2ilI



Blackwood Brothers- When God's Chariot Comes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysJ-kqGy3j8



Blackwood Brothers- Beyond The Sunset   (you might wanna make sure you get this album as well!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw6E3SrW0U8





The Statesmen Quartet - Where No One Stands Alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44KrrHvR2gY



Of course as was mentioned in this thread, Elvis also recorded a lot of Gospel and many people probably got to know the songs first in Elvis' performances. Always making sure he had a Gospel quartet behind him, he also included this music in his live acts. Here's a performance by J. D. Sumner & The Stamps from 1972's "Elvis on tour":



J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet - Sweet, sweet spirit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ae5pjIK8lM


And Elvis' 1974 Grammy winning live performance of "How great Thou art" (he also got a Grammy for the '66 album of the same title and his '72 Gospel album "He touched me")


Elvis Presley - How great Thou art (live '74)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OZEguoHeUA


The Imperials - He touched me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzlEYfyh6fI




Anyway,  I guess this is some stuff that Brian could connect to, mainly because of the beautiful melodies and the possibilities for group harmonies. I don't think he would be very comfortable with the deep down black Gospel.






Oh, and let's just mention re: That Same Song: adding a Gospel Choir to a song doesn't make it Gospel.





EDIT: While we're at it, this has to be heard to be believed. Take a minute or two please:

Fairfield Four - My God called me this morning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z6fUDFpc44



Dig a little deeper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fOmKNOeJpc

Wow! That's really something...

My dad was (and is) a huge Blackwood Brothers fan (and gospel fan, and vocal harmony fan in general). I still really like hearing them. Please don't take offense at the admitted stereotyping here, but to me, listening to "When God's Chariot Comes" is kind of funny in that the piano feels like legitimate black gospel piano, while the vocal sounds so, so white. But it's just a comment, not an insult. What a group of singers.

Comment on the topic overall: most hymns are pretty basic harmonically. I think if BW had gotten his hands on some, he'd be more adventurous arrangement-wise, similar to how he played with Sloop John B.

'Gotta Serve Somebody' is basically a blues tune, and I never hear much blues in Brian's music. 'Every Grain of Sand', though, could sound wonderful with Brian singing and Bob reprising his harmonica part. 'Ring Them Bells' is another one that would seem to be a natural for Brian to do.

http://youtu.be/bY7s8AqPON0?list=PL31D170C98CD79AA4

Petra Praise.......anyone?

Oh Man, Petra.  That brings back some memories!  Their album covers were kind of like a Christian version of Boston.  Their sound was even similar to Boston.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i8rXXupc88

It is, isn't it? I could imagine someone as keen on voices and harmony as Brian would flip for something like this. I mean how can't you? But I don't think he would try something like this himself. I'd guess he'd go more into the hymn direction. Speaking of hymns, I also think Brian might come up with an interesting version of "Nearer my God to thee".... such a beautiful song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJd4923hUB0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7QdNFmN1nE










What should be offensive about a white group sounding white? Everything's fine...

Interestingly, the exchange between "white" and "black" music was always happening in blues, country and - especially - gospel music. Many people seem to think it only started with Rock'n'Roll. But R'n'R was in fact a very natural progression of what happened before.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I totally agree with you (on all counts). Just prefacing my statement because sometimes people are very, very quick to find anything that even uses a descriptor in any way (whether cultural, gender, etc.) as offensive.

Have none of you listened to Battle Hymn of the Republic?

Let Brian leave church hymns out of his repertoire!

Be Thou My Vision--lots of falsetto would be great  :)

I'm not sure if Brian is the church-going type, but I wonder that if he were and there were instruments there, if he'd have the urge to bolt out of the pew and sit in on keyboard...

This should be sung in churches everywhere:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRahW0sF04Y

I know, right?  I always wondered who Brian was thanking.  Was it God almighty, an ex-boyfriend, who knows? 

Here are the lyrics as transcribed in mid 2011 by Jason Penick:

"Think
Think about the loveliest thing
Think about a song we all sing
Think about our love (Ooh ooh ooh)

"Try
Try to find a happier joy
Sweeter than a girl and a boy
Sweeter than our love

"Nicer than a garden of beautiful flowers (wooh ooh ooh)
Deeper than the ocean you watch by the hours

"Marvel
Marvel at this feeling we share
Thank him for a beauty so rare
Thank him for our love"

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/help-with-a-lyric-to-beach-boys-fans.250425/

Those are some pretty good lyrics! Who wrote them? Brian? Mike? Roger Christian?


I said it 2012 that if the Beach Boys should go back to rework old compositions for their new album, they should look at stuff like Thank Him.

He'd be directing the choir.

According to Andrew, it's a Brian--Bob Norberg composition: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,9202.msg157413.html#msg157413

But The Big Beat comp (and Uncut) states that it's Brian alone...

According to this site (https://www.discogs.com/Katerine-Mon-Cœur-Balance/release/1959884) Bob Norberg wrote the lyrics to "Your Summer Dream" and Brian the music (where did they get that information?).

Getting back to "Thank Him", I guess we'll never know who wrote what. Did I read somewhere (here?) that it's Brian and Bob harmonizing?

Or Kansas when Greg X Voltz was the singer

http://youtu.be/zKesvFnre6o

I guess I should have watched your video post first since it was also in the Greg X Voltz era. I really think they were a lot better under Voltz than Schlitt