"There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me" is a 1939 song written by

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Evangelism, Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them ...

, originally for

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

. It was copyrighted by Dorsey under this title on January 25, 1939, though it often appears informally as "Peace in the Valley". The song was a hit in 1951 for

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

and the Sunshine Boys, reaching number seven on the Country & Western Best Seller chart. It was among the first

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

recordings to sell one million copies. Foley's version was a 2006 entry into the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

Elvis Presley's performance

The song achieved mass coverage during

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's third and final appearance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' on January 6, 1957. Before an audience estimated at 54.6 million viewers, Presley closed the show by dedicating the song to the 250,000 refugees fleeing Hungary after the 24 and 31 October 1956 double-invasion of that country by the Soviet Union. Because he also requested that immediate aid be sent to lessen their plight, the appeal in turn yielded contributions amounting to US$6 million, or the equivalent of US$49.5 million in today's money. Over the next 11 months, the International Red Cross in Geneva, with the help of the US Air Force, organized the distribution of both perishables and non-perishables purchased with the above-mentioned funds (Swiss Francs 26.2 million, at the then 4.31 CHFR-US$ exchange) to the refugees in both Austria and England where they settled for life. On October 15, 1957, Presley's first Christmas album, containing a master studio recording of the song, was released, topping the Billboard Charts for four weeks and selling in excess of three million copies, as certified by the RIAA on July 15, 1999. Because of these developments, István Tarlós, the Mayor of the city of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, in 2011 and as a gesture of belated gratitude, named a park after him, as well as making him an honorary citizen.

Other recordings

Eventually, the song became a country-pop favorite and was recorded by: *In 1950, it was one of the first songs recorded by a young

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, during his tenure as lead singer of the Soul Stirrers. *After the success of Red Foley's interpretation, Jo Stafford recorded the song for her 1954 gospel album ''

Garden of Prayer ''Garden of Prayer'' is a 1954 album of songs recorded by American singer Jo Stafford, accompanied by the orchestra of Paul Weston. Each of the eight tracks on this album has a religious or inspirational theme. It was released in 1954 by Columbia ...

''. *

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

on his 1961 Quincy Jones-produced gospel album ''

The King of the Gospel Singers ''The King of the Gospel Singers'' is the sixth studio album by Little Richard. A gospel album from sessions he recorded for the Mercury Records label, it is generally regarded as being a better recording than his two albums with the Goldner lab ...

'' *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

on her 1961 album ''Sing Along with Connie Francis'' * George Jones on his 1962 album ''

Homecoming in Heaven ''Homecoming in Heaven'' is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in 1962 on the United Artists record label. Background Jones's fondness for gospel music is very well documented. In the 1989 documentary ''Same ...

'' *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

on his 1969 ''

At San Quentin ''Johnny Cash at San Quentin'' is the 31st overall album and second live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, recorded live at San Quentin State Prison on February 24, 1969, and released on June 16 of that same year. The concert was fi ...

'' live album (he recorded the studio version in 1962 and released it as a single) * Loretta Lynn *

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the tim ...

, as a B-side to their " Dollar Bill" single *

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

Art Greenhaw Art Greenhaw (born July 14, 1954) is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer who was awarded the Grammy Award in 2003 for the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album for ''We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Bl ...

with the Jordanaires * Tom Brumley, and the Light Crust Doughboys for the Grammy Award nominated album starring

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in ''Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), ''B ...

titled ''God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions''; * Faith Hill, performed it for a concert special. * A3 featuring Errol Thompson, on the A Life Less Ordinary Soundtrack (1997)

Popular culture

*"Peace in the Valley" was sung by Eddie Clendening, portraying Elvis Presley, in the Broadway musical '' Million Dollar Quartet'', which opened in New York in April 2010. Eddie Clendening also covered the song on the ''Million Dollar Quartet'' original Broadway cast album.MDQ Merchandising LLC (2010). “Song List” and “Performing Credits”. In Million Dollar Quartet (p. 5)

D booklet D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History The ...

New York City: Avatar Studios; and Chicago: Chicago Recording Company.

References

External links

"Peace in the Valley" at allmusic

"Peace in the Valley" at CBN
{{Authority control Gospel songs Johnny Cash songs Elvis Presley songs Jo Stafford songs 1939 songs Red Foley songs Songs written by Thomas A. Dorsey Mahalia Jackson songs United States National Recording Registry recordings