"How I Got Over" is a
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 ...
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
composed and published in 1951 by
Clara Ward
Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...
(1924–1973). Notable recordings of this work have been made by
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 ...
(1961, winner of the
Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance The Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance was awarded from 1969 to 1977. In 1978 the award was divided into two new awards, the Grammy Awards for Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional and Grammy Award for Best Soul Gosp ...
in 1976), and the
Blind Boys of Alabama
Blind may refer to:
* The state of blindness, being unable to see
* A window blind, a covering for a window
Blind may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop
* ''Blind ...
(2008 on their album ''
Down in New Orleans''). It was performed by Mahalia Jackson at the historic
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
in 1963 before 250,000 people.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
recorded an uptempo alternate version of the song on her 1972 album ''
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...
'', and this same arrangement was performed twice in the 1974 Sidney Poitier film
Uptown Saturday Night
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...
by the film's church choir with an alternate singer (no credits were given) and was produced by
Tom Scott who also produced the film's soundtrack.
In 2018, Ward's original rendition was selected for preservation in the
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 ...
by 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 ...
as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."
Inspirations
According to her sister, Willa Ward, the inspiration for this song was an experience Clara Ward, Willa, their mother, Gertrude, and members of their singing group had traveling in the
racially segregated
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
Southern States in 1951. En route to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, they were besieged by a group of white men. The men were enraged that black women were riding in a luxury vehicle, a
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
, and surrounded their car and terrorized them with racist taunts. The women were rescued when, in a burst of inspiration, Gertrude Ward feigned demonic possession, spewing curses and incantations at the men, who fled.
[Ward-Royster, Willa, "How I Got Over: Clara Ward and the World-Famous Ward Singers", ]Temple University Press
Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...
, 1997, paper , pp. 102-104.
References
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Gospel songs
1951 songs
Mahalia Jackson songs
United States National Recording Registry recordings