"Up Above My Head" 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 a ...

song of traditional origin, first recorded in 1941 (as "Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air") by The Southern Sons, a vocal group formed by William Langford of the

Golden Gate Quartet The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singe ...

. In the version that is now the best-known, it was recorded in 1947 by

Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics a ...

and Marie Knight as a duo.

Background

The spiritual "Over My Head", apparently dating from the 19th century but of unknown authorship, contains many of the same lines as "Up Above My Head" – "Over my head / I hear music in the air../ There must be a God somewhere" – and may be presumed to be its origin. Civil rights leader

Bernice Johnson Reagon Bernice Johnson Reagon (born Bernice Johnson on October 4, 1942) is a song leader, composer, scholar, and social activist, who in the early 1960s was a founding member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee's (SNCC) Freedom Singers in th ...

changed the traditional words of the song in 1961, to "Over my head / I see freedom in the air...". In 1995, the

National Association for Music Education The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States. Founded in 1907 as the Mu ...

(then known as the Music Educators National Conference) published a list of songs that "every American should know", which included "Over My Head".

Sister Rosetta Tharpe recording

The recording by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight was made on November 24, 1947, in New York City for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. Besides Tharpe (vocals, guitar) and Knight (vocals), other musicians on the record were

Sam Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating th ...

(piano), George "Pops" Foster (bass), and Wallace Bishop (drums). The record reached number 6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' "

Race Records Race records were 78-rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans between the 1920s and 1940s.Oliver, Paul. "Race record." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 13 Feb. 2015. They primarily contained race music, comprising various Afri ...

" chart in late 1948. The song is formed in the traditional

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

format, with Tharpe singing a short line followed by Knight's "response" of the same line. There are seven lines (save responses) in each verse—the first six in call and response, and the seventh sung in unison. Tharpe's biographer, Gayle Wald, describes Tharpe's performance as "an ear-popping display of vocal fireworks", singing the opening line "so fierce and smooth at the same time that it anticipates 1960s

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

." She comments that "especially in the driving instrumental bridge between verses, 'Up Above My Head' leaves the Sanctified Church behind and charts a straight course toward

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

," adding that the song "had an undeniable energy that paralleled the collective optimism of black people in the post-war years."

Later recordings

It was recorded as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a sol ...

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

and

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and bl ...

on October 17, 1956. The song formed part of a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

release in the UK in October 1957. The single combined "Good Evening Friends" with the more fully titled "Up Above My Head, I Hear Music in the Air" (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

PB 708), and peaked at number 25 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was released as a duet by

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

(as Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men) in June 1964. It was as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

UP 1056).

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the theme ...

released a version of the song in 1964 on his album, '' Sugar Lips''. The song went to #12 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

and #84 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Hirt released a live version on his 1965 album, '' Live at Carnegie Hall''. It was produced by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

. This song was also performed by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

in the 1968 TV special, '' Elvis''. It was inserted in the gospel medley with the songs: "Where Could I Go But To The Lord" and "Saved". A blues version of the song was done by the American singer and musician

Ruthie Foster Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt ...

on her 2007 album; ''The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster''.

Vanessa Collier Vanessa N. Collier is an American blues, funk, and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for seven Blues Music Awards and won one of them in 2019 and another in 2020. Her influences include Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, ...

also recorded the song for her 2017 album, ''Meeting My Shadow''. A roots reggae version also exists recorded by the British act Matumbi on their 1978 album ''Seven Seals'', which was produced by

Dennis Bovell Dennis Bovell (born 22 May 1953Huey, Steve"Dennis Bovell Biography" Allmusic. Retrieved 27 December 2014.) is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in England. He was a member of the British reggae band Mat ...

. The song was covered by

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

on her solo album '' Tomorrow Is My Turn''.

Lyrics

"Up above my head (''up above my head'')
I hear music in the air (''I hear music in the air'')
Up above my head (''up above my head'')
I hear music in the air (''I hear music in the air'')
I really do believe (''I really do believe'')
There's a Heaven up there." Each additional verse is the same as the first, the word "music" replaced with another word (such as "singing," "shouting," et cetera). In the years following the song's introduction many have added more replacement words, which extend the song's length. The line "Up above my head / I hear music in the air" was later used by

The Trammps The Trammps are an American disco and soul band, who were based in Philadelphia and were one of the first disco bands. The band's first major success was their 1972 cover version of " Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", while the first disco t ...

in their 1977 hit "

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limit ...

". Lyrics: Disco Inferno, ''Lyrics.com''
Retrieved 21 August 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Up Above My Head 1941 songs 1949 singles 1957 singles 1964 singles Al Hirt songs Gospel songs Frankie Laine songs Johnnie Ray songs Elvis Presley songs Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins Year of song missing RCA Victor singles