Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child is a Negro Spiritual from the days when slave children would be taken from their parents and sold off. The plaintive lyrics speak of despair and solitude. They speak of the loss of a parent and also of a home. Home might be the plantation the singer was raised on, mother Africa, or a heavenly home. There are of course many versions of the song. Here are some of my favorites:In terms of a straight up spiritual version I like Clara Ward's rendition. Clara Ward was a matron of gospel music. She sang exquisitely and wrote her own songs, many of which have become well known gospel standards. She recorded this song shortly after her near death experience in 1960.
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George Gershwin used the structure of Motherless Child to write Summertime, the opening song of the opera Porgy and Bess. Summertime is a beautiful song and a classic in its own right. Here is the great Mahalia Jackson singing both songs.
Motherless Child |
Ben Branch and his Breadbasket Orchestra do a nice up-tempo gospel Motherless Child. Ben Branch was the last person who spoke with Martin Luther King before he stepped out on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel that afternoon in 1968. Dr. King requested a song for Ben to play that evening.
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On August 15th, 1969, when the scheduled opening act of the Woodstock Concert was delayed, Richie Havens (who was supposed to go on fifth) jumped on stage and opened the concert with this improvised folk rendition of Motherless Child. It became the turning point of his career.
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And finally Ghostface Killah and Reakwon the Chef (sampling a version by O.V Wright) sing the stories of a new motherless child.
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