Song Of The Day 1/15: Mahalia Jackson, “Elijah Rock”

Al’s in transit, so I’m not sure he’s got a song in mind.  However, I was blown away by the Delaware State University Choir that opened yesterday’s House session, doing a version of this song:

Not only was Mahalia Jackson a singer beyond compare, she wrote the song and lyrics.  Think she debuted it around 1962.

Fellow Ardenites couldn’t possibly forget this version by Ollabelle:

Less than six degrees of musical separation–Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter, is a founding member of this great group.  So, which song by The Band includes this snippet from Elijah Rock?:  “If I could, I’d stand on the rock where Moses stood’? 

Give up?  Ya gotta wait for the fade-out, but the song’s well worth hearing on its own:

Well, actually, turns out that phrase originated in this Gospel number, apparently first performed by the Norfolk Jubilee Singers back in 1924:

Say, this is fun.  Perhaps Al should be in transit more often…