Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers. Leslie Clay

A year later, this song was set to music. Sung mainly as a Christmas carol today, many diverse performers have recorded it, from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to the rock band, Jethro Tull. In this carol, she tried to teach children why we celebrate Christmas and what it means to us.

      Fanny may have been inspired in part by Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner when she wrote “All Things Bright and Beautiful” in 1848: “He prayeth best, who loveth best; all things great and small; for the dear God who loveth us; he made and loveth all.” The four lines of the refrain were used as the title to four of James Herriot’s books about his life as a veterinarian. Coleridge’s influence nothwithstanding, the primary impetus for this hymn was to help her godson understand the Apostles’ Creed, particularly the phrase, “Maker of heaven and earth. . .” Fanny was a product of her time and place. The last verse today sounds offensive to modern sensibilities as it decrees that our social and economic status is ordained and blessed by God: “The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate. He made them, high or lowly, and ordered their estate.” Most hymnals today have omitted this verse.

      One day, her husband asked her to write a hymn for adults as a basis for a sermon to be delivered on St. Andrew’s Day. She agreed to try and together they read the Bible verses about the calling of Andrew by Jesus. “Jesus Calls Us” was one of the few hymns she wrote for adults. That work was read at the close of her husband’s sermon that Sunday.

      Gloria Adele Shayne Baker

      1923-2008

      “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

      Born in Brookline Massachusetts to a Jewish family, Gloria grew up next door to Joseph and Rose Kennedy and their large family. With her two sisters, she formed a singing trio. Though her birth surname was Shain, she changed the spelling for professional reasons. After getting her degree from the Boston University School of Music, she moved to New York and worked as a pianist, arranger and vocalist for composers like Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim. She met Noel Regney while playing a piano in a New York City hotel in 1951. They married that year, but divorced in 1973. Later, she married William Baker. She died of cancer in March 2008.

      In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, her then husband, Noel Regney, along with most adults in the United States at the time, was dismayed and pondering the possible destruction of the world. While walking the streets of New York, he saw two babies in strollers—happy, peaceful, and unaware of the pending doom. He was inspired to write the words to “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and asked Gloria to write the music. This was a switch for them, for in most of their collaborations, she wrote the lyrics and he the music. The song has sold tens of millions of records. Bing Crosby, Glen Campbell, Whitney Houston and the U.S. Air Force Symphony Orchestra included it in their repertoire.

      Rita Baloche

      1961-

      “I Will Celebrate”

      Though she may be known mainly for her work with her husband, Paul, also a singer/songwriter, Rita in her own right has written many contemporary songs, including “I Will Celebrate,” “Rock of Ages,” “Sing to the Lord,” “But For Your Grace” and “Arms Open Wide.” The latter song was nominated for a 2005 Dove Award. You can hear her voice on many praise projects by Integrity Music and Marantha! Music. She has also performed background vocals for country singer Leann Rhimes. Rita lives with her husband, Paul, and their three children in Lindale, Texas.

      Katherine Lee Bates

      1859-1929

      “America the Beautiful”

      As the daughter and grand-daughter of Congregational pastors, Katherine grew up with a solid Christian background. She attended Wellesley College, and later joined its faculty as an English professor. This author of many volumes of poetry, travel and children’s books is credited with creating the character of Mrs. Claus in the poem “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride.” She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

      The first draft of “America the Beautiful” was hastily written in a notebook in the summer of 1893 when she was teaching English at summer school at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She wrote: “One day, some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. . . .when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse . . . . It was then. . . that the opening lines of the hymn floated into my mind.”

      She later said, “Greatness and goodness are not necessarily synonymous. Rome was great, but she was not good. . . . Unless we are willing to crown our greatness with goodness and our bounty with brotherhood, our beloved America may go the same way.” The last verse about gleaming alabaster cities was inspired by her visit to the White City at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago that same summer. She put her finished poem into her notebook, unread. But in 1895, she sent it to a publisher. It caught on quickly with the public. In 1960 America launched its first communications satellite, Echo I. It received and played back the first music used in the new space age: her beautiful hymn.

      Lydia Odell Baxter

      1809-1874

      “Take the Name of Jesus With You (Precious Name)”

      Baptist missionary Eben Tucker is generally credited with helping Lydia Odell and her sister come to Christ. After their conversion, the sisters helped found the local Baptist Church in Petersburg, New York. When Lydia married, she moved from Petersburg to New York City where her home was a center for visiting preachers and evangelists. Her personality was such that people visited her in order to lift their spirits. Christian leaders often met in her home for prayer and Bible study. Though she was ill and homebound most of her adult life, she began to write at about age forty-five and contributed many hymns to collections for Sunday Schools and Evangelistic services. In 1855, she published Gems by the Wayside, a book of devotional poems. She is known as one of the forerunners of the Gospel Hymn movement of America.

      Lydia was captivated by names and loved to discuss the significance of scriptural names with her friends. The name that meant the most to her was Jesus. If she was asked about her cheery attitude in spite of her physical ailments, she would say, “I have a special armor. I have the name of Jesus. When the tempter tries to make me blue or despondent, I mention the name of Jesus, and he can’t get through to me anymore. . . . The name means savior.” Thus, the title to her most famous hymn, “Take the Name of Jesus with You,” written in late 1870, fully described her mindset.

      Ada Blenkhorn

      1858-1927

      “Keep on the Sunny Side”

      In the late 1800s, Ada often took care of her nephew, who had been disabled in an accident. On pleasant days, she would take him out in his wheelchair. He always enjoyed these trips, and didn’t care where they went, nor did he complain. In all her years of pushing him, he had only one request: “Please, Aunt Ada, just keep me on the sunny side of the street.”

      In 1899, after one of their trips down the sunny side of the street, she wrote this poem inspired by her nephew’s attitude and her Christian viewpoint. The song became popular in many Southern revival meetings. One person who was impressed by its message was music teacher Laish Carter, who introduced it to his brother, A.P. Carter. A.P. had formed a music trio called the Carter family, consisting of A.P., wife Sara, and sister-in-law Maybelle. The group made the song famous around the country. By 1928, it was on the nation’s top ten list. It had another revival when it was featured in the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou in 2000.

      Mary ‘May’