This 18th-century hymn by Philip Doddridge, an English clergyman, educator and lyricist, was resurrected in the 20th century as part of the Urban Contemporary Gospel movement. It was recorded in 1967 by the Edwin Hawkins Singers and was included on their album "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord," released that same year. Since then, the song has had numerous cover versions and re-imaginings, including having several of its repeated lines transplanted into Australian singer Nick Cave’s 1988 single "Deanna."
The lyrics to "Give the World a Smile" were penned in 1924 by Otis Deaton, who was a student at the Stamps School of Music, an institution run by music publisher Virgil Owen Stamps in Jacksonville, Florida. Deaton sold the lyrics to Stamps, who then had it recorded with the Stamps Quartet. The record went gold and was reportedly and inspiration to a young Elvis Presley as he began to form his musical identity. "Give The World a Smile" is an example of the music of the Southern Gospel movement.
Written by Reverend Thomas Dorsey, a gospel lyricist from Georgia, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" was recorded by Mahalia Jackson in 1956. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King was a big fan of the song and would invite Jackson to sing it at rallies. He also requested that Mahalia Jackson sing the song at his funeral, a wish that she dutifully carried out in April 1968. Rev. Dorsey originally penned the song while in the grips of despair following the death of his wife during childbirth in 1937.
Written in 1912 by Christian evangelist George Bennard, "The Old Rugged Cross" was sold to the influential gospel publisher Homer Rodeheaver for $500. Rodeheaver first recorded the song in the early 1920s with Virginia Asher. Versions of the song have since been recorded by such highly regarded musicians as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.