Thomas A. Dorsey

1 July 1899–23 January 1993

THOMAS A. DORSEY, known as the father of gospel music for his merging of religious music with the blues, died Saturday. He was 93. Mr. Dorsey, who died at home, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, said his daughter, Doris Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey’s best-known gospel song, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” was a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The song was made famous by the late Mahalia Jackson, who once toured with Mr. Dorsey. It has been translated into more than 50 languages. The song was prompted by a tragedy early in Mr. Dorsey’s life. In [1932], his first wife died during childbirth, and the infant died a day later.

Mr. Dorsey was born in 1899 in Villa Rica, Ga., near Atlanta. By the age of 12, Mr. Dorsey was playing the blues on the piano in bordellos, making enough money to support his family. He later began composing blues and playing jazz and blues piano. He adopted the stage name “Georgia Tom” and toured with legendary blues singer Ma Rainey. In 1928, Mr. Dorsey hit the top of the blues charts with “It’s Tight Like That,” which sold more than 7 million copies.

In addition to hundreds of blues songs, Mr. Dorsey wrote more than 1,000 gospel songs. He moved to Chicago to attend Chicago Music College, where he led a five-piece band in experimenting with gospel sounds. He formed the first gospel choir in 1932 at Pilgrim Baptist Church. He remained as director until the late 1970s. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Dorsey is survived by his second wife, Katherine, his son, Mickey, and four grandchildren.

Atlanta Constitution, 24 January 1993

Featured Hymns:

Precious Lord, take my hand

Published Collections:

For a list of individual songs in order by copyright date, see Boyer (1992), pp. 144–145.

The Gospel Singers News (periodical, 1935–?)

Treasure Chest of Favorite Hymns (NY: Treasure Chest, 1940s)

Dorsey’s Gospel Song Loose Leaf Folio No. 1 (1941): WorldCat

Piano Duet Book of Gospel Hymns (1944): WorldCat

Thomas A. Dorsey’s Poem Book for All Occasions (1945): WorldCat

Dorsey’s Songs with a Message, No. 1 (1951): WorldCat

Dorsey’s Songs of the Kingdom (1951): WorldCat

Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey (1965): WorldCat | (1988): WorldCat

The Precious Lord Story and Gospel Songs (1970s): WorldCat

see also:

Gospel Pearls (1921)

Baptist Standard Hymnal (1924)

Recorded Editions:

Georgia Tom (Thomas A. Dorsey), Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, 2 vols. (Document Records, DOCD 6021–6022, 1928–1934): Amazon

Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom, Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (Document Records, DOCD 6023, 1930–1934): Amazon

Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey (Columbia Records, 1973): Amazon

Thomas Andrew Dorsey, The Maestro Sings (Sound of Gospel, SOG 3D110, 1980): Discogs

see also:

Tampa Red, Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, 15 vols. (Document Records).

Manuscripts & Collections:

Thomas A. Dorsey Collection, Fisk University:
https://www.fisk.edu/academics/library/special-collections-and-archives

Sheet Music by Thomas A. Dorsey, Chicago History Museum:
http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/LIB/SheetMusic_ThomasDorsey_TitleList.htm

Clayton Hannah Collection, Hogan Jazz Archives, Tulane University (New Orleans):
https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/

African American Sheet Music Collection, Emory University:
https://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/afamsheetmusic1028/

Columbia College Chicago, Center for Black Music Research, Gospel Sheet Music Collection:
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=cmbr_guides

Related Resources:

“King of the Gospel Writers,” Ebony, vol. 18, no. 1 (November 1962), pp. 122–129.

Alfred Duckett, “An interview with Thomas A. Dorsey,” Black World, vol. 23, no. 9 (July 1974), pp. 4–18: Google Books

Horace Clarence Boyer, “An analysis of his contributions: Thomas A. Dorsey, Father of Gospel Music,” Black World, vol. 23, no. 9 (July 1974), pp. 20–28: Google Books

Eileen Southern, “Thomas Andrew Dorsey,” Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982), pp. 112–113.

Say Amen, Somebody, directed by George T. Nierenberg (GTN Productions, 1982). [Published as VHS, DVD, LP, and CD].

Harry Eskew, “Thomas Andrew Dorsey,” Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), p. 329.

Michael W. Harris, The Rise of Gospel Blues: the Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church (Oxford: University Press, 1992): WorldCat

Horace Clarence Boyer, “Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on,” We’ll Understand it Better By and By (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1992), pp. 141–163.

Michael W. Harris, “Conflict and resolution in the life of Thomas Andrew Dorsey,” We’ll Understand it Better By and By (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1992), pp. 165–182.

“Thomas A. Dorsey is dead at 93; known as the Father of Gospel Music,” New York Times (24 January 1993): NY Times

Janita Poe, “Thomas A. Dorsey, Gospel Pioneer,” Chicago Tribune (25 January 1993).

Robert M.W. Dixon, et al., Blues and Gospel Records, 1890–1943, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 1997): WorldCat

Timothy M. Kalil, “Thomas A. Dorsey and the development and diffusion of traditional black gospel piano,” Perspectives on American Music, 1900–1950, ed. Michael Saffle (NY: Garland, 2000), pp. 171–191: WorldCat

Joe C. Clark, “Thomas Andrew Dorsey,” Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music (NY: Routledge, 2005), pp. 105–108.

George Perry Lee III, Thomas A. Dorsey’s Influence on African-American Worship, dissertation (Louisville: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008): SBTS

Cedric J. Hayes & Robert Laughton, Gospel Discography 1943–2000, 2 vols. (Canada: Eyeball Productions, 2014).

Robert Marovich, A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015).