Thomas Andrew Dorsey

Thomas Andrew Dorsey
Thomas A. Dorsey
Short Name: Thomas Andrew Dorsey
Full Name: Dorsey, Thomas Andrew
Birth Year: 1899
Death Year: 1993

Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born in Villa Rica, a small rural town near Atlanta, Georgia. In 1919 he moved to Chicago. Most of his musical training was in the church, but he also studied and played jazz and blues. He later combined jazz and blues with religious texts, giving birth to gospel music. In 1931, along with Magnolia Lewis-Butts and Theodore Roosevelt Frye, he established the first gospel choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Chicago. He went on to lead the gospel choir at Pilgrim Baptist Church, which he led for 60 years. Dorsey was also instrumental in founding the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC) in 1933. The convention taught choirs all over the country how to sing gospel music.

Dianne Shapiro, from "Gospel" in Encyclopedia of Chicago (accessed 8/12/2020)

Wikipedia Biography

Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, including "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Peace in the Valley". Recordings of these sold millions of copies in both gospel and secular markets in the 20th century.

Texts by Thomas Andrew Dorsey (22)sort descendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
De la mano, Señor, guíame cual pastorThomas Andrew Dorsey (Author)Spanish2
Dear friends and kindred have gone from this worldThomas A. Dorsey (Author)3
Each day the sun comes out to shine, the stars and moon, they leave on timeThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English4
God be with you, God be with youT. A. D. (Author)English12
How many times have I wounded his heartThomas A. Dorsey (Author)2
How well do I remember, How Jesus brought me throughThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English3
I am tired and weary, but I must toil onThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English15
I am weak, I am weary, but I must go alongThomas A. Dorsey (Author)4
I once was lone and idleThomas A. Dorsey, 1899- (Author)English1
I was lost in sin and sorrowThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English5
I was standing by the bedside of a neighborThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English5
I'll tell of the Savior, I'll tell of His favorThomas A. Dorsey (Author)6
It's my desire to do some good thingThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English6
Let my sinful days be left behindThomas A. Dorsey (Author)2
Like a ship that's toss'd and drivenThomas A. Dorsey (Author)English7
My way gets brighter, My load gets lighterThomas Dorsey (Author)English5
Oft time we have too many troublesThomas A. Dorsey (Author)2
Precious Lord, take my handThomas A. Dorsey, 1899-1993 (Adapter)English107
親愛主,握我手 (Qīn'ài zhǔ, wò wǒ shǒu)Thomas Andrew Dorsey (Author)Chinese2
There's a day that is comingThomas A. Dorsey (Author)1
When I've done the best I canThomas A. Dorsey (Author)5
You know when I'm right, LordThomas A. Dorsey (Author)2

Data Sources

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