Utah Smith almost makes me a believer

A recent post on Memphis Gold noted the deep influence his upbringing in the Church of God in Christ had on his music. When chatting about it and the name of Utah Smith came up he launched into an a cappella Smith's iconic number "I Got Two Wings," and recalled seeing Smith perform wearing his wings. To reiterate a point I made, while Robert Wilkins showed Chester Chandler specific things on playing the guitar, Utah Smith's music is part of the musical DNA of his music as displayed on his recent albums.

When I was in New Orleans this past spring I came across (at the Louisiana Music Factory) Lynn Abbott's book on Utah Smith, "I Got Two Wings which comes with an accompanying CD that includes several versions of "Two Wings," including some previously unreleased versions and recordings by associates (Arizona Dranes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe) and his daughter, on this intriguing biographical study that I recommend enthusiastic. Additionally the CD has some wild fervent music. There is a review on amazon that is also helpful. You can get it from either www.louisianamusicfactory.com or amazon.

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Originally uploaded by NoVARon

I recently had the pleasure, with another Washington area blues lover, Joe Kessler, to interview Memphis Gold for future publication. Before Joe got to the Ted's Montana Grill near the Ballston Metro stop in Arlington VA, Memphis was mentioning his background in the Church of God in Christ, including the fact his grandfather helped found the church and a good part of the interview involved growing up in the church, which hosted a month long convocation every November where such pioneers gospel artists like Arizona Dranes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Utah Smith would be participating and stirring everybody with their music. I mentioned Utah Smith and Memphis both prior and during the taping of the interview launched into an exuberant "Two Wings," the song most associated with Utah Smith. Much is made of Memphis's association with another legend, Robert Wilkins, but simply hearing him sing a bit of "Two Wings," makes me realize how much of his music is rooted in the Church meetings he attended as a youth and how Utah Smith's music can be heard in Memphis Gold's exuberant blues today.