“Let Freedom Ring” was basically inspired by the many political and historical events that hindered thousands of individuals to live their lives freely elsewhere. Photo credit: Friends of Gaither Music/Official Facebook Page The couple has penned countless gospel songs that many of us have come to love singing or listening. It was written by William James Gaither and wife Gloria Gaither. The song “Let Freedom Ring” is one of those numerous songs declaring freedom to reign. Others rejoice in the Lord for being the reason why we’re living a free life. These songs express the heart’s gratitude for enjoying such kind of freedom. There have been many songs about freedom that talented songwriters, lyricists, and hymnodists have ever written. Therefore, the only way we can be totally free is by having Him in our lives. However, the holy scripture says Christ is our freedom. Because our body is weak, we are often trapped by sin’s chains. Still, many of us remain captives of this sinful world. By shedding His precious blood and giving His life to the cross, we’ve been saved from the wages of sins which is death. Thanks to our loving God for sending us His only son Jesus Christ. We are all born to a sinful world and it’s inevitable for us to commit one as we grow up. Bound by the Chains of SinsĮvery human is a prisoner of sin. Most of us are bound to certain limitations. But there are also other people who are out of the prison but they’re not totally free. They cannot freely travel to places, and their actions are limited by the laws that govern their detention cells. They don’t have the freedom to be with their families all the time. Generally, people who are in prison are obviously not free in many aspects. The power of the freedom struggle, in the 1960s and beyond, directly impacted the work of many musicians working in vernacular, jazz, and popular/commercial genres, including Taj Mahal, Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Max Roach, Charlie Mingus, Randy Weston, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Olatunji.What does freedom mean to you? Do you think you are free? If so, to what extent? We differ in our perceptions about freedom depending on what aspect we’re looking at. During the folk revival of the 1960s, many white and Black folk singer-songwriters began writing and/or performing protest and Civil Rights songs, including Peter Seeger ( “If I Had a Hammer,” written with Lee Hays from the Weavers), Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan ( “Blowin’ in the Wind”), Odetta, Richie Havens, Len Chandler, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and the group Peter, Paul and Mary. Other well-known freedom songs include “We Shall Overcome,” theme song of the movement and now an international anthem for freedom and resistance “Come Bah Yah” (also known as “Kumbaya,” and derived from the spiritual “Come By Here”), “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” (spiritual), “99½ Won’t Do” (gospel), and “Calypso Freedom” (Caribbean calypso). The updated versions of these songs captured the energy of the movement and the prevailing message of freedom. They also sang contemporary gospel songs, rhythm and blues, and soul music, which they turned into freedom songs such as “Get Your Rights, Jack” by the CORE Freedom Singers based on Ray Charles’s “Hit the Road, Jack” (1961). The younger generation reinterpreted and created new songs in the traditions of the jubilee concert spiritual and gospel quartet (“Oh Prichett, Oh Kelly” and “In the Mississippi River” by the Freedom Singers). For example, at a meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Atlanta in 1964, members of the Freedom Singers led protesters in a medley consisting of both contemporary and traditional songs, “Freedom Medley: Freedom Chant/Oh Freedom/This Little Light of Mine” and “Lord Hold My Hand While I Run This Race,” which came from the repertoire of a rural Baptist church congregation. The musical repertoire reflected this diversity, consisting of original versions and new interpretations of spirituals, hymns, ballads, gospel, rhythm and blues, and soul music, as well as original creations. Participation in the Civil Rights movement crossed generational, professional, and racial boundaries. It galvanized African Americans into political action provided strength and courage united protesters as a cohesive group and became a creative medium for mass communication. Music was integral to both movements and served a multitude of functions. These activities gained widespread momentum and spread to the North, attracting national attention in the 1960s. The modern Civil Rights and Black Power movements emerged from an era of social unrest in the mid-1950s when African Americans from the South mounted a series of grassroots activities to protest their social status as second-class citizens.
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