Songs I Love to Sing: The Billy Graham Crusades and the Shaping of Modern Worship

by Edith L. Blumhofer, Fernando Ortega (Foreword)

Learn the surprising history shared by some of today’s most popular hymns.
  
How did “How Great Thou Art,” an obscure Swedish hymn, get covered by Elvis? How did “Just as I Am” save Johnny Cash? How did dc Talk sanctify ’90s pop rock?
 
In the Billy Graham Crusades.
 
Music animated these evangelistic extravaganzas, all of it carefully orchestrated by the “chord of three”: celebrated preacher Billy Graham, Gospel Music Hall of Fame baritone George Beverly Shea, and choral conductor and emcee Clifford Barrows. And the Crusades went on to change the larger face of American music, influencing iconic popular artists in the second half of the twentieth century. The Crusade songbook also took root in churches, its use spreading beyond evangelical soil into mainline Protestant and Catholic congregations.
 
In   Songs I Love to Sing , Edith L. Blumhofer narrates the “biographies” of some of the most beloved songs in modern hymnody with verve and affection. Move beyond mere nostalgia. Discover the fascinating stories behind the soundtrack of American Christianity.

Genres: Biography, Christian

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2023

About the author

Dr. Edith Lydia Blumhofer was a Harvard-educated historian, whose work focused on the history of Christianity in post-Civil War America, who focused much of her work on American Pentecostalism.

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will confess. I love singing hymns. A good sermon is always welcome, but song is the key. Successful evangelists from Dwight L. Moody to Billy Graham have understood that reality. For Moody, it was Ira Stankey and for Billy Graham, it was Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea. These evangelical ministries not only engaged in evangelistic/revivalistic outreach, they also influenced hymnody and worship music. If you like singing "How Great Thou Art" it's likely because the Billy Graham Crusades, mainly George Beverly Shea, made it popular. That's true whether we knew the connection between the evangelistic ministry and our experiences of the hymn.

Edith Blumhoffer (1950-2020) was a well-regarded historian and the former director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, where she also taught. Bluhoffer is also the author of several well-regarded biographies of leading figures in evangelical history, including Fanny Crosby and Aimee Semple McPherson. She passed away before she could complete "Songs I Love to Sing," and therefore it was brought to completion by Larry Eskridge. While it was essentially complete, as Eskridge notes in his preface, it lacked her final touch. Nevertheless, Eskridge was able to bring together a very readable and important look at the role music played in the Graham ministry and Christian life in general.

While Billy Graham plays an important role in this story, as he's the face and spoken voice of the Billy Graham Crusades, he is not the focus of the book. The focus here is on the role music played in the ministry, which brings Cliff Barrows, Graham's music director, and George Beverly Shea, his long-time soloist into focus. Perhaps Graham would have been successful without the music, but probably not as successful as he proved to be.

Blumhofer notes in her introduction that Christians in every generation "sing their faith in lyrics that reflect their circumstances and music that mirrors their times." Some hymns and songs transcend time and others are for the moment. Therefore, she writes that "Billy Graham and his associates George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows recognized the universal appeal and usefulness of music wedded to preaching and made it an anchor of a new and global burst of evangelical endeavor" (p. 1). Graham's final crusade may have taken place in 2005, but he remains influential and the music that was connected to the crusades continues to resonate, even if new music has taken center stage. That, we learn is something that Graham and his colleagues had to learn, as music tastes changed. They might not be big fans of Christian rock, but they understood its value. Thus, this book is about the role music played in the Billy Graham Crusades.

Blumhofer begins her story by introducing us to the three primary figures in this story, Graham, Shea, and Barrows. She begins with Bev Shea. the eldest of the three, and already a known quantity when the team began to form. Shea was a Canadian, who early in life got involved in the music and radio industries. He was involved in radio ministry in Chicago when he became acquainted with Torrey Johnson, the founder of Youth for Chr,ist. Next, we meet Billy Graham, who was a few years younger than Shea. Unlike Shea, Graham had no musical talent but like D. L. Moody before him, he created the setting in which Shea and Cliff Barrow could work. Blumhoffer gives us a brief biography of Graham. It was in Chicago, where Graham was preaching at Village Church that he met anwithing with Shea. The final member of this trio, Cliff Barrows, was several years younger. A Californian, he had developed his musical talents, which were put to use in his church. Originally planning to study to be a physician, his life took a different turn in 1937, while at a Bible conference, he felt a call to ministry. That led to his studies at Bob Jones College, where he pursued an education in music and radio work. After graduation, and ordination as a Baptist minister, he met Billy Graham in 1945. Soon, he became part of Graham's YFC team.

After introducing us to each of the three figures, Blumhoffer shares how the team began coming together in 1946. Barrow joined Graham's team first, while Graham prevailed on Shea to join the team in 1947. This partnership would last until the very end of Graham's ministry. We learn how Graham and Barrows began studying earlier revivals, including those of Moody and Billy Sunday, as to how music factored into these ministries. After the team was formed each member brought their own experiences to the partnership. Shea was a well-known soloist. Barrow the song leader and choir director. Together the two guided the musical part of the ministry. They worked in tandem with Graham who guided the overall effort.

Now that Blumhofer has introduced us to the to the team, detailing the gifts brought to the partnership, she introduces us to the sources and influences on their music, beginning with the influence of religious radio. She notes that at this time Mainline Protestants owned the primary airwaves, taking advantage of free air time. With that unavailable, evangelicals like Charles Fuller and others purchased air time, their choice of music would influence evangelical musical tastes. We are also introduced to music creators such as Herman Rodeheaver, who worked with Billy Sunday and went on to become a major music publisher. Among the influences and sources that the trio drew from was Fanny Crosby, whose hymns were well known and widely appreciated, especially "Blessed Assurance." Another hymn of note that became connected to the ministry was "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." The music chosen by the team provided a foundation for the developing ministry. Then in Chapter 5, Blumhofer discusses the theme music, the songs that became especially connected to the ministry. Perhaps the most famous would be "Just as I Am." I've always known of that connection. What I didn't know was the way in which "How Great Thou Art," a song beloved in many mainline churches, was introduced to the world, in the form we know it, by George Beverly Shea in 1955, after being introduced to it in 1954. Blumhofer gives us a brief history of that song, which will be of interest to many.

So far Bluhofer has introduced us to the key members of the team, including their backgrounds and gifts. We've learned how they contributed to the ministry. We've encountered influences and sources, including the theme music. Then in chapter 6, Blumhofer takes note of the Guest Voices. While Barrows was the song leader and choir director (mass choirs were an important part of the events), and Shea offered his solos, they were not the only musical elements of the event. They chose to include a variety of musical talent that not only graced the event with their music but served as witnesses to the work of God in their lives. These folks were often local figures. But they also drew on nationally known talent such as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Johnny Cash. They also tried to bring diversity to the stage through these efforts, bringing to the event peole like Mahalia Jackson and Ethel Waters.

The seventh chapter is titled "Translation." In this chapter, Blumhofer discusses Graham's realization that musical tastes had begun changing in the 1960s. While rock music might not be the kind of music that the trio embraced, they began to understand that they needed to find ways of including it. So, in this chapter, we learn of the various ways in which Graham either partnered with others or created places within his evangelistic ministry for newer forms of music from Amy Grant to DC Talk. By the late 80s and into the 90s, they began to look for ways of creating different forms of events, where concerts took center stage, while Graham's messages became shorter, with more advice from Grandfather. Overall, these seemed successful.

In a "Coda," a perfect music term, Blumhofer shares about the 2005 final crusade in Flushing Meadows, not far from Madison Square Garden where his 1957 Crusade had "cemented Graham's position as the nation's preeminent evangelical voice and introduced the nation -- and the world -- to Bev Shea's iconic rendition of 'How Great Thou Art': (p. 149). While Graham has come under criticism for his ministry, some of which was well-deserved, he was also attentive to the changing times. But again, this is not a book about Graham's evangelistic work. It's a book about music. For that reason, this will be of interest to many in the church whether music professionals or lay folks. For clergy, this serves as a reminder that our sermons will reach more ears and hearts if partnered with the music of the church.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A history of the ministry of Billy Graham, focused on the music, the key roles of Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea, and the wider influence of the musical practices of the Crusades.

On Sunday evenings as a youth, I remember listening to The Hour of Decision with my father on an old Bakelite radio. We would gather around the television when his Crusades began to be broadcast on TV. I attended crusades in Cleveland in 1972 and Columbus in 1993. At least twice, I remember associate evangelists Lane Adams and Leighton Ford conducting Crusades in Youngstown and I was a counselor for the latter event. While Graham or his associate was the “main event,” I remember how much music was a part of those crusades. My father loved listening to George Beverly Shea singing “How Great Thou Art.” And when the choir began singing “Just As I Am” we felt the impulse to come to Jesus and watched as droves of people did.

The late Edith L. Blumhofer left this work in manuscript form at the time of her death, edited for publication by Larry Eskridge. She studied Graham’s Crusades through the lens of the music surrounding Graham’s messages, the team of people who worked together for sixty years, the thought that went into every aspect of Crusade music and the impact of that music on evangelical worship more widely.

Blumhofer begins by tracing the steps that brought the trio of Graham, Shea, and Barrows together, offering mini-biographies of each, especially valuable in the case of Shea and Barrows. Graham understood the power of spirit-filled singing to complement his preaching, and the two others set aside independent careers to work together to develop the music and musical philosophy that became a notable feature of every crusade. And Graham desperately needed them, suffering as Shea quipped, “the malady of no melody.”

What was fascinating was how deliberate the choice of music was, whether hymns like those of Fanny Crosby, or the gospel songs. They drew on the history of Moody’s partnership with Ira Sankey as well as living models like Homer Rodeheaver. Blumhofer also goes into the history of a number of songs including Shea’s signature “I’d Rather Have Jesus” and his tussles with the composer as he changed the melody and several words. She also recounts the circuitous history of “How Great Thou Art” from Sweden to Estonia to Russia, and to this country and the pen of Stuart Hine. Again, the Crusades tweaked a few words, and the impact of Crusades was evident in that wording becoming the way most people remember the song, much to Hine’s displeasure. We also learn of Charlotte Elliott, who wrote the words of “Just As I Am” and how it enjoyed the favor of Moody long before it became the song that invariably accompanied invitations at the Crusades.

Blumhofer discusses the increasing inclusion of celebrities beginning with Stuart Hamblen, the “Singing Cowboy,” Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and Johnny Cash, and Ethel Waters. Celebrities both needed to have a genuine Christian testimony and were selected for their ability to be a draw in particular venues. Later on, the early Seventies brought the Jesus Movement and the first Contemporary Christian artists. Graham’s appearance with them at Explo ’72 and his incorporation of artists from Michael W. Smith to dc Talk both broadened the appeal of Crusades for younger audiences and put Graham’s imprimateur on the CCM movement that transformed worship in evangelical Protestant churches.

The book concludes withe a coda, the last Crusade, in New York in 2005 that combined the mainstays of mass choir, Barrow, Shea, and Graham, as well as a host of contemporary musicians. It reflected all the ways the Crusades had influenced evangelical worship, from hymns like “Blessed Assurance” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness” to gospel songs to Contemporary Christian Music. The power of this music, coupled with gospel preaching, to move people to response was one drawn upon widely.

Blumhofer alludes only in passing to accusations that the music could be emotionally manipulative. Since this is more a history than a social psychological study, this is worth more careful study. There have been a number of discussions about the disparities between “decisions” and the number who go on as disciples incorporated in churches. Might the evocative elements of the music have played a role in this? How ought music be used in both evangelism and Christian worship and what are the boundaries between God-honoring musical witness and worship and emotional manipulation? What does seem clear from this account is that Barrows, and Shea and their team, with Graham’s blessing, modelled a deliberateness in the musical aspects of Crusades that was a key factor in their impact, both on attendees and on the wider Christian culture. Blumhofer’s work might well serve as the basis for others to explore these matters in greater depth. But it also is a gift to many of us who grew up in these years to recall, perhaps with great gratitude and affection, the music we loved to sing and its impact on our lives.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Having read a couple of Biographies of Billy Graham over the years, I appreciated having a different approach. Namely the role that music played in the Crusades over the years, and how that evolved - and how music tied the three key people (Billy Graham, George Beverly Shea and Clifford Burrows) together.

We get brief biographies of these three men, which I thought the author did well in keeping short and relevant to the topic. We get backgrounds of magnificent songs such as “How Great Thou Art”. We also get a lot of the 19th and early 20th Century history of music and crusades. The author provides many valuable insights, and I appreciated the journey she took me on.

Nicely referenced, including an Index of Songs - and it is quite surprising how many songs are referred to in just over 150 pages.

Highly recommended for those interested in the history of Christian Music as well interested in Billy Graham and his crusades.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good summary, not only of the music of the Billy Graham crusades, but also of the Christian music trends of the mid- to late- 20th century. Also great history of the three men who made the crusades - Graham, Barrows, and Shea. Blumhofer's work was outstanding, and I wish she were still with us to produce more of this quality of work.