Pages

19 November 2014

Angels Keep Watching Over Me (aka All Night, All Day) (With Choir)

Ettal 1976: Album (VHS, France): Ray Charles Live, Cinéthèque VCV 402, S.a.
Gospel 2002: Ray Charles Celebrates A Gospel Christmas, VHS: Urban Works, 7 October 2003; DVD: Urban Works, 23 November 2004; Audio CD: EMI Records, 27 November 2006.

Brother Ray's first documented performance of this gospel song was at Sam Cooke's funeral service, on December 18th, 1964. From Ebony:
"At the Mount Sinaï Baptist Church in Los Angeles, a crowd of 5,000 persons, some of whom arrived five hours before the scheduled last rites, overran facilities designed to accommodate 1,500. In an emotion packed atmosphere, super charged by the singing of Lou Rawls, Bobby Blue Bland and Arthur Lee Simpkins, women fainted, tears fan down men's cheeks and onlookers shouted. Gospel singer Bessy Griffin, who was to appear on the funeral program, became so grief stricken she had to be carried off. Ray Charles stepped in from the audience to sing and play Angels Keep Watching Over Me."
In this documentary Billy Preston remembered the impact of Ray's rendition (the soundscore has mixed in the version from A Gospel Christmas, in 2002):
   [see this page]

Monastery of Ettal, 1976 (with Sarah Jordan Powell):


'82 TV Gospel:


A Man And His Soul, 1983 (with The Andrae Crouch Singers):
Watch here.

Gospel Christmas, 2002 (with the Voices of Jubilation):


Live:
'76 LC Ettal - Released
'82 TV Gospel - Released
'83 TV Man
02 LC Gospel - Released

1 comment:

  1. Hello! Please help to complete the trannscription! Two pieces of this great perfomance missing :-(

    All night, all day,
    Yeah, the angels keep watching over me, my Lord.
    All night, all day,
    Yeah, the angels keep you watching over me.

    Last night I lay me down to sleep
    (Now that) The angels keep watching over me, my Lord.
    I pray my soul I tell the Lord to keep
    The angels keep watching over me.

    I went (alright) to the valley, (??????) I went down there to pray
    The angels keep watching over me, my Lord.
    You know my soul (aha) my soul got happy (ah yeah) , and I stayed, I stayed all day
    The angels keep watching over me, my Lord.

    I want to say it one more time!

    All night, (and I'm so glad that) all day,
    Yeah, the angels (I'm so glad) keep on watching over me, my Lord.
    (????) All night (and I don't know what I have to do), all day,
    Yeah, the angels keep watching over me.

    ReplyDelete