Category Archives: Citizen of the Month

Biographies of much-loved Sacred Harp singers, past and present.

My Dad, Mr. E. C. Bowen

Here is a little story about my dad, Mr. Ezra Clayton “E. C.” Bowen. My dad was born on May 25, 1905, in Woodland, Alabama. He went to a few Sacred Harp singings with his grandmother when he was young … Continue reading

Posted in Citizen of the Month | Leave a comment

Raymond C. Hamrick’s Contributions to Sacred Harp Singing and Scholarship

Raymond Cooper Hamrick (1915–2014), of Macon, Georgia, was a well-loved singer, composer, and scholar whose intellectual curiosity, generosity of spirit, and kindness seemed boundless. Perhaps the greatest Sacred Harp composer of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Hamrick imparted … Continue reading

Posted in Citizen of the Month, Friends Who've Gone Before | Leave a comment

Grandpa McWhorter: Singer and Civil Servant

The issuance early last year of the reproduction of the 1911 Original Sacred Harp (the James Book) caused me to reflect upon the extraordinary influence that historic old book and its predecessors had on common community life throughout the deep … Continue reading

Posted in Citizen of the Month, Read the Old Paths | 1 Comment

Sacred Harp’s “Yodeling Schoolgirl”: The Story of “Little Lorraine”

Without a doubt, the most recognizable face to Sacred Harp singers today is that of a little girl leading a song, one arm raised and holding in the other a large rectangular songbook. The sepia-toned photograph was chosen by Matt … Continue reading

Posted in Citizen of the Month | 7 Comments