The Legacy of Amazing Grace (and a Johnson County Connection)

Fred Price, Clarence "Tom" Ashley, Clint Howard and Doc Watson sing Amazing Grace. (Photo by John Cohen provided by Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage)

The Legacy of Amazing Grace
(and a Johnson County Connection)

“Amazing Grace—How sweet the sound. . . .” There can be no sweeter sound than a group singing “Amazing Grace” a capella or a bagpiper playing its beautiful melody. Almost everyone knows a verse or two of the song and can hum the melody. The story of how this song became so popular in an interesting one involving Johnson County musicians. It was written by John Newton, a former slave-trading sailor who was caught in a storm at sea with little or no chance of surviving. Even though he had rejected Christ in the past, on the eleventh day of the ferocious storm and with little or no hope left, he found his thoughts turning to Christ. On that day in 1748, Newton credited the Lord with delivering him from the deep waters. Following that life-threatening ordeal, he wrote the song and it was published in 1779. It did not become very popular in England; but in America, the hymn became one of America’s most beloved songs.
Several things helped popularize the hymn. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the song into “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and included a few verses that were not in Newton’s original song such as “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining like the sun. . .” The hymn became a favorite in revival meetings and churches in the South especially in the Appalachian Mountains. Because it was often passed on by word of mouth, various versions developed sometimes adding a verse, sometimes deleting a verse. Southerners loved it and Black people who experienced slavery could certainly relate to the lyrics. By the time of the folk music revival of the 1950’s and 60’s, musicians were including it in their performances. One of those musicians was Clarence “Tom” Ashley. Joe Wilson, who served as Executive Director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts and recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship, said that Ashley’s arrangement of “Amazing Grace” is sung in churches all over America. In 1962, Folkways Records recorded Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley singing “Amazing Grace.” Watson, a blind musician from Deep Gap NC credited Clarence Ashley, Fred Price, and Clint Howard for giving him his start. He became the famous Doc Watson, one of the most influential flat-pickers of all times.
Another event that helped popularize the “Amazing Grace’ was the Newport Folk Festival in 1962. Doc Watson, lead singer, Clarence Ashley, Fred Price, Clint Howard, and Jean Ritchie took the stage and sang “Amazing Grace” a capella. That performance is often cited by musicians as the best performance ever made of “Amazing Grace.”
by Minnie Miller

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