MMC What You Do Not Know About Sweet Little Jesus Boy

[ElfBot]

Few of the songs of Christmas so directly conveys the personal appeal of Jesus Christ like the song Sweet Little Jesus Boy. Mistaken by many to be an old American spiritual sung by slaves of the south in the 19th century the song was actually written in 1934 by white American composer Robert MacGimsey. Born in Louisiana, MacGimsey was a lawyer who had a passion for composing what many people of his generation called “black music”. MacGimsey may have been white but he was raised in the company of blacks who gave him a rich background in the gospel musicRead more

The post What You Do Not Know About Sweet Little Jesus Boy appeared first on My Merry Christmas.

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[MerryCarey]

Great to know the backstory of this song!
My favorite version is a live 1949 TV performance by Earl Wrightson, who knew McGimsey. He really pours his heart into it. We watch that show every Christmas Eve.

 

[Jeff Westover]

Great to know the backstory of this song!
My favorite version is a live 1949 TV performance by Earl Wrightson, who knew McGimsey. He really pours his heart into it. We watch that show every Christmas Eve.

Is there a YouTube?

 

[MerryCarey]

Is there a YouTube?

'Fraud not, because it's in a kinescope (on 16mm film) of a live show, and we don't know if any other copies exist. But I did make an okay-quality MP3 of the entire reel some years ago by miking a speaker. You can listen to "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" via this link.

We'd love to have a digital transfer made of the reel, but it's expensive work ... and so risky to ship it to a lab, especially if it's one of a kind. I hope we can find a way sometime, because it's an entire live 15-minute musical Christmas show, complete with a commercial for Masland carpeting, and in excellent condition.