Product details
- Label Rounder Records
- Artist Bessie Jones
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 1975
- Genre Blues
- Sealed Yes
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So Glad I'm Here by Bessie Jones.
There are records you listen to, and there are records that pull you into a room. "So Glad I'm Here" by Bessie Jones belongs firmly to the second kind. Rooted in the Georgia Sea Islands tradition, this is music captured in the places where it lived, not manufactured under studio lights but breathed into being by voices that carried generations of song.
Much of the album was recorded on July 30 and 31, 1973, at the Church of God in Christ on St. Simons Island, Georgia, with additional material taped in nearby Brunswick. You can feel the setting in the recordings. Bessie Jones anchors every track, and around her gathers a chorus of voices that shift from song to song, giving the record its communal, handed down quality. This is participatory music, the kind meant to be clapped, shouted, and sung together.
The A side leans into work songs, play songs, and ring games full of movement and rhythm. It opens with the title track "So Glad I'm Here," moving through the bright call and response of "Yonder Come Day," the playful "Shoo Turkey," and the driving "Trun My Body Round," where Jones is joined by voices including Barbara Ann Ross, Barbara Walthour, Donald Gibson, Jacqueline Burns, Michelle Johnson, Regina Gibson, and Sandra Walthour. Elsewhere on the side, "Johanna," "Kindlin' Wood," and "Riley" bring Douglas Quimby and Gus Hargrove into the fold.
Turn the record over and the mood deepens into the sacred and the sorrowful. The B side gathers spirituals and ballads carried by Bessie Jones alongside Bessie Burkes, Frankie Quimby, Douglas Quimby, and Gus Hargrove. "Titanic" tells its tragic story, "Amazing Grace" and "You Better Mind" reach toward the divine, and the stark power of "Oh Death" and "Daniel In The Lion's Den" gives way to the closing "May Be The Last Time, I Don't Know," a fitting farewell to a deeply spiritual set.
The production carries the same care as the singing. Recorded by Bill Nowlin and Bruce Kaplan, edited by Jacki Spector, and cut to lacquer by John Bittner, the album is presented with genuine attention to craft. Mary Jo Sanna Barron contributes both the liner notes and the back cover photography, with Irene Saletan capturing the front cover image and Susan Marsh handling the design.
Issued in a gatefold sleeve complete with lyrics, this is a release built for listeners who want to follow along, sing out, and sit with the words. It is a document of a living tradition and a testament to the voices that kept it alive, offered here for anyone drawn to the deep roots of American vocal music.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. So Glad I'm Here
A2. Johanna
A3. Yonder Come Day
A4. Kindlin' Wood
A5. Shoo Turkey
A6. Trun My Body Round
A7. Riley
B1. Titanic
B2. Amazing Grace
B3. You Better Mind
B4. Oh Death
B5. Daniel In The Lion's Den
B6. May Be The Last Time, I Don't Know
Credits:
Susan Marsh - Design
Jacki Spector - Edited By
John Bittner - Lacquer Cut By
Mary Jo Sanna Barron - Liner Notes
Mary Jo Sanna Barron - Photography By [Back Cover]
Irene Saletan - Photography By [Front Cover]
Bill Nowlin - Recorded By
Bruce Kaplan (2) - Recorded By
Barbara Ann Ross - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Barbara Walthour - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Bessie Burkes - Vocals (B1 to B6)
Bessie Jones - Vocals
Donald Gibson - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Douglas Quimby - Vocals (A2, A4, A7 to B6)
Frankie Quimby - Vocals (B1 to B6)
Gus Hargrove - Vocals (A2, A4, A7 to B6)
Jacqueline Burns - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Michelle Johnson (6) - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Regina Gibson - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Sandra Walthour - Vocals (A1, A3, A5, A6)
Notes:
Tracks A1, A3, A7 to B6 recorded July 30 & 31, 1973 at St. Simons Island, Georgia, Church of God in Christ.
Tracks A2, A4 to A6 recorded in Brunswick, Georgia.
Issued in gatefold sleeve with lyrics.
Artist: Bessie Jones
Format: 1LP
Genre: Blues
Label: Rounder Records
Catalog Number: 2015
Release Year: 1975
Country: United States
Condition: Sealed (New)
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