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Author Steve Turner's book "Amazing Grace: the story of an America's Favourite Song" unearths the fascinating background of a piece of music that's had an extraordinary impact. It's been a hymn of redemption. A song of comfort. A gospel favourite, a bagpipe standard, a folksong, a civil rights anthem, the most popular song for funerals. It's the song people turned to after 9/11, Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Challenger tragedy. There are at least 450 recorded versions of it - everyone from Elvis to Mahalia Jackson. The English man who created the lyrics, John Newton, the "wretch" of the first verse, had an unbelievable life. And yet its roots are more American than anything else. 
Steve Turner has written about Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Jack Kerouac, and Van Morrison. He's published his articles about music in Rolling Stone and The London Times.
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Piece Description
Author Steve Turner's book "Amazing Grace: the story of an America's Favourite Song" unearths the fascinating background of a piece of music that's had an extraordinary impact. It's been a hymn of redemption. A song of comfort. A gospel favourite, a bagpipe standard, a folksong, a civil rights anthem, the most popular song for funerals. It's the song people turned to after 9/11, Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Challenger tragedy. There are at least 450 recorded versions of it - everyone from Elvis to Mahalia Jackson. The English man who created the lyrics, John Newton, the "wretch" of the first verse, had an unbelievable life. And yet its roots are more American than anything else.
Steve Turner has written about Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Jack Kerouac, and Van Morrison. He's published his articles about music in Rolling Stone and The London Times.
Broadcast History
This documentary was first broadcast on CBC Radio in 2003, but its timeless message is as current now as it was then.
Intro and Outro
INTRO:And now a documentary that first aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It's a moving and intimate look at one of the most extraordinary pieces of music ever written- Amazing Grace. Hear the story of the song coming right up.
OUTRO:That documentary first aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing Grace | Bruges Bagpipe Guild | International Bagpiper's Festival. | Supraphon | 00:00 | |
| Amazing Grace | Jean Ritchie | Classic Southern Gospel. | Smithsonian Folkways | 2005 | 03:54 |
| Amazing Grace | Joan Baez | From Every Stage. | A & M | 1976 | 00:00 |
| Amazing Grace | Judy Collins | Colors of the Day. | Elektra | 1972 | 04:06 |
| Amazing Grace | Royal Scots Dragoon Guards | Dance Me Outside soundtrack. | Denon | 1994 | 00:00 |
| Amazing Grace | Aretha Franklin | Amazing Grace. | Atlantic | 1972 | 10:45 |
| Amazing Grace | Blind Boys of Alabama | Spirit of the Century. | Real World | 2001 | 04:24 |
| Amazing Grace | Jessye Norman | Amazing Grace. | Philips | 03:20 |
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David Srebnik
Posted on January 22, 2009 at 09:50 AM | Permalink
Compelling and Captivating Story Telling
Author Steve Turner calls it "America's most beloved song." "Amazing Grace" and its story is the gift that keeps on giving. Each story begets another story, and they're all captured in a highly enriching and engaging Interview-Documentary, "Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song."
The song's story and history, by themselves, go well beyond interesting and captivating. But it's the history of the individual words, "wretch," "grace" and "amazing" that create the most interest and momentum.
The hymn lays out the biography of John Newton, a one-time slave trader who wrote the words. He is also the wretch mentioned in the text. Author Steve Turner juxtaposes Newton's original intentions for these words with the stories of people whose lives were rescued and transformed upon hearing them at their lowest and highest life moments. These juxtapositions create the documentary's deepest, most gripping moments.
"Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song” is convincing story telling suitable for almost all formats and for stations with regular and occasional documentary slots in their schedule.