Macel Ely - Ain't No Grave: The Life And Legacy Of Brother Claude Ely

Published Tuesday 11th March 2014
Macel Ely - Ain't No Grave: The Life And Legacy Of Brother Claude Ely
Macel Ely - Ain't No Grave: The Life And Legacy Of Brother Claude Ely

STYLE:
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 149198-BOK710
LABEL:
FORMAT: Book General book

Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

The life and music of pioneering Pentecostal-Holiness preacher/singer Brother Claude Ely has been documented in a lavish 360 page biography penned by his nephew Macel Ely II who has painstakingly interviewed over a thousand people to build up an evocative account of his uncle's life. Best known for penning the standard "Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down" (covered in recent years by luminaries such as Johnny Cash, Russ Taff and Tom Jones), Brother Claude was an extraordinary figure. This book charts Ely's near fatal childhood battle with tuberculosis, his service in World War II, his life as a pastor in the Appalachian Mountains and a travelling evangelist as well as a side line as a religious radio broadcaster and an influential recording artist before his untimely death in 1978. Macel Ely's writing style makes for an easy read - thanks in no small way to verbatim interview excerpts that not only reflect the dialect of the Appalachian people but share something of the passion for Christ that Ely undoubtedly had. If these interviews are anything to go by though, it appears that no one had a single bad word to say about Ely and, whilst it may be the case that any character flaws were kept well hidden, his nephew's account of proceedings does tend to come across as somewhat biased and sycophantic. Elsewhere, the challenge to Ely's ownership of his signature song - filled with the kind of lyrical imagery commonplace in the cotton fields and recorded in an admittedly different form by black bluesman Bozie Sturdivant several years before Ely did - is not given proper debate and claims that the performance styles of the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles were primarily drawn from Ely may be a bit fanciful for some. Nonetheless, dramatic accounts of Ely's near death whilst working in a coal mine, miraculous healings and his untimely demise whilst playing the organ at a church service are truly gripping and make this a hard book to put down. Accompanying this biography is a 10 track CD of songs and sermons mostly recorded, bizarrely, after Ely's death including a rambling and almost indecipherable address from his father Daniel, a painful congregational take on "Amazing Grace" and two ramshackle versions of "Ain't No Grave". In fact, Brother Claude only appears on one track - a lengthy sermon that showcases his trademark style of shouting and barking himself into a frenzy in a way that is both mesmerizing and disturbing at the same time - and the decision not to include some of his more accomplished recorded work does nothing to back up the claims made in this painstakingly compiled tome.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Reader Comments

Posted by wilma Olive in Waterloo, Alabama @ 14:28 on Oct 4 2014

We desperately need more peole ( Isay people because men & women of Christian caliber) that preach & teach Gods word with such conviction. I fell deeply for this paticular song because a true christian feeels this way.



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