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{{Short description|American hymnist (1913–1993)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Louise Shropshire
| name = Louise Shropshire
| image = File:Louise Shropshire 1.jpg
| image = File:Louise Shropshire 1.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = Louise Shropshire Circa 1962
| caption = Louise Shropshire, circa 1962
| birth_name = Louise Jarrett
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|2|15|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|2|15}}
| birth_place = Coffee County Alabama
| birth_place = [[Coffee County, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1993|1913|1}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|11|26|1913|1}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| known_for =
| spouse = Robert Shropshire Sr.<br>({{abbr|m.|married}} 19??; died 1967)
| occupation = African American composer of hymns
| occupation = Composer of hymns
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
}}
}}
'''Louise Shropshire''' (15 February 1913 – 1993) was an [[African American]] composer of hymns.
'''Louise Shropshire''' (February 15, 1913 – November 26, 1993) was an American composer of [[hymn]]s.


==Early life==
==Early life==
The granddaughter of slaves, Louise Shropshire was born Louise Jarrett on February 15, 1913 in [[Coffee County, Alabama]]. In 1917, her family relocated to [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] in search of a better life than they had experienced as rural Alabama sharecroppers.
The granddaughter of slaves, Louise Shropshire was born '''Louise Jarrett''' on February 15, 1913 in [[Coffee County, Alabama]]. In 1917, her family relocated to [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] in search of a better life than they had experienced as rural Alabama [[sharecropper]]s. As a young girl, Louise demonstrated a gift for music and composed many hymns as a member of the [[Black church|African American Baptist Church]]. Sometime between 1932 and 1942, she composed a gospel hymn entitled "If My Jesus Wills". It wasn’t long until her music and talents were discovered.
As a young girl, Louise demonstrated a gift for music and composed many hymns as a member of the African American Baptist Church / ([[Black church]]). Sometime between 1932 and 1942, she composed a gospel hymn entitled, ''If My Jesus Wills''. It wasn’t long until her music and talents were discovered.


==Singer and hymnwriter==
==Singer and hymnwriter==
In 1935, she was discovered by [[Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey]] at the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC), an organization founded by Dorsey, which was held in Cincinnati that year. Dorsey, who is still considered the father of [[Gospel music]], was impressed by Louise’s talent as a composer and choir director and asked her to direct the mass choir segment of his convention. He also asked Shropshire to perform at the NCGCC with her family singing group, ''The Humble Three''. Rev. Dorsey and Louise Shropshire would build a thirty-year friendship and together, co-wrote and copyrighted the gospel hymn, ''Behold the Man of Galilee''. Some of Shopshire's other Gospel copyrighted compositions are; ''I've Got The Big Seal Of Approval''; ''I'm Tryin' My Best To Get Home To See Jesus''; ''Whom Do Men Say That I Am?'' ; ''I Know Jesus Pilots Me''; ''Are you Worthy to Take Communion''; ''Come on, Jesus Will Save You Right Now'', and ''Mother's Beautiful Hands''.
In 1935, she was discovered by Rev. [[Thomas A. Dorsey]] at the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC), an organization founded by Dorsey, which was held in Cincinnati that year. Dorsey, who is still considered the father of [[gospel music]], was impressed by Louise’s talent as a composer and choir director and asked her to direct the mass choir segment of his convention. He also asked Shropshire to perform at the NCGCC with her family singing group, The Humble Three. Rev. Dorsey and Louise Shropshire would build a thirty-year friendship and together, co-wrote and copyrighted the gospel hymn, "Behold the Man of Galilee'". Some of Shopshire's other Gospel copyrighted compositions are "I've Got The Big Seal Of Approval"; "I'm Tryin' My Best To Get Home To See Jesus", "Whom Do Men Say That I Am?", "I Know Jesus Pilots Me". '"Are You Worthy to Take Communion", '"Come on, Jesus Will Save You Right Now", and "Mother's Beautiful Hands".

=="[[We Shall Overcome]]"==
It is believed that Louise Shropshire's Christian hymn, "If My Jesus Wills", composed sometime between 1932 and 1942 and more commonly known as, "I'll Overcome" was adapted by union organizers in the late 1940s into a song entitled, "We Will Overcome". Later, "We Will Overcome" was taught to [[Pete Seeger]] by folk singer [[Zilphia Horton]], who along with other folk singers, adapted it to become "We Shall Overcome". Louise Shropshire copyrighted "If My Jesus Wills" in 1954. She recorded an additional copyright that same year for the song as part of a suite of eleven original gospel hymns entitled, ''His Precious Blood''. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, she continued performing "If My Jesus Wills" across America at the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses as part of the repertoire of her choirs, The Humble Three, The Shropshire Singers and The New Prospect Singers. Taking the advice of Rev. [[Thomas A. Dorsey]], Shropshire distributed 1,000 pieces of the ''His Precious Blood'' sheet music collection to choir directors all over the country.

'''Lyrics to "If My Jesus Wills"''': (Copyright 1954)
:I’ll Overcome, I’ll Overcome, I’ll Overcome Someday
:If My Jesus Wills, I Do Believe, I’ll Overcome Someday

'''Lyrics to "[[We Shall Overcome]]"''': (Copyright 1960)
:We Shall Overcome, We Shall Overcome, We Shall Overcome Someday
:Deep in My Heart, I Do Believe, We Shall Overcome Someday

There are several documented musical and choral arrangements of "If My Jesus Wills", which were sung in various African American churches in America. This presents the strong likelihood that "We Shall Overcome" was adapted from one of these arrangements, as opposed to the sheet music.

Louise Shropshire's lyrics bear marginal resemblance to those of Methodist minister, Rev. [[Charles Albert Tindley]]'s 1909 composition, "I'll Overcome Someday". Although the two songs are very different musically, the popularity of Tindley's hymn presents the possibility that Tindley's hymn inspired Louise Shropshires, "If My Jesus Wills".

Musically speaking, Tindley's "I'll Overcome Someday" strongly resembles prolific Christian music composer, [[Lowell Mason]]'s 1839 arrangement of [[Charles Wesley]]'s "[[O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing]]". In 1960 and again in 1963, [[Pete Seeger]], [[Guy Carawan]], [[Zilphia Horton]], [[Frank Hamilton (musician)|Frank Hamilton]] and [[Myles Horton]] registered a copyright for "[[We Shall Overcome]]" as a derivative work. No original author is listed.


==Life and work==
==Life and work==
In the early 1950s, Louise Shropshire met [[Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr]] and Rev. [[Fred Shuttlesworth]]. Finding much in common; Shropshire and King became good friends and established a strong and loyal spiritual alliance. Dr. King grew very comfortable with the Shropshire family and lodged at the Shropshire home when in Cincinnati. In addition, with the financial support of her husband’s successful bail bonds business, Shropshire held many fundraising events in her home and in Cincinnati hotels, several of which were attended by Dr. King himself. Funds were raised at these events to help bail out Civil Rights activists, who had been incarcerated during the Birmingham Campaign and [[Montgomery Bus Boycott]]. As a close friend of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and devout member of the African American Baptist Church, Louise Shropshire was instrumental in helping to establish the Greater New Light Baptist Church (GNLBC) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In the early 1950s, Louise Shropshire met Rev. Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and Rev. [[Fred Shuttlesworth]]. Finding much in common; Shropshire and King became good friends and established a strong and loyal spiritual alliance. Dr. King grew very comfortable with the Shropshire family and lodged at the Shropshire home when in Cincinnati. In addition, with the financial support of her husband’s successful bail bonds business, Shropshire held many fundraising events in her home and in Cincinnati hotels, several of which were attended by Dr. King himself. Funds were raised at these events to help bail out Civil Rights activists, who had been incarcerated during the Birmingham Campaign and [[Montgomery bus boycott]]. As a close friend of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and devout member of the African American Baptist Church, Louise Shropshire was instrumental in helping to establish the Greater New Light Baptist Church (GNLBC) in Cincinnati, Ohio.


Following the unexpected death of her husband, Robert "Bob" Shropshire Sr. in 1967, Louise Shropshire moved to [[California]] to be with her convalescing mother, Ollie Johnson Jarrett. Soon afterwards, using her own financial resources, she planted a sister church in [[Pomona, California]], to the GNLBC in Cincinnati. Both churches remain active to this day.
Following the unexpected death of her husband, Robert "Bob" Shropshire Sr. in 1967, Louise Shropshire moved to [[California]] to be with her convalescing mother, Ollie Johnson Jarrett. Soon afterwards, using her own financial resources, she planted a sister church in [[Pomona, California]], to the GNLBC in Cincinnati. Both churches remain active to this day.


Louise Shropshire died on November 26, 1993. The last words she spoke were to her grandson, Robert Anthony Goins Shropshire: "Someday, somebody’s gonna do something with all my music". In the years before her death, Louise Shropshire had taken more than 50 foster children into her home and was known never to deny a brother in need. Having exhausted her financial resources in the course of helping others, Louise Shropshire died penniless.
Louise Shropshire died on November 26, 1993. The last words she spoke were to her grandson, Robert Anthony Goins Shropshire: "Someday, somebody’s gonna do something with all my music". In the years before her death, Louise Shropshire had taken more than 50 foster children into her home and was known never to deny a brother in need. Having exhausted her financial resources in the course of helping others, Louise Shropshire died penniless.<ref>[http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/louise-jarrett-shropshire-born "Louise Jarrett Shropshire", ''African American Registry'']. Retrieved 27 April 2016</ref>


In his 2012 book ''[[We Shall Overcome: Sacred Song on the Devil's Tongue]]'', music producer [[Isaias Gamboa (music producer)|Isaias Gamboa]] presented a theory suggesting that Shropshire's hymn "If My Jesus Wills" was the basis for the iconic [[protest song]] "[[We Shall Overcome]]", contrasting a more popular theory that linked the song to a hymn by Rev. Dr. [[Charles Albert Tindley]], "I'll Overcome Some Day".<ref name="cincicom-belongstocincy">{{cite web|title='We Shall Overcome' belongs to Cincinnati|url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/02/01/shall-overcome-belongs-cincinnati/22593805/|website=Cincinnati Enquirer|publisher=Gannett Company|accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last2=Henry|first1=Isaias|last1=Gamboa|first2=JoAnne F.|last3=Owen|first3=Audrey|title=We Shall Overcome: Sacred Song On The Devil's Tongue|date=2012|publisher=Amapola Publ.|location=Beverly Hills, Calif.|isbn=978-0615475288}}</ref><ref name="theatlantic-whoowns">{{cite web|last1=Graham|first1=David A.|title=Who Owns 'We Shall Overcome'?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/04/we-shall-overcome-lawsuit/478068/|website=The Atlantic|date=14 April 2016 |accessdate=13 July 2016}}</ref>
In the biographical book,''[[We Shall Overcome: Sacred Song On The Devil's Tongue]'', author, [[Isaias Gamboa (music producer)]] reveals the details of Louise Shropshire's life and reveals evidence of her role in the creation of, [[We Shall Overcome]]".


⚫
In 2013, Shropshire was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame.<ref name="dispatch-induction">{{cite web|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/10/03/inductees-in-civil-rights-hall-of-fame-urge-continued-work-for-equality.html|title=Inductees in Ohio civil-rights hall of fame urge continued work for equality &#124; The Columbus Dispatch|publisher=dispatch.com|accessdate=2 December 2014}}</ref>
==Retrospective==
In August 2012, Louise Shropshire's grandson, Robert Anthony Goins Shropshire met with Pete Seeger and presented him with the above-described history as well as the sheet music and lyrics for ''If My Jesus Wills''. After analyzing ''If My Jesus Wills'', Mr. Seeger stated; "it is very probable that Louise Shropshire taught ''If My Jesus Wills'' to [[Lucille Simmons]]", that "Louise Shropshire may have been Lucille Simmons" and that Ms. Shropshire "should be part of the We Shall Overcome Story."

On October 2, 2014, Louise Shropshire was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame for her contributions as original author of We Shall Overcome, in addition to her support of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth during the African American Civil Rights Movement.


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
⚫
*{{cite web|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/10/03/inductees-in-civil-rights-hall-of-fame-urge-continued-work-for-equality.html|title=Inductees in Ohio civil-rights hall of fame urge continued work for equality &#124; The Columbus Dispatch|publisher=dispatch.com|accessdate=2 December 2014}}
*{{cite book|title=We Shall Overcome : Sacred Song on the Devil’s Tongue|author=[[Isaias Gamboa]]|editors=JoAnne F. Henry, Ph.D. and Audry Owen|publisher=Amapola Publishers|year=2012|isbn=0615475280}}
*{{cite web|url=http://lasentinel.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10499:book-review-we-shall-overcome&catid=50&Itemid=140|title=BOOK REVIEW ‘We Shall Overcome’ - LA Sentinel|author=Kenneth Miller (Contributing Writer)|publisher=lasentinel.net|date=21 February 2013|accessdate=10 April 2013}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.vibe.com/article/isaias-gamboa-explains-who-wrote-we-shall-overcome|title=Isaias Gamboa Explains Who Wrote "We Shall Overcome"|publisher=vibe.com|date=16 October 2012|accessdate=10 April 2013}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://rave.ohiolink.edu/archives/ead/OhCiUAR0396 Finding Aid for Louise Shropshire Family papers], Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
|NAME = Shropshire, Louise
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = American African American composer of hymns
|DATE OF BIRTH = 15 February 1913
|PLACE OF BIRTH = Coffee County Alabama
|DATE OF DEATH = 1993
|PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shropshire, Louise}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shropshire, Louise}}
[[Category:American hymnwriters]]
[[Category:American hymnwriters]]
[[Category:African-American songwriters]]
[[Category:African-American songwriters]]
[[Category:Christian music songwriters]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American female songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century American women musicians]]
[[Category:American women hymnwriters]]
[[Category:African-American women musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]

Latest revision as of 03:24, 5 March 2024

Louise Shropshire
Louise Shropshire, circa 1962
Born
Louise Jarrett

(1913-02-15)February 15, 1913
Coffee County, Alabama, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 1993(1993-11-26) (aged 80)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationComposer of hymns
Spouse(s)Robert Shropshire Sr.
(m. 19??; died 1967)

Louise Shropshire (February 15, 1913 – November 26, 1993) was an American composer of hymns.

Early life

[edit]

The granddaughter of slaves, Louise Shropshire was born Louise Jarrett on February 15, 1913 in Coffee County, Alabama. In 1917, her family relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio in search of a better life than they had experienced as rural Alabama sharecroppers. As a young girl, Louise demonstrated a gift for music and composed many hymns as a member of the African American Baptist Church. Sometime between 1932 and 1942, she composed a gospel hymn entitled "If My Jesus Wills". It wasn’t long until her music and talents were discovered.

Singer and hymnwriter

[edit]

In 1935, she was discovered by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey at the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC), an organization founded by Dorsey, which was held in Cincinnati that year. Dorsey, who is still considered the father of gospel music, was impressed by Louise’s talent as a composer and choir director and asked her to direct the mass choir segment of his convention. He also asked Shropshire to perform at the NCGCC with her family singing group, The Humble Three. Rev. Dorsey and Louise Shropshire would build a thirty-year friendship and together, co-wrote and copyrighted the gospel hymn, "Behold the Man of Galilee'". Some of Shopshire's other Gospel copyrighted compositions are "I've Got The Big Seal Of Approval"; "I'm Tryin' My Best To Get Home To See Jesus", "Whom Do Men Say That I Am?", "I Know Jesus Pilots Me". '"Are You Worthy to Take Communion", '"Come on, Jesus Will Save You Right Now", and "Mother's Beautiful Hands".

Life and work

[edit]

In the early 1950s, Louise Shropshire met Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. Finding much in common; Shropshire and King became good friends and established a strong and loyal spiritual alliance. Dr. King grew very comfortable with the Shropshire family and lodged at the Shropshire home when in Cincinnati. In addition, with the financial support of her husband’s successful bail bonds business, Shropshire held many fundraising events in her home and in Cincinnati hotels, several of which were attended by Dr. King himself. Funds were raised at these events to help bail out Civil Rights activists, who had been incarcerated during the Birmingham Campaign and Montgomery bus boycott. As a close friend of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and devout member of the African American Baptist Church, Louise Shropshire was instrumental in helping to establish the Greater New Light Baptist Church (GNLBC) in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Following the unexpected death of her husband, Robert "Bob" Shropshire Sr. in 1967, Louise Shropshire moved to California to be with her convalescing mother, Ollie Johnson Jarrett. Soon afterwards, using her own financial resources, she planted a sister church in Pomona, California, to the GNLBC in Cincinnati. Both churches remain active to this day.

Louise Shropshire died on November 26, 1993. The last words she spoke were to her grandson, Robert Anthony Goins Shropshire: "Someday, somebody’s gonna do something with all my music". In the years before her death, Louise Shropshire had taken more than 50 foster children into her home and was known never to deny a brother in need. Having exhausted her financial resources in the course of helping others, Louise Shropshire died penniless.[1]

In his 2012 book We Shall Overcome: Sacred Song on the Devil's Tongue, music producer Isaias Gamboa presented a theory suggesting that Shropshire's hymn "If My Jesus Wills" was the basis for the iconic protest song "We Shall Overcome", contrasting a more popular theory that linked the song to a hymn by Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley, "I'll Overcome Some Day".[2][3][4]

In 2013, Shropshire was inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Louise Jarrett Shropshire", African American Registry. Retrieved 27 April 2016
  2. ^ "'We Shall Overcome' belongs to Cincinnati". Cincinnati Enquirer. Gannett Company. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  3. ^ Gamboa, Isaias; Henry, JoAnne F.; Owen, Audrey (2012). We Shall Overcome: Sacred Song On The Devil's Tongue. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Amapola Publ. ISBN 978-0615475288.
  4. ^ Graham, David A. (14 April 2016). "Who Owns 'We Shall Overcome'?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Inductees in Ohio civil-rights hall of fame urge continued work for equality | The Columbus Dispatch". dispatch.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
[edit]
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