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"Brother" Claude Ely (July 22, 1922 – May 7, 1978) was a religious singer-songwriter and a Pentecostal Holiness preacher.

Brother Claude Daniel Ely, coined as the King Recording Label’s “Gospel Ranger” of the Appalachian Mountains, was born in Pucketts Creek, Virginia. He was the first Pentecostal Holiness recording artist to be signed to a major recording label for strictly sacred music and songs.[1]

Receiving notoriety for his penned song, “There Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down),” Ely’s musical style and spiritual influence still exist today among both secular and sacred music enthusiasts. Many Hollywood entertainers and musical artists have acknowledged their admiration and fascination for Brother Claude Ely. Often music historians attest that other musical artists cite Brother Claude Ely as having been a positive influence on their works as well. Artists recording Brother Claude Ely's songs include Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and others. Robert Duvall's self-produced movie entitled "The Apostle" also integrated Brother Claude Ely's music on its soundtrack.[2]

Ely pastored various churches in Kentucky, Virginia, and the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Ely also hosted a radio program entitled "The Gospel Ranger Show" which aired across the southeastern portion of the United States. Many of Ely's religious followers and numerous admirers still exist today in the Appalachian mountains.[3]

Ely's great nephew, Macel Ely II, wrote an official biography on Brother Claude Ely's life. The book is based upon oral history ascertained from over 1,000 personal interviews Macel Ely II conducted with musical artists, ministers, and Appalachian residents who remembered the singer/preacher. The book will be a "set" consisting of the earlier mentioned book and a music CD with songs performed by Brother Claude Ely himself. The set is entitled Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely and is set to be released on July 1, 2010 by Dust-to-Digital out of Atlanta, Georgia.[4]


American VI: Ain't No Grave is a posthumous album by Johnny Cash. It is set to be released on February 26, 2010, which would have been Cash's 78th birthday. Using Brother Claude Ely's song "Ain't No Grave" as the title track, the LA Times Reports that the song would have been Johnny Cash's last recorded song before his death.[5]

Eddie Dean, writer for The Washington Post stated:

...and Holiness preachers such as Brother Claude Ely rave on like renegade rockabilly cats ... You have Brother Claude Ely doing radio broadcasts that sound like a tent revival ... I think his material is as strong as anything Sun Studio did. Even the wildest rockabilly rarely reached the unhinged delirium of "There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down," ... A Holiness preacher from Kentucky, Ely was a faith healer and a terrific guitarist, judging from the ferocious rockabilly rhythms on "Grave," a country hit in 1953. Ely and many others ... foreshadow the rock-and-soul explosion, when church-reared performers such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin fused sanctified and secular style to revoltionize pop music.[6]

References

  1. ^ Ely II, Macel. "Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely." (July 2010) Atlanta: Dust-to-Digital.
  2. ^ Ely II, Macel. "Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely." (July 2010) Atlanta: Dust-to-Digital.
  3. ^ Ely II, Macel. "Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely." (July 2010) Atlanta: Dust-to-Digital.
  4. ^ Ely II, Macel. "Ain't No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely." (July 2010) Atlanta: Dust-to-Digital.
  5. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/01/johnny-cashs-final-studio-album-american-vi-coming-feb-26.html
  6. ^ Dean, Eddie. "Gospel Music's New Apostle: With 'Goodbye, Babylon' Lance Ledbetter Has Resurrected a Long-Ignored Era of Sacred Song." The Washington Post. 18 February 294: C1.

External links





Born in Virginia on July 22, of 1922, Brother Claude Ely is cited by many as being one of the true examples of gospel music in its purest form as an influence on rock and roll. Though probably not a major influence on rock himself, Ely's music features the heavy rhythmic emphasis and impassioned gospel shouting that was indicative of the southern Pentecostal churches that have been seen as the birthplace of many rock forms. Ely himself was a near legendary Holiness preacher who crisscrossed the United States holding revivals and tent meetings, playing his own brand of explosive traditional songs and originals. No doubt, the sheer volume of his sound is impressive, given that it was mostly comprised of his voice and a forcefully strummed acoustic guitar. Said to have contracted TB as a boy, Ely claimed a miraculous healing that inspired him onward to become a gospel musician. The majority of Ely's recorded work was done for the King label, with him making his first records in 1953. Many of Ely's recordings were taken straight from live Pentecostal church services, though he also recorded in a more standard country gospel style in the early 60's. In a legendary account, Ely is known to have died of a heart attack in 1977 while playing the organ during a sermon. He is said to be widely remembered in the areas in which he ministered to this day. ~ Matt Fink, All Music Guide

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