The Rev. Lionel Davis, who died in Iowa in 2017 at the age of 82, was that rarity in recorded gospel music – he wrote and performed gospel songs and sermons that had a bit of humor to them. Gospel doesn’t lend itself, as you might imagine, to novelty songs. But Davis managed to weave folksy humor into his sermon-songs, like a latter-day Rufus Thomas – who he sounds a lot alike.
He recorded a handful of 45s in the 1980s, all with colorful titles – “Can’t No Guru Save You,” “Candy Pants,” “A Woman Can Make or Break a Man” and my favorite, this rare 45, “I Picked It Up, I Put It Down, God Turned My Life Around.” Davis has a wonderfully appealing rough-hewn voice and the backing music is actually pretty dance-able. So much so, in fact, that the flip side of the 45 is just the instrumental accompaniment – no vocals!
MUSIC: “I Picked It Up and Put It Down, God Turned My Life Around,” the Rev. Lionel Davis
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.