Bright Morning Star

"Bright Morning Star" is a traditional Appalachian spiritual, the earliest recording of which dates back to 1937. It has been sung by numerous folk artists, but was popularized in the folk revivals of the 1960s and 70s, particularly by The Young Tradition.

For The Wailin' Jennys album, see Bright Morning Stars.

The song was first collected by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1937 as sung by G. D. Vowell, under the title "Bright Moving Stars are Rising".[1] The origin of the song, however, predates the audio recording. A textual reference for the song exists in Edward Billups's 1854 book The Sweet Songster,[2] a Baptist hymnal from Kentucky. "Bright Morning Stars" appears in Ruth Crawford Seeger's American Folk Songs for Christmas. She credits it to the Archive of American Folksong at the Library of Congress, with the identifier "1379 A1."[3]

Recordings

The song has been recorded by The Pennywhistlers on their 1965 album, A Cool Day and Crooked Corn;[4] by The Young Tradition, live, included on the 1970 compilation album, The Folk Trailer (Trailer LER 2019);[5]; by Emmylou Harris on her 1987 album Angel Band;[6] by The Wailin' Jennys on their 2011 album, Bright Morning Stars;[7], by the Northern Irish folk singer Cara Dillon on her 2014 album A Thousand Hearts; by Rising Appalachia, who adapt it in their medley "Bright Morning Stars / Bokawak" on their 2015 album, Wider Circles;[8] and by Bonny Light Horseman on their 2020 album Bonny Light Horseman.

References

Citations
  1. Lomax, Lyttleton & Vowell (1937).
  2. Billups (1854).
  3. Seeger (1953).
  4. The Pennywhistlers (1965).
  5. Mainly Norfolk (n.d.).
  6. Jones (2014).
  7. Maine (2011).
  8. Lieberman (2015).

Works cited
  • Billups, Edward W. (1854). The Sweet Songster: A Collection of the Most Popular and Approved Songs, Hymns, and Ballads. Arrowood Bros. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  • Jones, Curtis (October 7, 2014). "REVIEW: Angel Band: Emmylou Harris: Warner Brothers, 1987". Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  • Lomax, Alan; Lyttleton, Elizabeth; Vowell, G. D. (1937). "Bright Moving Stars Are Rising". Library of Congress. Harlan, Kentucky. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  • Lieberman, Amy (April 14, 2015). "Hearing Aide: Rising Appalachia's 'Wider Circles'". NYS Music. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  • Maine, David (5 May 2011). "The Wailin' Jennys: Bright Morning Star". PopMatters. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  • Mainly Norfolk (n.d.). "Bright Morning Star (Roud 18268)". Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  • Seeger, Ruth Crawford (1953). American Folk Songs for Christmas. Doubleday.
  • The Pennywhistlers (1965). A Cool Day and Crooked Corn. Nonesuch H-72024.

[1]

Source attribution
  1. Currin, Grayson Haver. "Bonny Light Horseman: Bonny Light Horseman Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. CN Entertainment. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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