“Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There”
Jennifer Hudson
From the Arista CD Jennifer Hudson (2008)
www.jenniferhudsononline.com
Chicagoan Jennifer Hudson now has a Grammy Award to set next to her Oscar. At the
51st Grammy Awards on February 8, 2009, the “RnB Album of the Year” award was bestowed on Jennifer Hudson’s eponymous debut CD.
To be sure, Jennifer Hudson is packed with hits such as “Spotlight,” “Pocketbook,” “If This Isn’t Love” and the song she sang tearfully at the awards ceremony, “You Pulled Me Through.”
But the final track is truly the closer. “Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There” is the same kind of sacred denouement that classical vocalists have employed for decades when concluding their recitals with a spiritual.
On “Jesus…,” Hudson demonstrates her zeal for no-nonsense gospel singing, no doubt developed during her days at the Progressive Baptist Church on Chicago’s south side. The hymn, accompanied by Roberta Martin-esque piano fills and a Hammond organ that purrs with dignity, is sung with fervent passion by Hudson, who summons the spirit of Chicago’s great gospel women in her delivery. One can almost picture the young woman standing in front of the altar, robed in blue, hands clasped, eyes lifted upward, and delivering her hymn to a shouting audience.
I am more convinced than ever that she is poised to become The Next Big Thing.
If it hasn’t done so already, Arista should ensure that the track is made into a single and serviced to gospel radio stations. And based on this performance, Hudson should consider recording a full-length album of gospel songs.
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Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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I’m surprised that this one isn’t blazing up and down the gospel charts right now. It would be a refreshing departure from some of the stuff being pushed that seems mass produced out of a corporate song mill, IMO.
You are so right Mr. Marovich, Jennifer’s song has “Chicago Gospel” all over and in it. For starters, it’s in the same key often utilized by Chicago legends James Cleveland and Roberta Martin, “D♭”, if I’m not mistaken. One could easily imagine this being performed in the late 50s with Roberta at the piano, Lucy Smith on the Hammond, Gloria Griffin on lead, and the rest on the “Martins” in the background providing their trademark “ooohs.” I really hope that Jennifer takes us back to church and releases a “down home” gospel album one day.