Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus!

Photographs from the Sacred Steel Community

Robert L. Stone

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781496831507
• eBook ISBN: 9781496831514
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Guitar Music

Folklorist Robert L. Stone presents a rare collection of high-quality documentary photos of the sacred steel guitar musical tradition and the community that supports it. The introductory text and extended photo captions in Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus! Photographs from the Sacred Steel Community offer the reader an intimate view of this unique tradition of passionately played music that is beloved among fans of American roots music and admired by folklorists, ethnomusicologists, and other scholars. In 1992, a friend in Hollywood, Florida, introduced Stone to African American musicians who played the electric steel guitar in the African American Holiness-Pentecostal churches House of God and Church of the Living God. With the passion, skill, and unique voice they brought to the instruments, these musicians profoundly impressed Stone. He produced an album for the Florida Folklife Program, which Arhoolie Records licensed and released worldwide. It created a roots music sensation. In 1996, Stone began to document the tradition beyond Florida. He took the photos in this book from 1992 to 2008 in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida, and at concerts in Italy. The images capture musicians as they play for worship services before spirit-filled believers singing, dancing, shouting, praying, and testifying. Stone gives the viewer much to witness, always presenting his passionate subjects with dignity. His sensitive portrayal of this community attests to the ongoing importance of musical traditions in African American life and worship.

EXTENDED PHOTO CAPTIONS

11 Henry Nelson’s steel guitar. Gainesville, Florida, 1998. The instrument shows heavy wear from Henry Nelson’s spirited playing for countless emotionally charged church meetings for nearly four decades. His music profoundly influenced three generations of musicians. He fitted his eight-string guitar with only six strings.

13 House of God, Crescent City, Florida, 1999. Located along a dirt road in a small northeast Florida town, this country church was under the responsibility of Bishop Charles E. Campbell of Rochester, New York. His sons, Chuck, Phil, and Darick Campbell, sometimes played here for assemblies and other special meetings. The regular local steel guitarist at the Crescent City House of God was Marcus Hardy.

14 Worship service. House of God, Crescent City, Florida, 1999. Steel guitarists Marcus Hardy (left) and Elder Elton Noble play for a worship service. While not a common practice, two steel guitarists do sometimes play together, usually one strumming chords rhythmically or playing a bass line, while the other plays the lead part. Here Elder Noble plays lead. Standing are Deaconess Nazaree Batts (left) and Marcus’s mother, Jary Dean Hardy. Marcus Hardy died in February 2019 at age forty-eight. Elder Noble is now pastor at House of God No. 2, Fort Pierce, Florida. Deaconess Batts is dressed in white, which symbolizes purity and Holiness.

15 Worship service. House of God, Crescent City, Florida, 1999. Elder Elton Noble plays for the call to the altar as Elder Ernestine Evans (since deceased) preaches. “It’s all about those souls out there,” said Elder Noble. “You have people out there that’s hurting. You have people that are going through things in their home. It’s not about that musician.”

16 Family and Friends Day. Howard Johnson Motor Lodge, Daytona Beach, Florida, 1993. Courtesy State of Florida Archives. Known for his lush vibrato on hymns and syncopated, fiery picking on up-tempo numbers, Henry Nelson’s son, Elder Aubrey Ghent, enjoys a reputation among his peers as master of the six-string lap-steel guitar. Concerning the significance of the steel guitar in the House of God, Elder Ghent stated, “We’ve got to the point where in all our worship services we can have a keyboard or organ, the guitars, drums, and so forth. But if the steel player’s not there, the folk will say it just wasn’t right. They expect that steel. I mean, in most churches you say, ‘Where’s the organ?’ In the House of God it’s ‘Where’s the steel player?’”

17 House of God East Coast State Assembly. Ely High School Auditorium, Pompano Beach, Florida, 1992. Courtesy State of Florida Archives. Pedal-steel guitarist Glenn Lee and drummer Benjamin Beckford watch the congregation closely as they play for a praise session. I took this photo on my first day of documenting this tradition in the field. When I visited Aubrey Ghent in Fort Pierce earlier in the day, he told me he wondered if the service would be “too much” for me. When I experienced the high energy of the praise and worship service attended by about two hundred congregants—many of whom, touched by the Spirit, were dancing or shouting—I realized what he meant. Glenn Lee inherited the large Morley Rotary Wah pedal from his uncle, Bishop Lorenzo Harrison, who set the style for Jewell Dominion steel guitar and made the pedal popular among its steel guitarists. His double-neck pedal-steel guitar is the type of instrument played by many country musicians. He took lessons from white country musician Terry Crisp in Nashville and sometimes incorporated elements of the twangy country pedal-steel sound into the music he played in church. “I started playing state assemblies when I was about twelve or thirteen. I was the youngest steel player ever to play down here in the state of Florida in an assembly meeting,” he declared. “Before me it was just Henry Nelson and his son, Aubrey Ghent, that played all the meetings.”

18 House of God, Keith Dominion headquarters church, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Located at 2714 Scovel Street and viewed from West Heiman Street, the large, modern brick edifice includes a two-thousand-seat sanctuary auditorium. A bronze bust of founder Mary “Mother” Tate is on the far left. Mother Tate’s likeness is facing the church, a placement that reflects reverence for the founder as she watches over the church and its members. The church owns numerous properties along several blocks of West Heiman Street.

19 Millennium Celebration. House of God Keith Dominion headquarters church, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Chief Overseer Bishop James C. Elliott (the national leader of the church) leads a youth chorus during the Millennium Celebration that marked the turn of the year 2000.

20 House of God, Charleston, South Carolina, 1999. The spacious brick building reflects the large House of God membership in South Carolina. Today, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are the three states with the largest number of House of God churches.

21 Annual Sunday School Bible School Convention. House of God, Charleston, South Carolina, 1999. James Hampton closely watches the preacher as he accompanies the sermon by adding dramatic emphasis between the preacher’s utterances. The playing of this popular South Carolina steel guitarist shows influence from Ocala, Florida, native Henry Nelson, who often played in South Carolina churches under the administration of his father, Bishop W. L. Nelson. “He’s one of the main players that I looked up to,” stated James Hampton. “He was a great inspiration to me. Everybody’s got a part of Henry Nelson in them.”

22 Annual Sunday School Bible School Convention. House of God, Charleston, South Carolina, 1999. James Hampton’s singing steel guitar excites the large congregation that packed the state headquarters church. Touched by the Holy Spirit, the woman on right, wearing black, shouted in the aisle for several minutes. The man on the front pew is Edwin Wright, the main drummer in South Carolina House of God churches.

23 Annual Sunday Bible School Convention. House of God, Charleston, South Carolina, 1999. Anthony Fox plays the steel guitar as the man and woman on the left help the man in the white shirt seek the Holy Ghost. Typically, each helper maintains a continuous monologue to aid the “seeker” to focus on receiving the Holy Ghost. For example, evangelist and minister Elder Elton Noble may tell a seeker, “Keep your mind on Jesus. Picture Him on the cross. He died for you. He has forgiven you for your sins. Just give on up to the Lord. Let Him come in. Go ahead on and receive.” Anthony Fox is one of the very few left-handed steel guitarists in the House of God. He plays this lap-steel guitar for praise music in a traditional style influenced by Henry Nelson. Later in this service, he played his pedal-steel guitar (located to his right in this photo) to create a more modern sound as he accompanied a choir.

24 Church of the Living God, Poplar Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2000. One of three Church of the Living God edifices in Philadelphia. The of exterior masonry incorporates the church logo in two locations on the front the building. Designed by Chief Overseer Bishop Mattie Jewell, the triangle representing the Holy Trinity encloses the Ship of Zion with a circle that symbolizes infinity.

25 Worship service. Church of the Living God, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2000. Reginald “Footie” Covington plays for a worship service. Today he is associate pastor of the church on West Cheltenham Avenue. Footie Covington’s moniker stems from his use of the huge Morley Rotary Wah pedal introduced into Jewell Dominion services by Bishop Lorenzo Harrison. “Footie’s Gospel Train” painted on the front of his instrument references Bishop Harrison’s use of train-like sounds in his praise music. House of God steel guitarist Elder Maurice “Ted” Beard also played a train-sound composition he introduced with spoken word inviting the congregation to board. To the delight of congregations, many steel guitarists playing in the Church of the Living God and House of God continue the tradition of mimicking train sounds with their instruments. Songs with transportation themes and metaphors—including ships and automobiles as well as trains—constitute a significant portion of gospel song repertoire.

26 House of God, Rochester, New York, 1998. In 1970, Bishop Charles Campbell led his congregation to purchase the Spence-Ripley Methodist Church at 654 North Goodman Street.

27 Worship service. House of God, Rush, New York, 2001. In 1998, Bishop Charles Campbell had a modern new church built in the Rochester suburb of Rush, New York. As is the case with many larger House of God churches, the design accommodates large numbers of congregants for special events such as state assemblies or revivals, with attendance far below capacity at regular weekly services such as the one shown here. The congregation and musicians kneel or bow their heads in prayer at the altar. Musicians, left to right: drummer Carlton Campbell (partially obscured); his father, guitarist Phil Campbell; and Phil Campbell’s brother, pedal-steel guitarist Chuck Campbell.

28 Mount Canaan House of God, Silver Springs, Florida, 1996. Bishop W. E. Nelson had this church built at 421 Southeast 58th Avenue (Baseline Road). To enable the widening of the road, Marion County later purchased the property through eminent domain and razed the building. The House of God then purchased a larger edifice on the northwest side of Ocala.

29 Worship service. Mount Canaan House of God, Silver Springs, Florida, 2001. Antjuan Edwards, Henry Nelson’s grandnephew, plays for a weekly worship service. Youngsters, such as the boy pictured here, often sit close to the musicians to observe how they play, learning by observation and imitation.

30 Florida East Coast State Assembly. House of God, Pompano Beach, Florida, 2001. Assisted by Nadine Blue Sutton, Keith Lee leads the devotion. Keith Lee is the son of Elder Robert Lee and a talented devotion leader and fiery singer. He and his younger brother, Derrick Lee, are the two lead vocalists in the Lee Boys band.

31 Florida East Coast State Assembly. House of God, Pompano Beach, Florida, 2001. Steel guitarist Darryl Blue leads a spirited praise session. “That service was awesome,” recalled Darryl Blue. “Every time I’m playing in church the Lord uses me. I get anointed by the Holy Spirit.” Musicians pictured are Alvin CordyJr., bass; Tremaine Young, guitar; Gino Jamison, saxophone; Darryl Blue, steel guitar; Lisa Lang, keyboard; and Linda Blue Lewis (Darryl Blue’s aunt), tambourine. The saxophonist is not playing at this time because he cannot hear his instrument above the loudly amplified band.

32 Florida East Coast State Assembly. House of God, Pompano Beach, Florida, 2001. Chief Overseer Bishop James C. Elliott addresses the congregation. Bishop Elliott wears a biretta, a hat usually associated with the Roman Catholic clergy.

33 Florida East Coast State Assembly. House of God, Pompano Beach, Florida, 2001. A girls’ youth choir performs a selection for the congregation.

34 Worship service. House of God, Perrine, Florida, 2003. This small church about fifteen miles south of Miami enjoys a reputation for its dynamic, creative music and spirit-filled worship services. For years, Elder Robert Lee served as pastor and his sons Glenn, Alvin, Keith, and Derrick Lee, were the core of an inventive musical ensemble. Pedal-steel guitarist Glenn Lee introduced the eclectic sounds of jazz, rhythm and blues, modern gospel harmony, country, and other music into worship services. Left to right: Cecil Austin, bass; Jermaine “Tank” Jennings, steel guitar; Bernard Hampton, guitar; Winston Blount, saxophone; the Reverend Benjamin Williams; and Keith Lee. When he was nineteen, Jermaine Jennings began playing for worship services at the Perrine church shortly after Glenn Lee’s death in 2000 at age thirty-two. “To play in that service and sit in the place where Glenn sat was definitely an honor,” he stated. Jermaine Jennings has since moved to New Jersey for economic opportunity.

35 Recording session. House of God, Perrine, Florida, 1994. Courtesy State of Florida Archives. Left to right: Alvin Lee, electric bass; Glenn Lee, pedal-steel guitar; and Bernard Hampton, rhythm guitar. Drummer Benjamin Beckford is off camera. Photographed while Bill Dudley recorded music for the first Sacred Steel album (Arhoolie CD 450). Glenn Lee played two original compositions that have since become classics among sacred steel artists, “Call Him by His Name” and “Joyful Sounds,” and a twangy Nashville-style instrumental version of the popular hymn “Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Savior.” The church had recently been completely rebuilt after Hurricane Andrew, a devastating Category 5 storm, destroyed it and much of southern Miami-Dade County in 1992.

36 Worship service. House of God, Perrine, Florida, 2003. Left to right: Singers Keith Lee and Deena Day; Winston Blount, saxophone; Cecil Austin, bass; and Jermaine “Tank” Jennings, steel guitar. The table and folding chairs on right were set up for Holy Communion, which included anointing with olive oil and foot washing. Many of the congregants dressed in white for this special service.

37 Worship service. House of God, Perrine, Florida, 2003. Lee family members, left to right: Elaine Harrison, Vera Lee, and Sharon Cordy. Vera Lee, now deceased, was Bishop Lorenzo Harrison’s sister and the mother of Glenn, Keith, Alvin, and Derrick Lee. Elaine Harrison is the wife of Bishop Harrison’s brother, Marshall Harrison. Vera Lee’s daughter, Sharon Cordy, is the mother of Lee Boys bassist Alvin “Little Al” Cordy Jr.

38 House of God, Perrine, Florida, 2004. Pastor Elder Tommy Phillips in his office. Note the bottle of olive oil for anointing and his well-used Holy Bible. The smaller book is the House of God governing document, the “Decree Book.” Elder Phillips is a member of the extended Lee family. His talented son, Tommy La’mel Phillips, is the current steel guitarist at the Perrine House of God.

39 Offertory procession. House of God, Perrine, Florida, 2003. In the House of God, congregants march in a procession to the front of the church to deposit offerings. In this photo, usher Ola Mae Major smiles warmly as she leads the congregation in the procession as the musicians play the “House of God March.” Older church members recall that the tradition began in the 1940s. Chief Helper Bishop Charles Campbell remembered, “Folks would get happy and some would dance while they marched around. As the people got happy, [they] felt the spirit of giving. It became a joyful event, and everyone looked forward to that march to go around the table and pay their offerings in the church.” The tradition continues today.

40 Worship service. House of God, P...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Church Meetings
• Wakes, Funerals, and Tributes
• Celebrating God’s Glory Through Style and Adornment
• Portraits
• The Sacred Steel Conventions
• Festivals and Concerts
• House of God Centennial
• Generations
• Extended Photo Captions
• Notes