AMAZING GRACE: WITH BILL MOYERS (TV)
Summary
Bill Moyers hosts this documentary special, which explores the enduring legacy of the 18th-century hymn, "Amazing Grace." The song was written by John Newton, a former English slave ship captain, whose diaries explain the important role that "Amazing Grace" played in the gradual transformation of this self-described formerly "vile man." Moyers visits with singers of international fame and families in the U.S. to understand the song's epiphanic quality. The host travels with The Boys Choir of Harlem to Japan, where they are scheduled to perform the hymn, and choir director Dr. Walter Turnbull discusses the irony of African-American boys singing a hymn written by a former slave trader. Also, popular singers Johnny Cash and Judy Collins discuss how the hymn helped them through great personal crises. Next, Moyers travels to a federal penitentiary in Huntsville, Alabama, to interview inmates who say they have been changed by the song and by Newton's own dramatic, spiritual conversion. Also featured are different versions of the song that emerged from such places as Ozark, Alabama; Viper, Kentucky; and Harlem, New York. Cash, Collins, soprano Jessye Norman, folk singer Jean Ritchie, and several others perform their versions.
Acquisition and cataloging of this program was made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: September 12, 1990 Wednesday 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:27:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:29607
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries; Music
- SUBJECT HEADING: Blacks - History; Christianity; Folk music; Gospel music; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Prisoners; Religion; Slavery; African-American Collection - Music; Women's Collection - Music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1990
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Judith Davidson Moyers … Executive Producer
- Bill Moyers … Executive Producer, Host
- Elena Mannes … Producer, Director
- Rebecca Berman … Associate Producer
- Boys Choir of Harlem, The … Choir
- Walter Turnbull … Choral Director
- Bill Moyers … Host
- Jeremy Irons … Voice, The words of John Newton read by
- Judy Collins … Performer
- Johnny Cash … Performer
- Jessye Norman … Performer
- Fannie Lee Hamer … Performer
- Herbert Laws … Performer
- Richard Staltzman … Performer
- Marion Williams … Performer
- Dewey Williams … Performer
- John Newton