The great American trombonist and bandleader, Tommy Dorsey, has often been credited for writing the classic gospel song, PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND. But that is not true; it was written by a different man with the same name. The real composer was a jazz pianist, named Thomas Andrew Dorsey.
After a successful, early career as a blues musician, at the age of 29, Dorsey was converted and switched to gospel music, and for more than 40 years, he served as the choir director at Chicago’s Pilgrim Baptist Church. He was known as the father of black gospel music.
In an account he wrote for Guideposts Magazine, Dorsey said, “I was 32 years old and a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie, and I were living in a little apartment in Chicago. I was scheduled to sing for a revival in St. Louis. I really didn’t want to go because Nettie was in the ninth month of her pregnancy. But a lot of people were expecting me so I started the trip. On the way, I realized that I had forgotten my music case, so I returned home to get it and found Nettie asleep.
“As I stood next to her, I felt a sense of uneasiness about leaving. Nevertheless, I headed back to the car for the drive to the meetings.
“The next night, after I had finished singing, a messenger boy handed me a telegram with the message, ‘YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.’
“When I returned home I learned that Nettie had given birth to a baby boy. My emotions swung between grief and joy. Yet, before the night was over, my son had died as well.
“I fell apart. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn’t want to serve Him anymore. I just wanted to go back to the world of jazz that I once knew.”
Some of the thoughts that haunted him were that his reluctance to leave his pregnant wife had been a leading from God, and he wondered if he had been disobedient by ignoring it.
But God's Word is our comfort; "For I, the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" (Is. 41:13)
It was during a subsequent visit with a Christian friend that he sat down at a piano and found himself at peace while playing an old melody that he remembered from his Sunday School days; “Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone?”
As he played through that hymn he began to tweak the melody and write some new lyrics. When he had finished, he gave the song to his friend who introduced it the next Sunday, to the choir at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Sr. was the Pastor.
It was during a subsequent visit with a Christian friend that he sat down at a piano and found himself at peace while playing an old melody that he remembered from his Sunday School days; “Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone?”
As he played through that hymn he began to tweak the melody and write some new lyrics. When he had finished, he gave the song to his friend who introduced it the next Sunday, to the choir at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Sr. was the Pastor.
Dorsey wrote, "As the Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest and when we are most open to His restoring power. And so, I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home."
These lyrics have offered comfort to many who have suffered significant grief and losses. “Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the Light; take my hand Precious Lord, lead me home.”
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