Sunday morning coming down

Today we solemnly observe the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. We vow not to forget. Continuing my notes on lesser known songs and performers with personal meaning to me this week, I want to highlight songs with a spiritual component.

I’m guessing you probably haven’t heard of the Cox Family, but I think everyone who has heard them loves them. Alison Krauss has knocked herself out trying to introduce them to a wider audience, as she does in the video below for their performance of gospel songwriter Thomas Dorsey’s “Standing By the Bedside of a Neighbor.” I’m also guessing you’ll want to hear more of them if you check this out. You really can’t go wrong with any of their recordings.

Tim O’Brien is one of my favorite artists. He is an incredibly versatile musician: a fabulous singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. He helped make traditional music new with Hot Rize and their comic alter egos, Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. He is a great live performer in whatever combination you may find him. I love his work with his sister, Mollie O’Brien. In the video below Tim and Mollie perform “Don’t Let Me Come Home a Stranger,” by the folk artists Robin and Linda Williams.

I mentioned Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth last week. Seeking to end on a spiritual high, I ask you to give a listen to “Deliver Me” from their gospel-tinged 1971 album Bring Me Home. I loved everything about the album from the first moment I heard it. I hope you do too.

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