‘The Glory Of Love’

I like to think of music history as a vast ocean. We float on the surface, staring at the pretty reflections, hypnotized by the ever changing patterns, unaware of what might be hidden fathoms below. The possibility of finding sunken treasure is pretty remote in the real world, but in the sea of song, prepare to be dazzled by the occasional jewel like “The Glory Of Love.”

Sung and played (really played!) by Big Bill Broonzy back in 1957, it shines so bright you might need shades. I wasn’t as familiar with him as I was with some of my other country blues favorites; he was more a name I knew and felt I should probably listen to more. But blues isn’t homework, it’s more like home-cooking, and something this tasty shouldn’t be avoided.

Broonzy had a long and interesting career before breaking through to a larger audience as part of the From Spirituals to Swing Concerts at Carnegie Hall. What he had to offer is evident in “The Glory Of Love” — an absolute mastery of finger-style guitar, with an impeccable sense of swing and phrasing, not to mention a seemingly endless vocabulary of cool licks. When he comes in singing after playing through the whole song once, his voice, relaxed and soulful, wins you over in a second. The man was the whole package.

This song is more Tin Pan Alley than country blues. Written by a guy named Billy Hill, it hews closely to the standard AABA form. But it wasn’t that unusual for blues artists to dip their toes in other musical streams. Rent parties, which were exactly what they sounds like — fund-raisers for the about-to-be-evicted — were demanding affairs. The artist had to be able to do a little of everything, in this case, a song made popular by Benny Goodman. 

The cultural exchange going on at that time was a two-way street and a sterling example of the benefits of the American melting pot. Billy Hill, who was white, undoubtedly heard his share of jazz and ragtime. He also was conservatory trained and played with the Boston Symphony before heading west to work as a cowboy and surveyor. (Am I imagining things, or did people just live more interesting lives back then?) Black and white folks may not have talked much on the streets, but there was plenty of dialogue in the world of music.

This didn’t end with Broonzy. Otis Redding also recorded this song in a much different musical setting, giving it the full Memphis treatment. It works because the song is indestructible, whether it’s sung by a country blues artist, a crooner, or a soul shouter like the Big O, its message rings through clear as a wedding bell — and that’s the glory of “The Glory Of Love.” Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!