George Hamilton IV – Songs of Faith and Inspiration

Beskrivning

George Hamilton IV – Songs of Faith and Inspiration

A collection of 18 Christian and country songs

In 1962, Hamilton started the first Music City USA and Homes of the Stars Bus Tour in Nashville. By the mid-1960s, Hamilton’s music began showing a decidedly folk influence. This was especially evident with 1966’s ”Steel Rail Blues” and ”Early Morning Rain” (both by Gordon Lightfoot), and 1967’s ”Urge for Going” penned by Joni Mitchell.^[1] Another 1967 hit was ”Break My Mind” (by John D. Loudermilk).^[1] One more Hamilton song of this genre was a moderate hit in 1969—the Ray Griff-penned ”Canadian Pacific”.^[1] His last top-five single came in 1970, with ”She’s a Little Bit Country”.

After his American chart success declined in the early 1970s, Hamilton began touring the world, across the Soviet Union, Poland, Australia, the Middle East, and East Asia. Those widely acclaimed international performances earned Hamilton the nickname the International Ambassador of Country Music.^[8] In the 1970s, Hamilton was the first American country singer to have his own British TV series on BBC. He also hosted a successful TV series in Canada for six years in the late 1970s. In the 1990s, he played himself in the West End musical Patsy, based on the life of Patsy Cline.

In the 1980s, Hamilton appeared with Billy Graham on Ministry Tours throughout the United States and Canada, and including the UK tour ”Mission England”.^[1]

In 2004, he recorded an acoustic gospel album with producer Dave Moody titled On a Blue Ridge Sunday, which earned Hamilton a Dove Award nomination in the ”Best Bluegrass Album of the Year” category by the members of the Gospel Music Association. A single from the album, ”Little Mountain Church House”, won nominee recognition in the ”Best Bluegrass Recorded Song” category the following year.^[9]

Until the very late years of his life, Hamilton was a regular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and in country shows throughout the U.S. and the UK. Hamilton celebrated his 50th year as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2010. He mainly concentrated on gospel tours both at home and abroad. In 2007, he collaborated with Live Issue,^[10] a group from Northern Ireland, to record a live album based on the life of Joseph Scriven, who wrote the hymn ”What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. The two also toured together again in 2009.