Crooked Road CD Series [Back]

Frank Newsome :
Gone Away With a Friend

Co-Produced by Grammy Winning Bluegrass artist Jim Lauderdale

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Elders in the Old Regular Baptist tradition are called to preach.  Selected by the congregation, they receive no formal training.  They are judged by their ability to, as Frank puts it, "gather 'em in rather than scatter 'em off.”.

A key aspect of being an Old Regular Baptist preacher is performing Baptisms.  Baptisms at the Little David Church take place in the McClure River, year-round, regardless of the weather.  "I have broke the ice—cut the ice out—to get in the water and baptize 'em.  Some say 'You'll get sick and die' but I say if you feel right with the Lord, that water ain't gonna hurt you."

For Frank, his preaching and singing comes directly from the heart. 

When we're in service and when the preacher is blessed with the spirit of God Almighty to preach with, you'll feel something different than you'll ever feel in your life, when that spirit comes of the Almighty God.

Out of the spirited services comes a song tradition of startling grace and poignancy.  Because of the comparatively small geographic area where Old Regular Baptist churches do remain, the sound of this American musical treasure is not well known.  The only widely available recordings extant are two Smithsonian Folkways releases of congregational singing recorded in Kentucky in the early 1990s.  The paucity of recordings of this style alone makes these recordings particularly significant.  These recordings, made at Little David Church one summer evening, features only Frank Newsome's a cappella voice, perhaps one of the only times a leader of this singing style has been recorded in this way, providing a unique perspective into the texts of these old cherished hymns.  Along with the traditional hymns, Frank chose to include two contemporary numbers in this recording, and they couldn’t sound any better than they do in his possession.  This recording closes with a prayer that Frank spontaneously offered for those gathered at the recording session.

A careful ear can trace how this more than 400-year-old musical tradition has cast its influence over the ensuing centuries.  Strains of it show up in the Old Time music often performed and recorded in this region, and then again as that music spawned bluegrass music near the middle of the last century.  Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley grew up and still resides in the middle of Old Regular Baptist country, and its influence can be clearly heard in his singing.  In fact, Frank Newsome and Ralph Stanley have been good friends for more than 30 years, sometimes worshipping and singing together. 

Finally, though, this music is most important to those who continue to sing and cherish it.  Their staunch refusal to live by the ways of a more modern musical world has profited not only their spirits, but also the spirits of their countrymen, and has kept alive a notable American spiritual folk song tradition.  The music of Frank Newsome and the Old Regular Baptist singers is an inspiration to all who meet trouble in their lives, and a solace to all who one day will.  It reminds listeners about that which is truly important beyond wealth, possessions, or fame—namely the integrity to live within the bounds of what seems right, regardless of the pull of the world and her fleeting fortunes.  We must thank the Little David Church and Elder Frank Newsome for sharing his beautiful gift with us.  The last word belongs to him:

I'm doing this all for the Little David Church to try and make things a little better.  I most of all want to thank God Almighty that He's given me the gift that He has to sing, and if it will profit anybody anything, if it'll cause them to turn from their sins unto the Good Lord, then it's worth every bit of it.  I'm not doing this for no big name or no pat on the back.  No, I don't want that.  I'm just an old country feller.  I ain't got nothing and I ain't looking for nothing, but I believe I’ve got a home in Heaven when I leave here.

- Christopher Koepp

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