Powerhouse for God

This two-album set is at once soundscape and the devout voices of a fiery southern Baptist preacher named Brother John Sherfey, his family, and their congregational worship community in the Blue Ridge region of rural Virginia. Remastered from the recordings originally published as LPs in 1982 by University of North Carolina Press, the singing, sermon and oral history heard here were captured in 1977 and 1978 and are a vital slice near the outset of a decade of inquiry by folklorist and ethnomusicologist Jeff Todd Titon. [A book (1988) and film (1989), also entitled Powerhouse for God, are also available.] Two volumes, extensive documentation in accompanying 24-page booklet, with black and white photos.

Track Listing

101	Nothing but the Blood	John Sherfey and Congregation	04:06
102	Meet Me There	John Sherfey and Congregation	03:42
103	Altar prayer	Jesse Comer and Congregation	04:11
104	Sunday school (excerpt)	Jesse Comer and Congregation	07:04
105	Birthday	John Sherfey and Congregation	02:08
106	I Shall Not Be Moved / This Little Light of Mine	Denise Sherfey, Tammy Sherfey, and Missy Owens	00:57
107	I'm So Glad He Found Me	Betty, Arthur, Welford and Rosalee Cave	02:46
108	Preaching by the Roadside	John Sherfey and Pauline Sherfey	04:13
109	The Little Church Aisle	Belvin Hurt and Delores Hurt Fincham	03:03
110	Precious Memories	John Sherfey, Elsie Sherfey McNally and Don Sherfey	05:13
111	I Saw the Face of Jesus	Betty, Arthur, Welford and Rosalee Cave	02:36
112	Healing Prayer	John Sherfey and Congregation	02:08
113	Testimony	Edith Cubbage	05:14
201	Sermon, Invitation and Prayer	John Sherfey	30:22
202	Life story	John Sherfey	30:56