The Singing Chapmans: He's Mine and I'm His

 

More from The Singing Chapmans, featuring the 2nd song from their "Redeemed By The Crucified One" album.  For the filename, and the Youtube title, I didn't use contractions.  I'm old enough to remember the days you could only use alpha and numeric characters.  At least here, it's done properly... He's Mine and I'm His.  

I looked it up, but couldn't find much.  It seems to be credited to G. T. Speer, but his song title reverses this one (I am His and He Is Mine), and the lyrics he's usually credited with don't match this one.  It feels like there are two songs with a similar title, but nobody else is linked to this one that I can find.  

It's not really pertinent here, since post is celebrating The Singing Chapmans, and especially my uncle, Freil Thrift.  It would be nice, though, to give credit where it's due.  I'd like to know the song's history, and who actually wrote this version's melody and lyrics.

Changing the subject a bit, or at least veering off on a different tangent, tomorrow is Saturday and I'm on my way to see my folks.  Looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad, and my great-nieces.  There's also a bit of serendipity to the trip.  My sister will be there too, and she plans to bring her original album of the first record Freil recorded with the Chapmans.  She's willing to loan it to me... as long as I return it posthaste.

That's perfectly fine, as I only need it long enough to digitize the songs.  I'm excited to hear that album again, and to get those songs on Youtube as well.  There's only two albums I know of that had Freil playing.  I miss him.  It's going to be great to hear again.  As with the other album, it's been 50 (or more) years since the last time I heard it.  

That's going to keep me busy. Between posting all the songs from the "Redeemed by the Crucified One" album, then borrowing Karen's album and sharing them, it should keep me busy for a while.  And... if I get really ambitious, there's a chance I have a Hi-8 video of him and I playing a duet... and if it still plays, might even have an old tape recording in a box in the shed.  Now I just have to find the energy to go through all those boxes!!

Not to mention, I'll need something to play them on.  We certainly have tape players around the house.  With luck, one with a headphone jack so I can transfer the audiotape onto computer.  The tough one is going to be a Hi-8 player.  Not so sure about that.  It's been years since mine broke.  My options are either a mail service that will transfer it for me, or finding a cheap player on eBay...  Guess I'll close up here and start researching.  

The Singing Chapmans: Redeemed By The Crucified One

 It took some work, but all 12 song tracks from the Chapmans "Redeemed" album are uploaded to Youtube now.  I'm going to post them here, also.  Not all at once, but over time.  Starting with the title song, Redeemed By The Crucified One:

    

    I was too young to know much about the Chapmans.  Freil was a rock star to me with his amazing piano playing.  I knew Aunt Elsie May, obviously, and the twins, Odell and Othell.  The others were just adults.  They weren't in my circle, and I never got the chance to get to know them.  According to ChatGPT, The Singing Chapmans were based out of Tennessee.  Since Monique found this particular record album on eBay, and it was being sold from Tennessee, that seems like a connecting link.

    The group included father, Walter Chapman, and his sons, daughters, and a son-in-law.  I can't verify, but it seems likely Freil was the mentioned son-in-law.  If not with that generation, then probably with the succeeding generation after that.  They're credited with other records, radio and tv work, including an appearance on the "Old Time Gospel Hour" with Jerry Falwell.  Falwell was still near the height of his fame in my early 20's, which would put them all together in the right time frame.

    That doesn't sound like a lot of information, but it's more than I'd found previously.  The small amount of corroboration I could find was mainly from a record album of theirs, "Six Hours On The Cross."  I don't know much about it, but the song list includes some songs Aunt Elsie May was known for singing as church specials.  I especially remember her singing "Love Will Roll The Clouds Away."

    In other exciting news, my sister told me today she still has the other Chapman album that Freil was in (not sure of the title, but she called it "the green album."  It was the first one, and if I remember right (it WAS 50 years ago), it had more of my favorite songs.  Not certain, it's just a vague memory of playing the first one, over and over and over.

    Anyway, I'll be visiting family this weekend, and she plans to bring it for me.  To borrow... not to keep.  But that's perfect, I'll digitize it just like with this one, and be able to listen to all the music from both albums.  Plus share it on Youtube so many other old-time fans can hear their music again.

Childhood Memories - The Singing Chapmans

     A few days ago, I was reminiscing with Monique about my uncle Freil's piano playing, and talked about the two record albums he made as part of a southern gospel music family group called "The Singing Chapmans".  Monique, of course, searched on eBay, found one of the albums, and ordered it for me.  It arrived yesterday, and I've been on pins and needles since then, wanting to hear it, and more, to share their songs so everybody else can enjoy the music too.

    Opened the package, took pictures, but got stuck trying to figure out how I was going to play it; and even more importantly, get the music digitized.  We had a couple of record players around the house, and one was a self-contained unit that would have been perfect if I just wanted to listen.  But Monique and I both remembered having a record player years ago that was perfect, with RCA audio outputs hardwired into the case.  Couldn't find it.  Gave up for the night.

Next day, I'm home from work, to see the old record player at my computer.  Monique had found it.  Actually, she found it exactly where we tried to look last night, but she went back and dug deeper.  I've seen old players quit working because they were band driven, and after years, the band can get old, brittle, not play right or outright break.  It was a worry in the back of my mind, but as it turned out the player was just fine.

    There was a bit of technical trouble getting all the working parts to work together.  First, my current computer doesn't have RCA input jacks.  All it's got is microphone in.  There are a number of ways around that, but I chose a bit of a hack.  Out in the shed, in my old audio/video cables box (from the days I did video production), was a "mic in/stereo in" connector.  The same box also had a 1/8" male to male stereo audio cable.  Lucky day!  Like a Rube Goldberg drawing... phono player to RCA out to converter to 1/8" to mic input on the computer.  :^)

    Still not ready.  The record played, I could hear it through the computer speakers (headphones, actually).  But the volume was so low, it was almost more imagination and wishful thinking than reality.  Google to the rescue - it suggested I see what the volume is in the SOUNDS controller.  When I checked, the volume was already maxed, but...  there was a "Microphone Boost" slider that offered up to 30db more volume.  

    Since the audio was so quiet, I slid that thing straight up to +30db and started the record back up.  It nearly broke my eardrums.
I yelled and jumped about half a foot straight into the air, scaring Monique at the same time.  After REDUCING the volume a bit... it was perfect!  And with that, suddenly Audacity was up and running, the audio check worked, audio levels set perfectly.  Roughly an hour later, the entire album is saved to my computer, one song at a time!!

Plus, I got to listen to music I haven't heard in 40 or 50 years.  Smiling the entire time.  It was like regaining a treasure I'd thought long lost.  Good memories of good times, music I never thought to hear again.

Next, I'll put the songs together with an image of the record album, and upload the videos to Youtube.  It may take a few days, but when I post again, there'll be something special for you to listen to.