Peace in the Valley

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For other uses, see Peace in the Valley (disambiguation).
"There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me"
Song by Mahalia Jackson
PublishedJanuary 25, 1939[1][2]
Released1939
GenreGospel song
Songwriter(s)Thomas A. Dorsey

"There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me" is a 1939 song written by Thomas A. Dorsey, originally for Mahalia Jackson.[1][3] It was copyrighted by Dorsey under this title on January 25, 1939, though it often appears informally as "Peace in the Valley".[1] [2]

The song was a hit in 1951 for Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys, reaching number seven on the Country & Western Best Seller chart.[4] It was among the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies. Foley's version was a 2006 entry into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.[5]

Elvis Presley's performance[]

The song achieved mass coverage during Elvis Presley's third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 6, 1957. Before an audience estimated at 54.6 million viewers, Presley closed the show by dedicating the song to the 250,000 refugees fleeing Hungary after the 24 and 31 October 1956 double-invasion of that country by the Soviet Union. Because he also requested that immediate aid be sent to lessen their plight, the appeal in turn yielded contributions amounting to US$6 million, or the equivalent of US$49.5 million in today's money. Over the next 11 months, the International Red Cross in Geneva, with the help of the US Air Force, organized the distribution of both perishables and non-perishables purchased with the above-mentioned funds (Swiss Francs 26.2 million, at the then 4.31 CHFR-US$ exchange) to the refugees in both Austria and England where they settled for life. On October 15, 1957, Presley's first Christmas album, containing a master studio recording of the song, was released, topping the Billboard Charts for four weeks and selling in excess of three million copies, as certified by the RIAA on July 15, 1999. Because of these developments, István Tarlós, the Mayor of the city of Budapest, in 2011 and as a gesture of belated gratitude, named a park after him, as well as making him an honorary citizen.

Other recordings[]

Eventually, the song became a country-pop favorite and was recorded by:

Popular culture[]

  • "Peace in the Valley" was sung by Eddie Clendening, portraying Elvis Presley, in the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, which opened in New York in April 2010.[7] Eddie Clendening also covered the song on the Million Dollar Quartet original Broadway cast album.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "There'll be peace in the valley for me, 1939". USC Libraries. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Inductee Explorer - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". Rockhall.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 124.
  4. ^ "About This Program - National Recording Preservation Board - Programs at the Library of Congress - Library of Congress". Loc.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  5. ^ Archives, 2001-period Grammy Nominees, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Grammy.com
  6. ^ Zielinski, Peter James. "Photo Coverage: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Opens on Broadway". BroadwayWorld.com.
  7. ^ MDQ Merchandising LLC (2010). “Song List” and “Performing Credits”. In Million Dollar Quartet (p. 5) [CD booklet]. New York City: Avatar Studios; and Chicago: Chicago Recording Company.

External links[]

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