I’ll Fly Away
The stories behind the most beloved gospel songs
I’ll Fly AwayLyrics and Music by Albert Brumley
Albert Brumley grew up in Oklahoma, where he chopped cotton and sometimes got to listen to the radio. Tuning in one night in 1925, he heard Vernon Dalhart’s number one smash hit, The Prisoner’s Song, which happened to be the largest-selling non-holiday record of the pre-rock era.
“I was picking cotton on my father’s farm and humming the old ballad,” Albert told Dorothy Horstman in 1973. “Suddenly it dawned on me that I could use its plot for a gospel-type song.” Brumley’s income from I’ll Fly Away and other songs (like Turn Your Radio On) eventually allowed him to purchase his songs’ publisher, Hartford Music.
I’ll Fly Away ultimately became the title of both a movie and a TV series. The song has been featured on many television and motion picture soundtracks, from The Waltons to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Brumley is in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
Listen to Tommy Overstreet sing I'll Fly Away
Celebrate the holiday season with a FREE copy of
Daily Guideposts when you subscribe
to Guideposts Magazine,
and make 2010 your year of inspiration!
Contests
Enter for a chance to win these inspiring prizes. Good luck!
• Earth Angel Contest
• First 30 Days Book Giveaway
Be part of Guideposts
We are a nonprofit company that searches far and wide to find, create and distribute the best inspirational stories that help you, your friends and family live a more positive, faith-filled life.
Help us with our mission:
— it might inspire someone else!
— Help us in our search. Millions of people like you rely on us!
Comments
Please login in order to post your comments.