Posted: May 1, 2012 - 1:59 PM By: Rozsaphile (Member)
The song, "Amen," is merely the heart of musical score! I can't imagine how you could have an ST album without it. It was written by Jester Hairston, who dubbed for Sidney Poitier. Like the film itself, it is simple, unpretentious, and (to my mind) very likeable. Movie and score have a place in my heart because (for me) they introduced a new and very promising composer -- Jerry Goldsmith. Only years later did I learn that the song was not his own creation. **************************************************************************
Hmmm...I saw the above statement and and it didn't ring right. So I checked it out in my sheet music files.
I have two versions of the sheet music for LILIES OF THE FIELD:
LILIES OF THE FIELD (Theme from...) ("Amen") (Piano Solo) (No Lyrics) LILIES OF THE FIELD (Titled as "AMEN - Theme from Lilies of the Field") (With Lyrics: Diane Lampert)
Both sheets list Jerry Goldsmith as composer of the music. No mention of Jesse Hairston.
What information to the contrary did you come across, John?
"Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor. His notable compositions include "Amen," a gospel-tinged theme from the film Lilies of the Field and a 1963 hit for The Impressions, and the Christmas song "Mary's Boy Child"."
And this 28 January 2000 obituary of Hairston from the University of Massacusetts Campus Chronicle credits Hairston with the song's composition.
But some other sources indicate that Jerry Goldsmith was the composer of "Amen." In the film, Jester Hairston only receives credit for "Vocal Arrangements." That may be the source of the confusion. (Hairston also sang the song in the film, dubbing for Sidney Poitier, and further confusing things.)
John Lovell, Jr. in his book Black Song (p. 455) writes with no further information on the song: "Jester Hairston did the choral music of the motion picture, Lilies of the Field. His arrangement of 'Amen' was the one used by Sidney Poitier in winning the Academy Award for best actor."
Still, it may be that "Amen" has roots going back before LILIES OF THE FIELD, and that perhaps the publishers for the film music ascribed credit to Goldsmith improperly. It's surprising that a song composed in 1963 by a white man would be discussed in a book on "Black Song."
Another source, ASCAP, cites "AMEN," Title Code:010032529, Writer: HAIRSTON, JESTER J., Publisher/Administrator: Bourne Co., 5 West 37th St., NYC.
Many performers are listed, including Harry Belafonte, Teresa Brewer, Jerry Butler, Johnny Cash, Floyd Cramer, Jester Hairston and Choir, Jordanaires, Elvis Presley, Staple Singers, Otis Redding.
And finally, here is Hairston himself taking credit for the song:
The consensus seems to be that Hairston wrote the song. But there is less of a consensus on whether it was written for the film, or sometime prior to the film. One chat room particpant claimed that the song has a copyright date of 1957.
I pre-ordered this immediately. LILIES was the very first Goldsmith film score LP, one that I have owned in various incarnations (the original Epic LP, a later Japanese reissue on LP and then the PEG CD) since its first release. I loved the music and did not at first realize that the Jerry Goldsmith listed as the composer was the same "Jerrald" Goldsmith who had also written the amazing theme for the tv show "Dr. Kildare," then and to this day among my top favorite tv themes ever. I must confess that I usually skip over the "Amen" vocal tracks, but the Americana flavor and warm underscore have kept this one a must-have in my collection. The PEG release has a fair amount of tape hiss (like the LP as I recall), so the opportunity to own this score in re-mastered form made the purchase a no-brainer for me. It's short, but priced accordingly (thanks to Perseverance for that!) though I would have paid the standard $20 without a second thought. This was the score that opened my eyes to the talent of Jerry Goldsmith.
I guess I thought that this had always been a stereo release, and my foggy memory of years ago tells me that the top front of both the Epic and Japanese reissue LP covers did say stereo. Maybe not. I'm more than okay with a clean, crisp mono release in any event.
No, you remember correctly. Epic released a stereo and mono version of the score on LP...I just pulled out my copy and it says stereo right under the Epic logo on the front cover. I've never loved the sound of the LP but I did transfer it to CD a few years back and I'm happy enough with it. The score does grow on you and there are some nice moments to be sure. Too bad they weren't able to find/use the stereo masters for this release...can't argue with the price though.
The reason why this CD is limited to North America is that we couldn't get an international license from Sony Music, who own the rights to the score. They wanted more money, and this was already the most expensive re-issue we have done so far. (More are coming, and by big composers, too...)
So, sorry, would love to take ALL your guys' money, but can't do it this time.
As far as the mono situation is concerned, the master we got from Sony WAS, indeed, mono. We had asked for the best quality master, and that was what we received. It sounds crisp and clear.
I will certainly be ordering this (a little later today). Regardless of the source material (stereo or mono) I am just happy this score is being released.
I have recently gotten the re-issues of THE GAUNTLET and EXORCIST II and they sound great. Great job Persererance!
Also... looking forward to the hints of more to come. Great work Robin and crew.
As to the authorship, I was merely following Wikipedia (and an earlier informative post by George Komar) and make no claim to authority. Seems like an interesting topic for further research.
I just picked up a print of LILIES OF THE FIELDS so I've been doing some research. With respect to "Amen" - it was a traditional with recordings going back to the 40's. It appeared in the 1942 Universal B Musical WHAT'S COOKIN'. Woody Herman did a record of that version for Decca:
Great work Robin and crew. 
. Seems as though a lot of LILIES showed up later in THE FLIM-FLAM MAN, but what the heck. That one's not too bad either! 
