Singing God's Work

Allen Bailey is, to use an over-used phrase, a people-person. He loves people: he likes to know their stories, their drives, and their dreams. Rising from his challenging origins in the Harlem projects, he put his intelligence, optimism, and his considerable charm to work. This led him to a careeer in entertainment, where he was tour promoter, front-man, impressario, and all-round showbiz fixer.

But he never forgot the privations of his youth. And he never forgot that a collective spirit, and a willingness to help each other got his family, and others like them, through some very lean times. Much of that personal support came through the churches of his neighbourhood. He quotes his mother as saying (on page 109) that "black folks can't show more afford ...psychiatrists, so we just go to church and sing."

Many African-American performers got their start singing gospel in church, and so the crossover between popular entertainment and popular worship must have seemed natural to Allen. Their combined influence led him to establish the Harlem Gospel Choir

Like any good memoir, he emphasises the characters and personalities he meets, rather than telling a straightforward narrative of events. He and his co-author, Penelope Holt, keep the text punchy. It's a pleasantly light read.

Bailey isn't shy about dropping names. He was Nina Simone's date. He sang Happy Birthday to Elton John. He palled around with both George Foreman and Muhammed Ali before the famous "Rumble in the Jungle". He met popes and presidents, including the current one. His group, the Commodores, upstaged the Jackson FIve.

In fact, the only thing wrong with this short memoir, is the sheer volume of name-dropping. It begins to sound like fawning to the famous. (He disapproves, on the grounds of manners, of a fellow entertainer who took the pope to task over the church's history of child abuse during a performance. Bailey probably needs to reconsider that stance.)

But the story of the choir itself, the work it does, and the people to whom it ministers, redeems the book for the reader. And, one senses, keeps the author humble.

I am not religious, but I did find the story spiritually uplifting. And I can recommend it to readers of any religious persuasion, or none at all. show less

This is an interesting book. Allen Bailey has had an amazing life. His recount of his life from a tenement in Harlem to his current age of around 70 and over 20 years as the director of the Harlem Gospel Choir cannot be mistaken as great literature but has interest just because of the variety of work he has done and the panoply of notable persons with whom his life has come into contact. Bailey's voice is straightforward and pragmatic. He recounts both highly emotional events and everyday happenings with much the same tone. Part of this is due to the episodic structure of the chapters, moving from present to past and back to present. We do not get much introspection or a wide view (there is a chapter on his experiences with racism as a show more black man with a white wife, yet no nod to what his wife, deeply immersed in managing the Harlem Gospel Choir around the world, might have experienced, and not a single picture of her in the photos of Allen and the choir with many famous people). The listing of famous names across the chapters often seems an irksome trophy count. Yet Bailey's pride in his accomplishments and his greater drive to promote his choir to accomplish their charitable purposes shine through. Recommended to any who have an interest in this group,gospel or soul music, or Harlem in the last half century, although be aware of its limitations.

York House Press is not impressive in producing this volume. I found at least 4 instances where the wrong word is used--blatantly errors. show less

I am so disappointed with this book. I have been a member of many different choirs through my life and was excited to read some anecdotal stories about this amazing group of singers who travel the world praising God with their song. I wanted to "meet" the people of the choir, learn a little bit about their lives, read some funny travel or music making stories etc.

However, this book should be called "Singing God's Work: the music, people and stories of Allen Bailey - his life's story". This isn't about the choir - it is an auto-biography all about the founder of the group.

In fact, it takes 13 chapters of a 23 chapter book before the choir is even formed. Even after the formation of the choir, the book is more about Allen and his wife, show more Anna, than it is about the group itself.

I will say he has a very conversational writing style and this book does not read like a text book. If you like reading auto-biographies, this is a good one. However, if you are looking for a book about the music, people and stories of the Harlem Gospel Choir, this is not the book for you. show less

I received this copy of Singing God's Work from the LT Early Reviewer program. As a lover of Gospel music, I was delighted to have the chance to read it.

The book leaves me with mixed impressions. It tells the inspring story of a man, Allen Bailey, who started life in poverty in Harlem, and went on to do many remarkable things. It tells the story of a choir, a musical ministry that has won fans worldwide from both "common people" and VIP's. The story itself is certainly worth reading. I do think it could be told in a more effective way.

Allen Bailey grew up in Harlem, and early in life crossed paths with some remarkable people. Through contacts first established in his home neighborhood, he eventually wound up promoting some very show more prominent musicians, including the Commodores. He was involved in Don King's promotion of the famous Ali-Foreman fight. He dealt with celebrities like James Brown.

Over the years he wearied of dealing with celebrity egos (the worst of which he kindly refrained from naming), and longed for a more meaningful role in life. His bolt of inspiration arrived on the first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday: he determined to create a Gospel choir which would tour the world, sharing God's love and a spirit of reconciliation for all humankind, and raising money for children's charities. This choir has sung for audiences all over the world, for and with all manner of VIP's. At any time, 3 or 4 of the various "branches" or ensembles of his choir may be singing in different locations throughout the world.

This short book (159 pages, including photos) is organized into into 25 brief chapters; many of the chapters revolve around one major event or person, usually famous. It is told in the first-person voice of Mr. Allen Bailey. This is both a strength and a weakness of the book. There is strenth in hearing the story direct from the man himself. But any first-person narrative runs the risk of sounding self-serving, regardless of how careful the writer is to be objective.

Overall, I enjoyed this account of Mr. Bailey and his choir. His story is uplifting, one of high achievement out of humble beginnings. His anecdotes about people, famous and otherwise, are often interesting. The choir members he highlights sound like remarkable and talented individuals who work well together. It appears that Mr. Bailey has done an amazing job pulling this ministry together and keeping it going for so many years.

His stories of the choir's adventures reveal much about the nature of our world today. On the one hand, the choir sings to enthusiastic audiences around he world; on the other, they still encounter barriers and hostility due to the color of their skin. He could probably write a book just about all the times he has been detained by airport security, who apparently don't take kindly to a tall, dark-skinned man who travels extensively throughout the world saying he works for Jesus.

So what are my problems with the book? Well, the cynical side of me has to acknowledge the obvious nature of the work as PR for Mr. Bailey and his choir. Early on, I tired of the repeated modifier "world famous" before mentions of the choir, and what sometimes seemed like blatant name-dropping of all the famous people who love them. Each chapter begins with a "testimony" from someone who has been touched by the choir's music, which often has little obvious bearing on the chapter at hand. (One notable exception to this is the delightful note which appears at the beginning of the chapter about the Choir's performance for Sir Elton John's birthday celebration.) At one point, Bailey quotes Paul Newman, noting that late celebrity's aggressive use of his own name on products that have so effectively raised money for charity: "Shameless self-promotion for the greater good." OK, fair enough. But I think a more low-key approach might be more effective in a book telling the choir's story.

The thing that bothered me most was the punctuation, which was atrocious. Commas were dropped into sentences for no discernible reason, sometimes even altering the meaning from that which was obviously intended. (Anyone who has read the book "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss should understand what I mean by that!) I do not blame Mr. Bailey for this; he was working with a professional writer, Penelope Holt, who should have known better. And surely York House Press has editors to tend to such details; however, they seem to have missed this, along with other errors. Allentown, PA was spelled "Allen Town," for example. These are little things, but can be annoying to a reader who is a stickler for detail.

Would I recommend this book? Guardedly, yes. If you are willing and able to ignore bad punctuation and a bit of PR hype, there is a story here that is well worth reading. In a world where there is so much division, it is refreshing to read about a man and a choir who seek to bring joy to people everywhere, singing God's work. show less

Mr. Bailey starts his life sleeping with rats and grows up to sing for Popes and Presidents. His life is not the stereotype of an African-American whose life is poor and he blames it on that circumstance. No, he makes himself into a person who succeeds at whatever he tries. His life is led to music - first as a promoter of other groups, then finally his own, The Harlem Gospel Choir. The choir helps others like him succeed and it also inspires those they sing to. He is a good role model for all those who hear the group. His music and his group touch the lives of people all over the world. Each chapter begins with an email from someone who had just heard the group and had been inspired in some way to change their life - from all corners show more of the globe. And he does this without preaching; he lets his music - the international language - do all the talking. Bravo Allen Bailey show less

Received a review copy of this book and was looking forward to it. The topic sounded so interesting to me. Sadly, I was quite disappointed; it was not as interesting as the title had suggested, and became a chore to read... way too many anecdotes, too many names and name dropping, too much jumping around from topic to topic, too many words like "world famous" and "famous". It could do with some judicious editing.
The subtitle says: "The inspirational music, people and stories of the Harlem Gospel Choir." However, the choir was not introduced as a choir till chapter 13.
My sense was that the book was really something of an autobiography of Allen Bailey, and the choir was just one aspect of his life story.
It's not a book I would choose to show more purchase, nor would I recommend it. show less

Despite its title, this book is less about the Harlem Gospel Choir than it is about its founder and director, Allen Bailey. That's not necessarily a bad thing unless, like me, you're looking for stories particular to this world famous traveling choir that began its days in New York and is still based there.

To be fair, Bailey doesn't ignore the choir and I certainly know more about them now than I did before reading the book, but the stories are predominately about Mr. Bailey and his coming up through the ranks of the entertainment industry. For sure, he's star-struck by the "famous" people he meets along the way, but if you're interested in the early days of people like Lionel Ritchie and the Commodores or would enjoy some personal back show more story on Miles Davis and Nina Simone, you won't be disappointed.

The book is not exactly as advertised but it's a quick and easy read. show less