Willie Mae Ford Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Willie Mae Ford Smith
Smith in the late 1980s
Background information
Birth name	Willie Mae Ford
Also known as	Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith
Born	June 23, 1904 Rolling Fork, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	February 2, 1994(1994-02-02) (aged 89) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer, composer, arranger
Years active	1931–1985
Associated acts	Thomas A. Dorsey

Willie Mae Ford Smith (June 23, 1904 – February 2, 1994) was an American singer and Christian preacher. She played a huge part in creating and sharing gospel music across the United States. She grew up singing with her family, even forming a group with her sisters.

Later, she met Thomas A. Dorsey, often called the "Father of Gospel Music." Together, they helped start the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1932. Willie Mae started the St. Louis part of this group. She also became the director of the national Soloist's Bureau. Here, she taught new singers the gospel blues style. People often called her "Mother Smith" because she was so kind and helpful. For ten years, she traveled a lot, teaching, singing, and preaching. Her performances were known for being very powerful and spiritual.

Willie Mae was a very religious person. She never wanted to make gospel music into a business, even when it became very popular. She chose to perform live and on the radio instead of recording many albums. She became a minister and preached at a church in St. Louis, Missouri, for 30 years. Most people didn't know about her until the 1980s. She was the main person in the 1982 movie Say Amen, Somebody. This film was about gospel singers in the U.S. Many people, including author Anthony Heilbut, believe she was the most important female gospel singer ever.

Early Life and Family (1904–1921)

Willie Mae Ford was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. She was the seventh of fourteen children. Her father, Clarence Ford, worked on the railroad. Her mother was Mary Williams. Soon after Willie Mae was born, her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. They moved because of her father's job.

When she was a toddler, Willie Mae heard blues music from a club next to her home. People at the club would throw coins to hear her sing. In 1917, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother opened a restaurant, and Willie Mae worked there after leaving school in eighth grade. Her parents were very religious. Her father was a deacon in their church. They loved singing and encouraged Willie Mae and her sisters to sing at their church. They formed a group called the Ford Sisters. Their performances, even at big events like the 1922 National Baptist Convention, were not very popular at first.

In the early 1900s, music in black churches was very formal. Choirs often sang classical music by composers like Handel and Mozart. They wanted to show off their musical skills. It was not common to change songs by improvising. People thought it was not proper. Willie Mae later said that the National Baptist Convention had not yet accepted gospel music.

Discovering Gospel Blues (1922–1930)

As her sisters grew up and started their own families, Willie Mae continued to sing alone. She married James Smith in 1924. He was 19 years older and owned a hauling business. James encouraged her to sing in church. He was proud of her voice. Willie Mae was a talented soprano singer. She even thought about a career in classical music.

But at the 1926 National Baptist Convention, she heard a woman named Artelia Hutchins. Artelia was singing in a new style. Willie Mae changed her mind right then. She said, "I knew then I had to be a gospel singer." She had two children, Willie James and Jacquelyn. But this did not stop her from following her dream.

In 1930, Smith had an important meeting with Thomas A. Dorsey. Dorsey was a blues musician who wanted to write gospel music. Two years before, he had a spiritual experience. This led him to write "If You See My Savior, Tell Him That You Saw Me." This was his first song that mixed blues music with gospel words.

Dorsey found it hard to sell his music. Churches in Chicago did not want to accept him. He was a blues singer, and many thought blues music was sinful. So, Dorsey did not go to the National Baptist Convention in Chicago in 1930. But Smith traveled from St. Louis to the convention. She sang Dorsey's song "If You See My Savior" to a large crowd. The audience loved it. Smith sang it two more times because people asked her to. Dorsey, who didn't know Smith, was called to the convention. He sold 4,000 copies of his song! This helped him get a job as music director at Chicago's Pilgrim Baptist Church. He could then focus only on gospel music.

Smith went back home to St. Louis. Dorsey started the first gospel choir in 1931. The next year, he co-founded the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC). This group trained gospel singers across the U.S. Smith quickly started the St. Louis chapter.

Traveling Preacher (1931–1950)

In 1931, Smith started getting invitations to sing in other cities. This began a 20-year period of touring churches and revivals across the U.S. At first, she did this to help her husband's income. But it soon became her own special mission. By this time, Smith's voice had become a powerful contralto. Her adopted daughter, Bertha, often went with her. They had a strong musical connection. Their performances were very lively. Smith also started working for the Education Department of the National Baptist Convention. She did this for 17 years.

At the 1937 National Baptist Convention, Smith sang her first song she had written. It was called "If You Just Keep Still." A year later, she had a deep spiritual experience. She began speaking in tongues. This led her to join the Church of God Apostolic. This experience changed Smith's life. She stopped enjoying secular music like blues and jazz. She felt God was calling her to preach. Not everyone accepted her. Some churches did not like her singing style. They also complained that she moved too much. They also did not like women giving spiritual messages.

With new energy, Smith began giving short sermons before or during her songs. This mix of spoken messages and religious songs became known as the "song-and-sermonette" style. Smith was very good at it. Audiences were often amazed. Gospel singer Alex Bradford said she could cast a spell with just one note. People who saw her perform said it was one of the deepest experiences of their lives. Women in the audience would throw their handkerchiefs and purses at her. Other singers found it hard to perform after her. The audience would be crying and shouting. Smith often wore a silky cape. She preached and sang with great passion. She was not afraid to arrive hours late to her own shows. She would find the church full and waiting for her. Her influence was at its highest during this time. People loved and respected her. When she returned to St. Louis after a long tour, crowds would meet her at the train station.

Smith became the head of the Soloists Bureau of the NCGCC in 1939. She was a very talented teacher. She used simple songs, like "Jesus Loves Me" and "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." She showed singers how to make them powerful statements of faith. She told them, "Don't laugh at these children's songs... Emphasize, meditate on the meaning." Former student Martha Bass said Smith taught them how to enter and leave the church. She also taught them how to speak and act in front of the crowd. Smith trained or worked with many famous gospel singers. These included Mahalia Jackson, the Ward Singers, the Roberta Martin Singers, the Caravans, and Inez Andrews.

Younger singers often traveled with her. She took them to perform at "Willie Mae Ford Smith Specials." She earned her nickname "Mother" by caring for her singers. She said, "When we'd go out of town, I was their mother until we came back home." Her belief that God called her to travel and sing was very strong. But it made her sad to leave her own children. She traveled so much that she was home only one week a month for about ten years. Relatives helped raise her children during the 1930s. This caused some problems in her marriage. Her adult children remembered it with mixed feelings. Once, her husband, who was also a religious deacon, told her not to leave. He even chased her onto a train. He fell down an elevator and got hurt. Smith believed this was a sign from God. Her husband also believed it. He stopped trying to stop her after that.

Smith always refused to get paid for her performances. She took offerings, but the money was often very little. Sometimes it barely covered her train tickets. She even had to ask her husband for money to get home. He always helped her. She ended the decade well. She joined Mahalia Jackson for an Easter Sunrise concert. This was at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in 1949.

Later Life and Recognition (1950–1994)

Gospel music was very popular between 1945 and 1960. This was called its "golden age." But Smith's travels slowed down. Her husband James died in 1950. Also, her daughter Bertha could not travel as often. Many gospel groups Smith had trained became successful recording artists. Smith recorded three songs around 1950. But she did not want a recording career. She preferred to sing in churches, revivals, and live on the radio. She felt that other singers, like Brother Joe May, were already recording her song arrangements. So, she did not need to record them herself.

After her church told her women could not speak from the pulpit, Smith joined the Lively Stone Apostolic Church in St. Louis. She became a minister there in the 1950s. She continued to sing and preach there until the 1980s. Outside of gospel music, most people did not know her. This changed in 1972 when she sang at the Newport Jazz Festival. This led to her singing at a gospel concert with Marion Williams and Jessy Dixon. This concert was at Radio City Music Hall. The New York Times said Smith's style was like an "operatic stage presence." In 1973, at age 67, she recorded her first album, I Believe I'll Run On. In 1975, she released her second, Going On With the Spirit.

Smith was the main focus of the famous documentary film Say Amen, Somebody. It came out in 1982. In the film, she talks about spreading gospel music. She also shares the challenges she faced. Smith was 77 when the movie was filmed. She sings with her family in her kitchen. She also sings at a meeting and a tribute concert. She guides a young singer named Zella Jackson Price. Price talks about how hard it is to balance family life with God's call to sing. Smith made sure Price was included in the film. Four of Smith's songs from Say Amen, Somebody were on the movie's soundtrack. It was released in 1983.

In the same year, she released her last album, I Am Bound For Canaan Land. This was her only album that included the sounds of the audience. She kept singing and visiting nursing homes until 1985. One of Smith's last performances was in 1986. It was a reunion concert for the singers from Say Amen, Somebody. It was held at the Fox Theater in St. Louis. She was frail and in a wheelchair. She could barely sing. But she started a powerful call and response with the audience. A reporter, Harper Barnes, said her words grew louder and stronger. They turned into a "hypnotic chant." The audience responded as if the theater was a church.

Smith was named a "living treasure" by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1988. She received the National Heritage Fellowship. This is the highest honor for American folk and traditional artists. She received $5,000. The next year, she was in the book I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America. She died in 1994 at age 89 from heart failure. About 500 people celebrated her life at Lively Stone Apostolic Church. She had preached and sung there for 30 years. She is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis.

Legacy and Influence

The New York Times called Smith "one of the most important gospel singers of the century." She is seen as a pioneer, like Thomas A. Dorsey. Dorsey wrote many gospel songs and set standards for choirs. Smith created the "emotional and spiritually joyful performance style" of gospel blues. Dorsey thought she was more talented than blues singer Bessie Smith. This was because Willie Mae chose not to record secular music. For Willie Mae Ford Smith, singing was her whole life. It was not just a job or a hobby. Reporter Harper Barnes saw her perform late in life. He noted her "remarkable, charismatic blend of pride and humility." This fueled her powerful performances. It also shaped her lifelong choice to avoid fame and focus on her faith.

Smith inspired many generations of gospel singers. She was a huge figure in black churches. Martha Bass remembered, "She had such joy, such a lovely personality. It would shine out beautifully." She added, "She was just real, that's all."

Outside of gospel music, she was not well known until Say Amen, Somebody was released. Then, mainstream media tried to describe her singing. Richard Harrington in Washington Post said her style was "free, physical... closer to jazz and blues." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said she helped make gospel singing an art form. The National Endowment for the Arts credits her for creating the "song-and-sermonette" style. They say her influence came from her unique singing. She used vocal effects she heard in country churches. She changed the tones of hymns. She helped Mahalia Jackson develop her vocal style. Most importantly, she sang with deep emotion. She used every vocal effect to express her feelings.

Honors

• National Endowment of the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, awarded 1988
• St. Louis Walk of Fame, awarded 1988: star located at 6392 Delmar Boulevard

Discography

Singles

• "Call Him" / "Jesus Is the Name" Gotham G667, around 1950
• "Goin' On With the Spirit" / "Pilot, Take My Hand" Sacred 6015, around 1950
• "Give Me Wings" / "What Manner of Man" around 1950

Albums

• I Believe I'll Run On, Nashboro 7124, 1973
• Going On With the Spirit, Nashboro 7148, 1975
• I Am Bound For Canaan Land, Savoy Records 14739, 1983

Other Appearances

• Say Amen, Somebody: Original Soundtrack Recording and More, DRG Records – SB2L 12584, 1983
• Mother Smith and Her Children, Spirit Feel 1010, 1989 (with Martha Bass, Brother Joe May, and Edna Gallmon Cooke)

See also

• Shirley Caesar
• Sallie Martin