Hymn No. 5
1966 · Shurfine 21 · USA
- Artist
- The Mighty Hannibal
- Title
- Hymn No. 5
- Release
- Hymn No. 5 / Fishin' Pole
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- Shurfine # 21
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Songwriter
- James T. Shaw
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation
The song "Hymn No. 5", a chilling narrative by a Vietnam soldier, crying out "there is no tomorrow" and missing home life. Written and performed by the Atlanta, Georgian soul man James T. Shaw, known as the Mighty Hannibal - he actually mentioned his home town on this track. He married the Atlanta soul singer Delia Gartrell who released the 1971 Vietnam War song "See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9)" about Vietnam and drug addiction, co-written by the two of them. This single by the Mighty Hannibal, originally released on the small Atlanta label Shurfine Records (# 021), was subsequently picked up by New York's Josie Records (Hymn No. 5 # 45-964). The founder of Shurfine, Wendell Parker, recalled that "it sold over 3,000 copies in Columbus, Ga., alone....White radio wouldn't play it. Black people didn't care; they had a harder row to hoe. When you're concerned with survival, you're not interested in social things. It was the G.I.s who ate it up". (1) It started with the letter format, from a soldier in Vietnam to back home.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American soul singer James Shaw, born 9 August 1939 in Atlanta, Georgia ('Hymn No. 5'); died 30 January 2014 in New York City. [Source: Wikipedia]