Take My Hand, Precious Lord - wikipedia Take My Hand, Precious Lord `` Take My Hand '' redirects here. For the Dido song, see Take My Hand ( Dido song ). `` Take My Hand, Precious Lord '' ( a.k.a. `` Precious Lord, Take My Hand '' ) is a gospel song. The lyrics were written by the Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey, who also adapted the melody. Contents 1 Origin 2 Performances 3 Recordings 4 Accolades 5 References 6 External links Origin The melody is credited to Dorsey, drawn extensively from the 1844 hymn tune, `` Maitland ''. `` Maitland '' is often attributed to American composer George N. Allen ( 1812 -- 1877 ), but the earliest known source ( Plymouth Collection, 1855 ) shows that Allen was the author / adapter of the text `` Must Jesus bear the cross alone, '' not the composer of the tune, and the tune itself was printed without attribution for many years. `` Maitland '' is also sometimes attributed to The Oberlin Social and Sabbath School Hymn Book, which Allen edited, but this collection does not contain music. This tune originally appeared in hymnals and tune books as `` Cross and Crown '' ; the name `` Maitland '' appears as early as 1868. Dorsey said that he used it as inspiration. Dorsey wrote `` Precious Lord '' in response to his inconsolable bereavement at the death of his wife, Nettie Harper, in childbirth, and his infant son in August 1932. ( Mr. Dorsey can be seen telling this story in the 1981 gospel music documentary Say Amen, Somebody. ) The earliest known recording was made on February 16, 1937, by the Heavenly Gospel Singers ( Bluebird B6846 ). `` Take My Hand, Precious Lord '' is published in more than 40 languages. Performances It was Martin Luther King Jr. 's favorite song, and he often invited gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to sing it at civil rights rallies to inspire crowds ; at his request she sang it at his funeral in April 1968. King 's last words before his assassination was a request to play it at a mass he was due to attend that night. Opera singer Leontyne Price sang it at the state funeral of President Lyndon B. Johnson in January 1973, and Aretha Franklin sang it at Mahalia Jackson 's funeral in 1972. Franklin also recorded a live version of the song for her album Amazing Grace ( 1972 ) as a medley with `` You 've Got a Friend ''. It was sung by Nina Simone at the Westbury Music Fair on April 7, 1968, three days after King 's assassination. That evening was dedicated to him and recorded on the album ' Nuff Said !. It was also performed by Ledisi in the movie and soundtrack for Selma in which Ledisi portrays Mahalia Jackson. It was also performed by Beyoncé at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2015. Recordings Many notable musicians have recorded `` Take My Hand, Precious Lord ''. It was recorded by Mahalia Jackson on Tuesday March 27, 1956, on the album Bless This House ( Columbia Records CL 899 ) with The Fall - Jones Ensemble : Mildred Falls ( piano ), Ralph Jones ( organ ). Jim Reeves ' version of the song may be one of the best known of all. It was released as the ' B ' side of his hit single `` This World is Not My Home '' in 1965. 1938 : Selah Jubilee Singers ( Decca 7598 ) 1939 : The Soul Stirrers ( Down Beat 103 ) 1941 : Sister Rosetta Tharpe ( Decca 8610 ) 1954 : The Blind Boys Of Alabama on Oh Lord, Stand By Me ( Speciality ) 1954 : Little Jimmy Dickens on Old Country Church ( Columbia ) 1956 : Mahalia Jackson on Bless This House ( Columbia ) 1956 : Aretha Franklin on Songs of Faith 1957 : Elvis Presley on Elvis ' Christmas Album ( RCA Victor ) 1957 : Jimmy Dean on Hour of Prayer ( Columbia ) 1957 : Clara Ward on Somebody Greater Than You & I ( DOT ) 1958 : Roy Acuff on Favorite Hymns ( MGM ) 1959 : The Oak Ridge Quartet ( self - titled album ) 1960 : Tennessee Ernie Ford on What a Friend We Have ( Capitol ) 1960 : B.B. King on Sings Spirituals 1962 : Chet Atkins on Plays Back Home Hymns ( RCA Victor ) 1962 : Jim Reeves on We Thank Thee ( RCA Victor ) 1964 : Little Richard on Coming Home ( recorded in 1959 ) 1967 : Jimmy Durante on Songs for Sunday 1968 : Nina Simone on ' Nuff Said ! ( RCA ) 1969 : Mocedades on Pange Lingua ( Zafiro ) 1969 : Andrae Crouch & The Disciples on Take the Message Everywhere ( Light ) 1974 : Ike and Tina Turner on The Gospel According to Ike and Tina 1978 : Lawrence Welk on Hallelujah 1982 : Al Green on Precious Lord ( Grammy winner ) 1982 : B.J. Thomas on Peace in the Valley ( Word ) 1986 : Crystal Lewis on Beyond the Charade ( Frontline ) 1993 : Lonnie Donegan on More Than `` Pye in the Sky '' ( recorded 1954 -- 57 ) 1994 : Vickie Winans ( self - titled album ) 1996 : Mavis Staples on Spirituals & Gospel ( Verve ) 1997 : Recoil on Unsound Methods ( Mute, Reprise, Warner Bros. ) 1998 : Gladys Knight on Many Different Roads ( MCA ) 1998 : Pat Boone on Pat Boone Sings Golden Hymns 2001 : Merle Haggard on Cabin in the Hills 2003 : Engelbert Humperdinck on Always Hear the Harmony : The Gospel Sessions 2005 : Randy Travis on Glory Train 2005 : Faith Hill on Hurricane Relief : Come Together Now 2013 : Lulu Roman on At Last 2014 : Ledisi on Selma 2016 : John Long on the album Stand Your Ground Accolades `` Take My Hand, Precious Lord '' was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012, Mahalia Jackson 's recording of `` Precious Lord, Take My Hand '' was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. References Jump up ^ `` Maitland - MP3 file ''. Cyberhymnal.org. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2013 - 11 - 19. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone ? ''. Hymntime.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Maitland, Allen ''. Hymnary.org. Retrieved 6 September 2015. Jump up ^ Boyer, Horace Clarence. The Golden Age of Gospel ( 2000 ), University of Illinois Press, page 61 - ISBN 0 - 252 - 06877 - 7 Jump up ^ Shaw, Arnold. Honkers and Shouters : The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues ( 1978 ), Macmillan Publishing Company, pp. 8 - 11 - ISBN 0 - 02 - 610000 - 2 Jump up ^ Dixon, Robert M.W. Blues and Gospel Records : 1890 - 1943, Oxford University Press ( 1997 ), page 370 - ISBN 0 - 19 - 816239 - 1 Jump up ^ McNeil, W.K. Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music ( 2005 ), Routledge, page 107 - ISBN 0 - 415 - 94179 - 2 Jump up ^ Woods, Randall. LBJ : Architect of American Ambition ( 2006 ), Simon and Schuster, page 884 - ISBN 0 - 684 - 83458 - 8 Jump up ^ `` Decca / Apollo recordings ''. Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 2009 - 10 - 25. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ Bartholomew, Rex ( 2016 - 11 - 11 ). `` John Long -- Stand Your Ground Album Review ''. Bluesblastmagazine.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Hallmuseum.com ''. Hallmuseum.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 28. External links Mahalia Jackson 1961 television performance Aretha Franklin 1984 performance Say Amen, Somebody documentary featuring Thomas Dorsey Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Mahalia Jackson Studio albums The World 's Greatest Gospel Singer ( 1955 ) EPs `` Peace in the Valley '' `` Take My Hand, Precious Lord '' `` Move On Up a Little Higher '' `` His Eye Is on the Sparrow '' `` How I Got Over '' Related Black, Brown and Beige Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Take_My_Hand,_Precious_Lord&oldid=826120289 '' Categories : Songs written by Thomas A. Dorsey Nina Simone songs Aretha Franklin songs Gospel songs Mahalia Jackson songs Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Pages using Columns - list with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Русский Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 17 February 2018, at 09 : 01. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song take my hand precious lord
Answer: the Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey