Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song – An Illuminating History of the Hymn's Journey Through Gospel, Folk, and Pop Traditions

by Steve Turner

Behind our most beloved hymn is a fascinating story spanning continents, cultures, and centuries. Inspired by the way "Amazing Grace" continues to change and grow in popularity, acclaimed music writer Steve Turner embarks on a journey to trace the life of the hymn, from Olney, England, where it was written by former slave trader John Newton, to tiny Plantain Island off the coast of Africa, where Newton was held captive for almost a year, to the Kentucky-Tennessee border and other parts of the South, where the hymn first began to spread. Newton had been rescued from Africa by a merchant ship when, during an eleven-hour storm on the Atlantic, he converted to Christianity. Years later, as a minister, he wrote the hymn for use among his congregation. Through the nineteenth century, "Amazing Grace" appeared in more and more hymn books, and in the twentieth century it rose to a gospel and folk standard before exploding into pop music. It has been recorded by artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tiny Tim, Al Green, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Chet Baker, and Destiny's Child. Amazing Grace closely examines this modern history of the hymn through personal interviews with recording artists. From John Newton's incredible life story to the hymn's role in American spirituality and culture, Amazing Grace is an illuminating, thorough, and unprecedented musical history.

Genres: History, Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Christianity, Book Club

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Steve Turner is an English music journalist, biographer and poet, who grew up in Northamptonshire, England. His first published article was in the Beatles Monthly in 1969. His career as a journalist began as features editor of Beat Instrumental where he interviewed many of the prominent rock musicians of the 1970s. He subsequently freelanced for music papers including NME, Melody Maker and Rolling Stone.

During the 1980s he wrote extensively for British newspapers and magazines on a range of subjects as well as producing his study of the relationship between rock music and religion, Hungry For Heaven, and co-authoring U2: Rattle & Hum, the book of the film. In the 1990s he began devoting himself to full-length books, the first being a best selling biography of British music star Cliff Richard, Cliff Richard: The Biography, in 1993, which stayed in the Sunday Times bestseller list for six weeks. At the same time he has written a number of poetry books for both adults and children. The first of his books for children, The Day I Fell Down The Toilet, has now sold over 120,000 copies, and total sales for his children's poetry collection now exceeds 200,000.

His published poetry books for adults are Tonight We Will Fake Love, Nice and Nasty, Up To Date, The King of Twist and Poems. His published poetry collections for children are The Day I Fell Down The Toilet, Dad, You're Not Funny, The Moon Has Got His Pants On, I Was Only Asking and Don't Take Your Elephant To School.

He now combines his book writing and journalism with poetry readings, lecture tours of America and Europe and consultancies. He lives in London.
Hungry for Heaven: Rock and Roll and the Search for Redemption(1988)
Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now (1993) Van Morrison
Cliff Richard: The Biography (1993) Cliff Richard
A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (1994; updated in 1999 and 2005)
Jack Kerouac: Angelheaded Hipster (1996)
Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye (1998)
Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts (2001)
The Man Called Cash: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend (2004) Johnny Cash
Amazing Grace: John Newton, Slavery and the World's Most Enduring Song (2005)
The Gospel According to the Beatles (2006)
An Illustrated History of Gospel(2010)
The Band That Played On (2011)

Reviews

[Joni Aveni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This past summer, we visited South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, and while there heard that the tune for "Amazing Grace" had its origins with the Plains Indians. So when I saw this book at a local library sale, I picked it up to learn more. What I learned was that the story I'd been told during my Midwest vacation was a complete fabrication. In fact, the song has its origins with an 18th-century English slave trader, and the only note made of any Native American link is a mention of the hymn being sung as the Cherokees marched along the Trail of Tears nearly a century later.

Nevertheless, the story of the hymn and its composer was a fascinating one, and the second part of the book, describing the song's later dissemination, was an interesting glimpse into American music history. I also enjoyed the many ways the idea of "grace" has morphed over the centuries -- from a concept dependent on the mercy of a Christian God to a New Age spiritual gift available to all.

From English choirs to American folk artists, rousing Gospel singers to rock-n-roll legends, the universal idea of redemption from wretchedness is one that surely knows no dogmatic or musical boundaries!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had originally marked this book as read, but realizing from the placement of a bookmark that I hadn't finished it, I started over. It was well worth reading. For some people this might be more than they ever wanted to know about "Amazing Grace." About half of the book is a mini-biography of John Newton, who wrote the lyric, with digressions about William Cowper, his friend, and William Wilberforce, the abolitionist. It's quite useful as a corrective to the various urban legends about the author. Then as we get to learn about the tune, we also learn about Southern Harmony and Sacred Harp singing. The third section describes the song's resurgence in the early 1970s with recordings by Judy Collins and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards pipes, drums, and band. The author also points out that it is George W. Bush's favorite hymn; cynically, I would suggest that perhaps it's the only one he knows. There is a (necessarily incomplete) discography at the end as well as a (now outdated) list of movies which use the hymn in their soundtrack (Invasion of the Body Snatchers??? Huh.)

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting book! I'm tempted to rent the movie now to see how faithful the movie is to the real story of John Newton, the man who wrote "Amazing Grace." I liked that this book was broken up into two parts. First, the author (music writer Steve Turner) tells us the story of John Newton and his rebellion from religion as a sailor/slave ship owner and his eventual conversion and life as a hymn writer and abolitionist.

The second part of the book goes into how "Amazing Grace" became the popular and well-known song that it is today, including how it got its melody, and how it affects everyone - not just religious folk.

Some of the stuff in the first part of the book was kind of confusing. The author introduces you to so many people that it was sometimes hard for me to keep track of them all (he does include a "who's who" appendix) and keep track of where the book was in terms of time.

But I would highly recommend this book for people who know the song, like the song, and want to hear an interesting story.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointing book! I love the hymn “Amazing Grace,” and I thought the book would tell how John Newton (the slave trader) came to write the words, and who wrote the music. We learn every possible thing about John Newton’s life, but nothing about how he came to write those famous words. And there’s loads of information about how different tunes came to be found in popular hymnals, but no information about who might have written the tune we associate with “Amazing Grace.” I learned that a gazillion hymns were written in the 1700's and 1800's, and how folk music was written down, and what songs the slaves liked to sing, and lots else, but my basic questions were never answered.

[Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite impressed by this work. The first half is essentially a biography of John Newton, who's had an adventurous life - a seafaring voyager, a slave trader, and then a minister. The author is really strong on details on how religion changed over the course of the late 1700s to early 1800s, in America. The second half - how "Amazing Grace" took a life of its own, was quite effective as well. I enjoyed the musicological tidbits, the tracing of the story of this particular song, and how it means different things to different groups and generations.

Worth reading!

[Jim Bartruff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable history of a remarkable song...actually, a book in three parts. A history of the slave trade and the role of John Newton in it. A biography of Newton and his struggles as a young man and the experiences that shaped his ultimate conversion. And finally, how the song has eclipsed its early life as a hymn and found crossover success in religious and secular circles. A surprising and fast read!

[Susannah Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book focuses on John Newton's life and ministry, which I found quite interesting. The second part of the book focuses on the musical accompaniment of Amazing Grace and the modern development of the song, neither of which I cared very much about. My advise would be to read the first half and skim through the second half, or just skip the second half all together.

[Todd Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting. Especially enjoyed the first half. Used it to write a blog piece https://metalflowershzd.blogspot.com/...

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Newton. Shape-note (Sacred Harp) singing. Mahalia Jackson. Long versus short meter. Learned so much!

[Jane Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this small book is a biography of John Newton. It's something of a summary, and it's coloured by the uncritical Christian viewpoint of the author. It would be good to read a longer, more objective biography, by someone like Roy Hattersley.
The second half was about the "life" of the hymn itself, and the first part of that was interesting, tracing how the best-known tune was attached to the words and became popular in America. I had my doubts thereafter about Turner's fixation on America, as if it wasn't popular anywhere else and US recording artistes were responsible for its fame.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The first half is the story of the words and John Newton and the second half traces how the song became a part of American culture. Fascinating music history.

[Kelli Widmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting read. I like how the author divided the book into 2 parts, the first about the author of the song, Newton and the second about the song itself.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few songs that are worthy of a book, much less the sort of lovingly crafted and meticulously researched book that this one is, but Amazing Grace is definitely one of those songs.  Indeed, perhaps the most serious negative thing that can be said about the book is that the fact that it was published almost two decades ago means that its discography of cover versions is woefully obsolete, missing some very excellent versions of the song (like Alan Jackson's).  Be that as it may, this book is one that manages to straddle the line between a detailed look at what the song means and a discussion of what the song means to audiences, many of whom do not have the sort of religious worldview that the author of Amazing Grace did.  And for those of us who (like me) are fans of Newton and his songwriting, this book did a good job at putting the music industry and the way that songs are finessed and change their context once they become part of the public domain in a context that helps one to understand how and why this song became so iconic.

This particular book is about 250 pages long or so and it is divided into two parts and thirteen chapters.  The book begins with a foreword by Judy Collins, as well as acknowledgements and an introduction and prologue that discuss the author's own interest in this book and what is known about the song by other people.  The first part of the book contains six chapters about the creation of the hymn (I), discussing Newton's tumultuous life as a sailor (1), his time in captivity in Africa (2), which seared him for life, his crisis of faith in the mid-Atlantic (3), his anomalous position as a Christian slave-captain (4), his entry into the Anglican church and the writing of the Olney Hymns with Cowper (5), and his turn towards abolitionist politics (6).  The second part of the book looks at the reception of the hymn (II), with chapters on the joining of the hymn to its music (7), the spread of the hymn by revival (8), the Gospel sound (9), the hymn in the folk tradition (10), the hymn's chart reception (11), the song's status as an icon (12), and the way that grace is understood (13), after which the book includes appendices involving lists (i), a select discography (ii), a who's who of people talked in the book (iii), as well as a select bibliography.

Make no bones about it, Amazing Grace is an amazing song.  A lot of what it is amazing about it is the way that it takes someone's soulful reflections on their own fallen state of wretchedness and God and Jesus Christ's incredible mercy in calling repentant sinners and frames the song in such a way that the music we sing it do matches the emotional resonance of the song.  When you add to that the way in which the song speaks about the concern for freedom from death and degradation that has made the song a mainstay of revivals as well as a fruitful subject for contemporary covers, and it is little surprise that this song should be so immensely beloved by Americans, even if its context was originally related to English Protestant ways.  This book does a great job at looking at the complexity of how the song that we have was cobbled together from various sources, how it reflects a great deal of America's own issues, and how it has served as a vital emblem of black and white religion, being something rare that has crossed over a great many divides in our culture and society without anyone being able to be accused of cultural appropriation in the meantime.

[Diane]

From the March 6, 2003 Christian Science Monitor review by Mary Wittenberg: "...the first comprehensive account of the hymn's difficult author and his slow transformation...Over time, [John] Newton came to be appalled by his early complicity in the slave trade. When he was given charge of a large congregation in London, he became a prominent abolitionist...Sometimes a more detailed account than the casual reader might wish, 'Amazing Grace' is nevertheless a rich and exhaustively researched resource for historians, students, and enthusiasts. Though Turner, in his multiple introductions, seems a little too in love with the process by which he came to write the book, in the end his message makes any wallowing worthwhile."

[Cristina]

...gloub uf Dütsch gläse...

[Maren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read that I would have not picked out by myself but definitely worth exploring. The life of John Newton is equally gruesome and inspiring.

[Bill McKinlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative read, both about the writer, John Newton, and the life of the hymn over the past 200 plus years. Well written and well researched.

[Barry Malphrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first section of the book about John Newton was very good and the other part was not particularly informative to me or worth reading.

[TEAR Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by Kara Craig

READ MORE AT:
http://www.tear.org.au/education/revi...

This book actually tells two stories about Amazing Grace. The first is the story of its lyric writer John Newton who, as a mentor of William Wilberforce, played a pivotal role in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain two hundred years ago. The second story recounts how the lyrics crossed the Atlantic, became married to a tune thought to have Scottish origins, and became one of the most recorded songs in the world.

The story of John Newton's life of faith, following a period of time as a hard-swearing atheist prodigal, is a dramatic illustration of how social and political transformation are intrinsically linked with personal repentance in our response to the Gospel. It also shows the real significance of how a spiritual vocation can be lived out in public life.

After tracing the history of Amazing Grace through folk and gospel traditions to worldwide popularity, Turner concludes by looking at the ways in which it continues to radiate something of the wonder of ‘grace' to a modern generation. He concludes with an appeal to revisit the meaning of ‘grace' as thought of by Newton. This book is highly recommended reading while you wait for the movie Amazing Grace to come to a cinema near you.

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting review of the life of John Newton who wrote the lyrics to Amazing Grace. It puts to rest the folk legend that he was captain of a slave ship who saw the error of his ways and delivered the slaves to freedom while a young man. It puts forth the true history that he was a seaman, often a profane and wild young man who did deal in slavery but saw nothing wrong with it. He felt, as did all Englishmen that he was delivering the heathen from their dark ways into Christianity. Later in life, after finding his way again and becoming a priest with the Church of England, he took up the banner of the abolishinist and denounced slavery and England's role. He wrote many songs for his weekly secular meetings. The church of England had a rule that only Psalms could be sung on Sunday. Somehow the words to this hymn made their way across the Atlantic and were put to a Scottish folk tune and became one of the most popular hymns in America beginning around 1800. The writing message was interesting but the writing style was too detailed. The historical facts got in the way of a really good story.

[Bartholomew Timm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story behind the song Amazing Grace. It is divided into two parts - the first tells the story of John Newton who wrote the song, the second tells the story of how it grew into one of the most popular songs of all time. I learned that Newton was a slave trader, and the song is, in part, the story of his salvation because he had become so wretched, and managed to turn his life around. There is a message there for anyone struggling, because certain John Newton had sunk to such a low that "wretched" is a perfect description of how miserable he was.
I learned in the second half of the book, which was not as interesting as the first, just how wide-spread Amazing Grace is. Nominally a church hymn, it has been recorded by a truly diverse group of recording artists from Elvis Presley, to Destiny's Child, to U2, and an artist from nearly every genre of music.
All in all, an excellent, and interesting read.

[Corey Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fewer songs are more deeply ingrained in our consciousness than "Amazing Grace." I can't remember a time when I didnt know it. And yet, the story of its creation is unknown to most people. Like many hymns, folk songs, Christmas carols, etc, we tend to not think of it as the work of a single composer.

This book is a revelation. The first half is the fascinating story of the songs composer, John Newton, who became a Christian after being spared certain death in a violent storm at sea. The second half tells the story of the song from its creation to the present day, and how it became, as the subtitle suggests, "America's most beloved song."

Turner's past experience as a journalist gives him a crisp writing style that flows. Be sure to check out his biogaphy of Johnny Cash!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of the book because it was about John Newton's life and what inspired him to write the classic, internationally renowned religious song everyone knows as “Amazing Grace”. The second half of the book, about how the song morphed into the modern / final version we know today, should be interesting to other people but that's where I stopped reading as I found that part boring. But, again, the first half was great – provided some deep insight into Britain's slave trade during the 1700s (how African natives captured and sold other Africans as slaves to the white slave traders, for example, or how half-white/half-African progeny were given more power over Africans by the white colonialists).

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. Basically a two part book: half about John Newton's life and what led up to the writing of the words of Amazing Grace, and then the evolution of the song into what it has become today. The story of John Newton is interesting, but the writing isn't very clear. The history of the song is also very interesting, as long as you sit down with iTunes and find the songs and the singers he is talking about, otherwise it's like describing color to a blind man. You have to actually hear the songs, and then what he says about them makes sense.

[Jaclynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, I feel like I know the true story behind the song, the story of John Newton’s life from his part in the slave trading to accepting the grace of God in his life and turning it all over to him. The 2nd half of this book is devoted to the “Amazing Grace” movement if you will, and how the song has come to be known so well to nearly every American.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of interesting stuff here about John Newton and the writing & popularizing of "Amazing Grace." (For example, I didn't know that Annie Sprinkle had done a cover of it. Who'd have thunk?)

Unfortunately, the need to be historically accurate gets in the way of being readable - though this problem doesn't permeate the book, it happens just often enough to be frustrating.

[Sogzewalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of the music, the man who wrote it and how it has survived through the generations to become a classic that anyone who has become converted to Christ can relate to. One of my most favorite books

[Rob Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story but the author was unable to separate his emotions from his writing making it at time difficult to read. Didn't enjoy the second half of the book, although it is not what I was interested in.

[Lili-May · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part was a 4 star but the second part was a 2 star.
I lost interest while reading the second part, that’s why it took me so long to finish this book.
I would recommend it for the first part of the book which is the story of John Newton and somehow of the song too.

[Joe Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but a bit too much for me