One King Sings a Song that Another King Loved

The last words Martin Luther King Jr. ever spoke were to ask his musician friend Ben Branch to play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting that night. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed shortly after, and never got to hear the song being played at the meeting. Mahalia Jackson sang it at his funeral.

I tried to find a version of Mahalia Jackson singing this song, but there weren't any available on youtube. I did, however, find another King singing this song - Elvis Presley. Elvis recorded this when he was only 22 years old, in 1957. It was written by Thomas Dorsey in 1932, a few years before Elvis was born, and when Martin Luther King Jr. was just 3 years old.

Coincidentally, the birthdays of both Kings were only one week apart. Two young boys who both grew up with sweet, meaningful, spiritual music. Two men who both had a tremendous influence on America in different ways. Two Kings who both died way too young.

Thomas Dorsey wrote this song in 1932 after his wife and baby died during childbirth. It was then that he made a decision to only write what he called "gospel music" for the rest of his life. In fact, he created the term "gospel music". This is his most famous gospel song.

Thank you to Jackiej61too for uploading this song to youtube.