He's Got the Whole World in His Hands


"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" is a traditional African American spiritual, first published in 1927. It became an international pop hit in 1957–58 in a recording by English singer Laurie London, and has been recorded by many other singers and choirs.

Traditional music sources

The song was first published in the paperbound hymnal Spirituals Triumphant, Old and New in 1927. In 1933, it was collected by Frank Warner from the singing of Sue Thomas in North Carolina. It was also recorded by other collectors such as Robert Sonkin of the Library of Congress, who recorded it in Gee's Bend, Alabama in 1941. That version is still available at the Library's American Folklife Center.
Frank Warner performed the song during the 1940s and 1950s, and introduced it to the American folk scene. Warner recorded it on the Elektra album American Folk Songs and Ballads in 1952. It was quickly picked up by both American gospel singers and British skiffle and pop musicians.

Laurie London recording

The song made the popular song charts in a 1957 recording by English singer Laurie London with the Geoff Love Orchestra, which reached #12 on the UK singles chart in late 1957. The songwriting on London's record was credited to "Robert Lindon" and "William Henry", which were pseudonyms used by British writers Jack Waller and Ralph Reader, who had used the song in their 1956 stage musical Wild Grows the Heather.
Laurie London's version then rose to #1 of the Most Played by Jockeys song list in the USA and went to number three on the R&B charts in 1958. The record reached #2 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores survey and #1 in Cashbox's Top 60. It became a gold record and was the most successful record by a British male in the 1950s in the USA. It was the first, and remains, the only gospel song to hit #1 on a U.S. pop singles chart; "Put Your Hand in the Hand " by Ocean peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1971; and "Oh Happy Day" by the Edwin Hawkins Singers reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1969.

Covers and adaptations

's version made the Billboard top 100 singles chart, topping at number 69. Other versions were recorded by Marian Anderson , Kate Smith, Odetta, Jackie DeShannon, Perry Como, the Sandpipers and Nina Simone on And Her Friends. Andy Williams released a version on his 1960 album, The Village of St. Bernadette. In 1982, Raffi recorded the song from his new album Rise and Shine and released it as a single. The Sisters of Mercy played it at the Reading Festival in 1991. It is featured on The Good and the Bad and the Ugly bootleg album. Pat Boone recorded a version for his 1961 album Great, Great, Great. James Booker covered the song on his 1993 album Spiders On The Keys.
In 1995, The Sisters of Glory, a gospel group that featured Thelma Houston, CeCe Peniston, Phoebe Snow, Lois Walden, and Albertina Walker, included the composition to their album Good News in Hard Times released on Warner Bros.
Mike Doughty adapted the refrain of the song for a new song of a similar title on his album Sad Man Happy Man. Additionally, Doughty's former band Soul Coughing performed a partial version live on occasion, usually as a segue into another song.
The song "Paintball's Coming Home" by Half Man Half Biscuit, from their 1997 album Voyage to the Bottom of the Road, includes the melody of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands".

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