Today, NPR Music unveiled a tremendous Tiny Desk from Pastor T.L. Barrett. In a rare filmed performance of the living gospel legend, shot from the same South Side Chicago church he’s been leading for decades, Barrett guides his Royal Voices of Life choir through a trio of his most beloved, recently rediscovered classics: 1973’s rousing “I Shall Wear A Crown,” his signature 1971 soul jam “Like A Ship,” and the slave spiritual turned heavily-sampled hip-hop staple, “Nobody Knows.” In between songs he speaks about his and the choir members’ roots in Chicago’s public housing projects, as well as the history of slavery in America and more. As NPR praises, “This is not a concert; this is worship.”
Watch Pastor T.L. Barrett’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert:
On September 24th, Numero Group will releaseI Shall Wear A Crown, an historic five-album box set delivering the definitive tribute to Pastor T.L. Barrett and his long-overlooked impact. From high school dropout to a beacon of hope for Chicago youth and congregation members like Donny Hathaway and Earth, Wind & Fire – from a one-time Stax recording artist to the source of samples for Kanye West, DJ Khaled and more – the fifty-year career of the fabled preacher, civil rights activist and musical pioneer is encompassed in I Shall Wear A Crown‘s four reissued LPs, 24 pages of liner notes and previously unpublished photographs, plus a bonus collection of singles and sermons.
