[piano intro] [slow music] ♪ ♪ I don't feel no way tired, Lord ♪ ♪ I come too far from where I start, started from ♪ ♪ Nobody told me the road was gonna be easy, Lord ♪ ♪ Lord, I don't believe You brought me this far to leave me ♪ ♪ I don't feel no way tired ♪ ♪ I've come too far from where I started from ♪ ♪ Nobody told me the road, church, was gonna be easy ♪ - My name is Timothy Duffy.

I'm the founder and director of the Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Sacred Soul music is what this project is about.

It's about Eastern Carolina gospel music.

♪ He brought me this far to leave me ♪ - When I've met these musicians and heard all their music and started playing it for record companies in the South and booking agents in Europe, they were blown away by this music.

It was very unique.

- I think it's very important to document all these groups from this area because one thing, we are singing about one God, but we all from different background.

And when you hear a different testimony of each group, where they, how they were formed and how they was created, it's very mind-blowing.

[upbeat music] My name is Toney Johnson.

I'm the manager of the Johnsonaires.

We're an all-brother band of Greenville, North Carolina.

♪ Lord, I'm trying to make it on in ♪ ♪ Lord, I'm trying to make it on in ♪ ♪ I'm saying if you don't wanna go ♪ ♪ Then please don't let me be ♪ ♪ Trying to make it on in too ♪ ♪ Lord, I'm trying ♪ - Whenever I'm feeling bad, and when I start saying the word Jesus, it seem like everything just easy.

He's like a, He better than Aleve, Advil, or Bayer.

♪ Listen, Lord, I'm sometimes up ♪ ♪ Then I'm sometimes down ♪ ♪ Then I'm almost level ♪ ♪ I get level down to the ground ♪ ♪ But the Lord, He picks me up ♪ ♪ And He lets me change ♪ ♪ Whenever I fall, I want You to take my hand ♪ - Any foundation of any music, jazz, classic music, opera, is rooted back to gospel.

It's always rooted to gospel.

Do your homework on it.

Its rooted back to gospel.

♪ I jump on ♪ ♪ I jump on ♪ ♪ Right now ♪ ♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Right now ♪ ♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Anybody ♪ ♪ Out there ♪ ♪ Anybody wanna go with me ♪ ♪ Anybody ♪ ♪ Out there ♪ ♪ Anybody wanna go with me ♪ ♪ Let's go ♪ ♪ On down ♪ ♪ Let's go ♪ ♪ On down ♪ ♪ Let's go ♪ ♪ On down ♪ ♪ Let's go to the Jordan stream ♪ ♪ Well, I said ♪ - Here in east North Carolina, we have a lot of great talents.

Hidden, I call it hidden talents.

I was saying there's a lot of, there's a lot of Kobe Bryants, there's a lot of Michael Jordans in your own backyard, but they haven't been discovered yet.

[upbeat music] - I'm KeAmber, a singer with Faith & Harmony.

We've been singing together basically all our lives.

["We Will Work" by Faith & Harmony] ♪ The moment, that moment shall come ♪ - I think mainstream America means that a lot of it has stemmed from the church.

A lot of the popular artists that are out now, they grew up in church.

And so when something is ingrained in you, it's hard to depart from it.

So you might be singing different words to it.

But at the end of the day, it's all the same music most of the time, just different words.

♪ We will work ♪ ♪ We will work ♪ - My name is Christy Moody.

I go by, everybody in my family that knows me calls me Cree.

I sing with Faith & Harmony.

For me, that energy comes from wanting to touch somebody for if they're going through something and wanting them to want to feel better.

Like you never know what people are going through and you can't always tell with, you know, how they're, how they present theirselves.

So that energy comes from wanting to touch somebody and say, "You know what?

"Those, the words of those, that song was correct.

"Like, it's, I feel better.

"It's gonna get better.

"There's gonna, I'm gonna see better days.

"There's gonna be better times for me."

So wanting to touch people.

♪ We will work ♪ ♪ O God Almighty ♪ ♪ Until Jesus comes ♪ ♪ Yes, we will work together ♪ - I think this project is so important and so special because it's given these people who wouldn't normally get the opportunity to be able to record, like, to put 'em in the path with the right people.

This is an experience.

I've done it before, but it's other people that's been singing way longer than I have.

And they get to experience it, something they love doing, and maybe it's a dream they've been chasing all their life and they finally, you know, get to experience it, get to do something, be heard.

It's good to be heard.

[laughing] - That's beautiful.

- I'm a cry baby.

- That's okay.

- All the time.

♪ Tell it all ♪ ♪ Tell it all to Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on and tell it all ♪ ♪ Tell it all to Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on and tell it all ♪ ♪ Tell it all to Jesus ♪ ♪ He's gonna make everything all right ♪ ♪ Well, well, well, well, it's all right ♪ All the music is really good.

It's reach your soul, you know.

We sing songs to help peoples.

We want to, peoples to hear, you know, what we are saying about God, you know?

It would be useless to sing gospel and then nobody didn't, it didn't touch nobody.

So we like music that's gonna touch the soul.

♪ All right ♪ ♪ Well, well, well, well, it's all right ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Ain't it all right ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ He'll make it all right ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ He'll make it all right ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Early in the morning ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ Late in the midnight hour ♪ ♪ All right ♪ ♪ He'll make it all right ♪ - Jubilee from the old landmark like, go back song, like ♪ Ain't it sweet ♪ ♪ Just to know ♪ ♪ One day we'll meet ♪ We're giving a message to the people saying if you serve the Lord, if you praise Him up, your blessing will come down.

I'm not saying other singing, I love all singing.

But when you singing from your heart, you gotta come from the old jubilee style.

[upbeat music] I'm Bishop Albert Harrison from Manson, North Carolina.

You know, I'm a man of God, but I'm the leader of the Bishop Albert Harrison & The Gospel Tones, and where the Lord send me, I go.

That's the way I feel about it.

♪ Trying to get heaven in a due time ♪ ♪ Before the heaven door close ♪ ♪ Oh, shake me ♪ ♪ Wake me, Lord ♪ ♪ Don't let me sleep too late ♪ ♪ Oh, shake me, Lord ♪ ♪ Wake me, Lord ♪ ♪ Don't let me sleep too late ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ I met my sister one morning ♪ ♪ We were trying to get to heaven in due time ♪ ♪ Before the heaven door close ♪ ♪ But she said ♪ Well, it, we all come back from a long way, and we all come up on a farm and our mother and father and grandfather always used to sing, and it's something we love to do.

And it's another way of getting the words through.

And my preaching, I love to preach, but I love to sing gospel.

Because the gospel singing can get in people house that they don't come to church to hear you.

♪ Lord, shake me ♪ ♪ Wake me ♪ ♪ Shake me, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Please, Jesus ♪ ♪ Shake me, wake me ♪ ♪ Please, Jesus ♪ ♪ Shake me, wake me ♪ ♪ Please, Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on, shake me ♪ ♪ Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Shake me ♪ It's a blessing any time that your work be accepted in a foundation like y'all have here.

It's an opportunity that some people don't never get, and it ain't nothing but a blessing of the Lord here guiding us and leading us in the right direction.

All we gotta do is stay humble and down and do just what the Lord tell us to do.

Serve the Lord, love one another.

[slow music] - And when God give you favor, you have favor with Him, and then you have favor with peoples.

So when you sing, it'll touch not only you, but it'll touch them too.

♪ I won't let nothing ♪ - My name is Anthony Daniels.

Everybody call me Amp.

♪ Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord ♪ ♪ Turn me around ♪ ♪ Around ♪ - [Anthony] With the Dedicated Men of Zion.

We were formed probably in 2014.

♪ See, I don't know about you right now ♪ ♪ But every time I sing this song right here ♪ ♪ Something get all over me ♪ ♪ Yes, it does right now ♪ ♪ I have to let the whole world know about it ♪ ♪ Yes, I do ♪ ♪ Have you ever ♪ - Far as, you know, saying how to, you know, the music and the church, it's like, it's just, it's almost like a sandwich, man.

You gotta have two pieces of bread to have a sandwich, you know, a sandwich, man, you know what I'm saying?

But it's like the singing and the church, it's just like it go together, you know?

It's just, every church, I've been in all kind of churches, man, and it's always singing there, you know?

So I think it's just, it's just a part of it.

♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ You can't make me ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ Oh, ooh, yes, sir ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ Just can't make me ♪ ♪ No, no, no, no, ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ You can't make me, no, no, no, no, no ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ - You know, eastern North Carolina, it's just, it's just, man, it's a musical, musical area.

[slow music] When I think about it, man, it's just overwhelming to think about all of the different talent that come from the eastern North Carolina, you know, and just grow out, you know, it's.

- How y'all doing?

- It's spectacular and ridiculous at the same time.

You know what I mean?

♪ Use me, Lord ♪ ♪ Use me, Lord ♪ ♪ In Thy service ♪ ♪ In Thy service ♪ ♪ Draw me nearer ♪ ♪ Draw me nearer ♪ ♪ Close to Thee, Lord ♪ ♪ Close to Thee ♪ ♪ Lord ♪ - In eastern North Carolina seemed like a lot of quartet groups, a lot of really soulful singing, you know?

It's just people very serious about what they doing, you know, and you can tell it through the songs and the way that they deliver.

♪ And I'm willing ♪ ♪ Every once in a while, y'all ♪ ♪ Lord, and I'm willing ♪ ♪ Every once in a while, Lord ♪ - In the rural South I feel like the black church was their pillar of hope.

It's where they went to, you know, pray together and sing together.

Someone's going with, through a problem, that's where you can find your support.

You know, you get your guidance there.

♪ Somebody know about the rock ♪ ♪ A rock in a weary land ♪ ♪ Somebody know about the shelter ♪ ♪ In a stormy land ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ - In the east part of of North Carolina, ain't nothing like this old jubilee gospel quartet singing.

I love it all.

But you give me that old jubilee gospel singing and we can get through, through brick walls.

With the help of God we can go through steel walls.

♪ Yes, I am ♪ - Yes, sir.

- And faith come from hearing.

So that's where it's all about gospel you love in North Carolina, the eastern part.

So we just gotta keep fellowship and keep building up the kingdom of the Lord one soul at a time.

- [Photographer] Right here, look at me.

[flash bulb popping] - [Photographer] A lot of work being famous, isn't it?

- My name is Johnny Ray Daniels.

And the name of my group is Little Willie & The Fantastic Spiritualaires of Greenwood, North Carolina.

Always, always before I do anything, people don't even know it, but I pray.

So I asked God, I said, "Lord, touch me with Your Spirit "that I be able to touch someone else."

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ Save me ♪ ♪ Save me, Jesus ♪ ♪ Wherever you may go ♪ - [Interviewer] So this is a family band?

- Well, we got, it's four of us in the band, in here.

And now my son, we're five with my son.

But the other one a close friends with us, you know?

So we didn't want to be the spotlight just saying the Daniel family.

♪ Yes, I've tried ♪ ♪ He's all right ♪ Wanted it to be everybody being involved and everybody is somebody, everybody important.

["Have You Tried Jesus"] ♪ Gave me the victory ♪ I do my own style, like I know a whole lot of 'em said, "Oh, you got a different style."

I said, "Yeah, I got a style that God gave me."

And that's what I try to use.

'Cause when I hit my note, everybody say, "Oh, that's Johnny Ray.

"I know that's who that is."

Yeah.

♪ All right ♪ ♪ All right, all right ♪ ♪ I know He's all right ♪ ♪ Talk about the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Talk about the Holy Ghost ♪ Grew on up in here and being home and my mother used to make us sing.

And when people come, she would say, "My boy can sing."

We'd say, "Momma, we don't sing."

Then Momma had a look at you when you would said, "I don't wanna sing," she had a look that said.

We say, "Okay, we'll sing."

' Cause we know if we didn't, when that company left we know we were gonna get it.

♪ Got it one day ♪ ♪ God found me ♪ ♪ He took my heart and love ♪ ♪ And gave me the victory ♪ ♪ Yes, I've tried ♪ ♪ He's all right ♪ - When the Lord anoint you, anoint you with something, that's what the Lord anoint me to what I do really.

Because I never went to school for music or nothing like that.

He just give it to me, I could hear, I could hear it in my ears what to do of when I be playing the guitar.

That's what I do, I could.

It's just like I can hear Him say, "Do this, do that."

You know, I really can hear it.

And it just be full of joy in play, in that music.

♪ Lord ♪ ♪ I have trials and tribulations ♪ ♪ I've been 'buked and I've been torn ♪ ♪ Soon my time will be ♪ - Man, I just feel so good when I stand up there to that mic or get my guitar, I feel so good.

I really do.

♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ Good God Almighty ♪ - Well, the church play a big part in it because that where we do most of our performing at at churches and, you know, sing up to, to bring people to the Lord.

That's what it's all about.

It's about the Lord, you know, that we can do something that will touch somebody heart.

And we would go there and sometime people could be sad at church and we go there and God give us a song to sing you know, that bring joy to their soul.

♪ Well, and I want somewhere, O Lord ♪ ♪ To lay my head ♪ ♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ Somewhere to lay my head ♪ ♪ And I want somewhere to lay my head ♪ - Well, I'm gonna tell you now, I used to be in a rock and roll band called the Soul Twisters.

Then but one time I was at a, at a concert with the band and just, the Lord just touched my heart, said I was in the wrong place, you know, going to the nightclubs and everywhere.

And I need to use my talent for Him.

And so that's where I'm at, where I'm at now, doing the work for the Lord.

And I really love it.

I love it better because, you know, you go in and feel that good joy and don't think about you in the nightclub and what might happen.

♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord, have mercy, Jesus ♪ [laughing] - It gives you hope.

You can find joy in a song.

It's emotions and put the songs and music and words.

It can take everything you're feeling at the moment, maybe you can't vocalize it yourself, and just give it sound.

You can take, you're having a bad day and turn on a certain song and your whole mood changes around.

And I like that about music.

I love it.

♪ Amazing grace ♪ ♪ How sweet the sound ♪ ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost ♪ ♪ But now ♪ - I think, too, you know, peoples go through different changes in their lives.

And just like you will sing a song like "Amazing Grace," you know, something that's gonna touch you when you at that time when you're going through.

So it brings on the emotion.

People want to cry.

It's so basically it's for the emotion of your body I feel like, you know?

♪ Amazing grace ♪ ♪ How sweet the sound ♪ ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost ♪ - You first start from church, right?

So you start from church, you start singing and then sometime people say, you know, "Hey, let's form a group."

And so when they form this group, probably your parents did this.

So then they start dying off.

So, you know, one, you know, in the family start taking the other one place, and then, you know, the younger ones taking the older place.

So they still take, you know, carry on the tradition that the older folks carry on.

♪ Amazing grace ♪ ♪ How sweet ♪ - So it's like a trend, you know?

You do it, I do it, and then it'll be probably after this generation gone then another one will start doing it.

So it probably would be here forever.

I believe gospel music will be here forever.

♪ Like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost ♪ ♪ But now I'm found ♪ ♪ Was blind ♪ ♪ But now I see ♪ - Wow.

Oh my goodness.

That was amazing.

Wow.

Thank you so much for doing that.

- You're welcome.

- Wow, man.

- You're welcome.

- You got a voice.

That's so good.

That's awesome.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ Well, glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, since I laid my ♪ ♪ Laid my burdens down ♪ ♪ Yeah, glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, since I laid my burdens down ♪ ♪ Yeah, glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, since I laid my ♪ ♪ Laid my burdens down ♪ ♪ Yeah, glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, since I laid my burdens down ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I feel better ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I feel better ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Since I laid my burdens ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Laid my burdens down ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Talking about the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Talking about the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Talking about the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy Ghost can make you walk right ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy Ghost can make you talk right ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy ghost will make you live right ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy Ghost will make you shout ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy Ghost will make you shout right ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory ♪