SU Student Gospel Recital Pays Tribute to Charles Albert Tindley

SALISBURY, MD---Credited as a founder of American gospel music and one of the largest African American Methodist congregations on the East Coast, the Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley got his start on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

During his recital, "The Life of Charles Albert Tindley and Hymns Which Touched Many Souls," Salisbury University senior music major Calvin Collins pays tribute to the contributions of the man who earned the nickname "Prince of Preachers."

His performance is 7 p.m. Friday, February 22, at Wicomico Presbyterian Church.

    Born in Berlin, MD, Tindley was the son of a slave, but considered himself a free man since his mother was free. In 1887, he was ordained as a deacon in the Wilmington Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, assigned to increasingly larger congregations in New Jersey and throughout the Delmarva Peninsula. By 1900, he was the Wilmington District’s presiding elder.

In 1906, he started as pastor of what became East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, growing its congregation to over 10,000 by the time of his death in 1933. At one time, the church comprised the largest African American congregation on the East Coast. It was renamed Tindley Temple following his death and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Tindley’s songwriting career began in 1901. In all, he wrote 46 gospel hymns, including “Stand by Me,” “What Are They Doing in Heaven?” “(Take Your Burden to the Lord and) Leave It There” and “I’ll Overcome Someday.” The latter is credited by some as the basis for the U.S. civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”

Sponsored by the SU Music, Theatre and Dance Department, admission to Collins’ recital is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-548-5588 or visit the SU website.