128 Brother Claude Ely (1922-1978) “There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Keep My Body Down” 1953

Ely said God gave him this song when he was 12 years old, sick from tuberculosis. “The song became an anthem among Pentecostal people in the Appalachian Mountains.” It was probably written down by 1947 and recorded by Brother Claude in 1953. Sister Rosetta Tharpe recorded a version in 1956, and it was one of the last songs recorded by Johnny Cash (www.npr.org).

Brother Claude Ely “There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Keep My Body Down”