"Bright Morning Star" is a traditional Appalachian spiritual, that has been sung by numerous folk artists, and was popularized in the folk revivals of the 1960s and 70s, particularly by The Young Tradition. The song was first recorded/collected by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan, Kentucky, Harlan. It is classified as a moist county—one in which alcohol sale ...

in 1937 as sung by G. D. Vowell, under the title ''"Bright Moving Stars are Rising"''. Peggy Seeger, with her sisters Penny & Barbara included the song on their 1957 album, ''American Folk Songs for Christmas'', on Scholastic Records SC 7553. The songs are performed from a book of the same name, published by their mother,

Ruth Crawford Seeger Ruth Crawford Seeger (born Ruth Porter Crawford; July 3, 1901 – November 18, 1953) was an American composer and musicologist. Her music heralded the emerging modernist aesthetic, and she became a central member of a group of American composers ...

, (Doubleday & Co., 1953). The book cites the Archive of American Folksong at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, with the identifier "1379 A1." References to the ''Morning Star'' were common in the 19th century, as can be seen in Edward Billups's 1854 book ''The Sweet Songster'', a Baptist hymnal from Kentucky.

Recordings

The song has been recorded by The Pennywhistlers on their 1965 album, ''A Cool Day and Crooked Corn''; by The Young Tradition, live, included on the 1970 compilation album, ''The Folk Trailer'' (Trailer LER 2019); by

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

on her 1987 album '' Angel Band''; by The Wailin' Jennys on their 2011 album, ''

Bright Morning Stars ''Bright Morning Stars'' is the fourth full-length album from Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. The title track is a traditional Appalachian spiritual. Track listings References 2011 albums The Wailin' Jennys albums Festiv ...

'';, by the Northern Irish folk singer

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...

on her 2014 album ''

A Thousand Hearts ''A Thousands Hearts'' is the fifth solo album by Irish folk singer Cara Dillon. It was the second release on her own label Charcoal Records and was released in partnership with Sony Music. ''A Thousand Hearts'' features more traditional producti ...

''; by

Rising Appalachia Rising Appalachia is an American Appalachian music, Appalachian folk music group, led by multi-instrumentalist sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith (musician), Chloe Smith. Their music is deeply rooted in the landscapes of Atlanta, New Orleans, and ...

, who adapt it in their medley "Bright Morning Stars / Bokawak" on their 2015 album, ''

Wider Circles ''Wider Circles'' is the fifth studio album by American Appalachian music, Appalachian band Rising Appalachia. It was recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina, and was released on July 17, 2015. Background Leah Song coined ...

''; by

Mountain Man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

on their 2018 album Magic Ship; and by Bonny Light Horseman on their 2020 album Bonny Light Horseman.

Recordings

References

Citations

Works cited

Source attribution

External links