"Let Us Go Back to the Old Landmark", also known as "The Old Landmark", is a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

song. Sometimes credited as "

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

", it was written by

W. Herbert Brewster Dr. William Herbert Brewster, Sr. (July 2, 1897 – October 15, 1987) was an influential African American Baptist minister, composer, dramatist, singer, poet and community leader. Early life Brewster was born in Somerville, Tennessee. A 1922 gradu ...

and published in 1949 in an arrangement by Virginia Davis. It was recorded by Brewster's own group, the Brewster Singers, and by many other gospel performers including Edna Gallmon Cooke,

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

. Later recordings were made by Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, and

Sweet Honey in the Rock Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe who express their history as black women through song, dance, and sign language. Originally a four-p ...

. Some of the recordings credit the writing of the song to Adeline Brunner (as A.M. or A.H. Brunner). It is featured in the 1980 film ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...

'', where it is performed by James Brown with the Rev. James Cleveland Choir. It also appears on the film's soundtrack album.

References

Songs written by W. Herbert Brewster Gospel songs James Brown songs 1949 songs {{Gospel-music-stub