Charles Henry Pace and Frankie M. Pace Gospel Music Collection, 1822-1958
Arrangement
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Charles and Frankie Pace Collection
Collection Number
CAM.PAC.1999.01
Extent
14.48 Linear Feet(183 Printer Plates, 6 Boxes)
Date
1927–1958
Date
1943-1947
Abstract
The Charles Henry Pace and Frankie M. Pace Gospel Music Collection includes printer's plates, negative proofs, and printed music. The collection provides a valuable research tool for the Paces' career, demonstrating how the Old Ship of Zion Music Company and Charles H. Pace Music Publishers conducted business. While the date range of the collection comprises 1927–1958, the bulk of the material dates from 1943–1947.
Language
English
.
Author
Cassandra Pritts.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman) Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
History
Charles Henry Pace (b. 1886, Atlanta Ga.; d. 1963, Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Frankie Mae Pace (née Scott; b. 1905, Clinton, La.; d. 1989, Pittsburgh, Pa.) were influential gospel musicians and Civil Rights activists, first in Chicago, Illinois, and then in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Charles was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and his family moved north when he was young, eventually settling in Chicago in 1899. He studied trumpet and piano as a child, and his professional career began in 1910, when he conducted a dance band in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and started a publishing company, Pace Music House, in Chicago. Prior to the 1950s, most of his publications were arrangements of songs by other songwriters, including Charles Albert Tindley, Thomas Dorsey, and Roberta Martin.
Around 1915 he began working as an arranger for Chicago-based Lillian M. Bowles, an early publisher of African American sacred music. He became choir director at Beth Eden Baptist Church in the Morgan Park neighborhood of Chicago in the mid-1920s. Drawing from the membership of the church choir, he assembled the Pace Jubilee Singers, which ranged from seven to ten musicians and was briefly accompanied by Thomas Dorsey. The group performed on WGN, WLS, and WBCN and recorded eighty-five sides for Victor, Brunswick, and other labels. As some of the first recordings made of this repertory, they were very influential.
Around 1934 he stopped working for Bowles and began working at Liberty Baptist Church. Also around this time he married Frankie, and together they established the Old Ship of Zion publishing company. In 1936 Reverend A. W. Nix invited Charles to serve as music director at Tabernacle Baptist Church in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh. After arriving in Pittsburgh, the Paces quickly started the Pace Choral Union, a gospel choir of twenty-five singers that was enlarged to as many as 300 singers for special performances.
The Paces moved Old Ship of Zion to Pittsburgh, establishing a store and office on Centre Avenue in the Hill District. The store was an important community meeting place and hub for visiting musicians, including Louis Armstrong and W. C. Handy. Since gospel was not supported by major publishing companies, the Paces published their own music and distributed it through a network of agents, becoming some of the nation's most successful gospel publishers. In 1952 they started a new company, Charles H. Pace Music Publishers, through which they published most of Charles's own compositions. Charles grew ill in 1959, and Frankie assumed full business responsibilities. When Charles died in 1963, she changed the name to Pace's Music Store.
The store and the Paces' musical careers became integral components of their community work and activism. Frankie was especially politically active, taking a leadership role in many organizations. She was president of the Hill District Homeowners and Tenants Association, president of Citizens for Hill District Renewal, and a board member on the Mayor's Committee on Human Resources, Urban League for Pittsburgh, Opportunities Industrialization Center, Allegheny Housing Rehabilitation Corporation, and NAACP of Pittsburgh.
Scope and Content Notes
The materials of the Charles Henry Pace and Frankie M. Pace Gospel Music Collection date to between 1927 and 1958, with the bulk from between 1943 and 1947. Care was taken to retain the original order of the collection, which is divided into four series and arranged by type: printer's plates, negative proofs, printed music, and miscellaneous.
A substantial portion of the collection involves printer's plates. Consisting of 254 plates, this series provides extensive insight into the Old Ship of Zion Music Company and Charles H. Pace Music Publishers' operations. The majority of plates consist of pages of music, with some lithographs also included.
The collection also includes many negative proofs used for publishing sheet music by the Old Ship of Zion Music Company and Charles H. Pace Music Publishers. This series includes, but is not limited to, songs, title bars, graphics, and business forms. Particular strengths of this series are the complete negatives for songs such as "Hold Not Thy Peace," "I Must Tell Jesus All," and "Lead Me All The Way."
The third series consists of printed music, subdivided into music by Pace and other songwriters' music. Pace's songs are arranged alphabetically, with the other subseries also organized alphabetically according to songwriter. Records of particular note are the 208 copies of Pace's "Roll Memories Roll" and numerous works by Thomas A. Dorsey and Kenneth Morris, such as "Wings Over Jordan" and "Till We Meet Again," respectively. The main weakness of this series is the multiple incomplete copies of "Jericho." Moreover, the copyright dates of many songs are unknown.
The miscellaneous series includes a postcard addressed to Charles Pace, dated April 28, 1957, requesting the publication of "Divine Love." There are no personal or business papers included, however the collection provides a valuable research tool for the Paces' music work, demonstrating how the Old Ship of Zion Music Company and Charles H. Pace Music Publishers conducted business.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from the American Social History and Social Movements Auction, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1999. Accession # 1999/1
Processing Information
Processed by Cassandra Pritts, April 11, 2003.
Preferred Citation
Charles Henry Pace and Frankie M. Pace Gospel Music Collection, CAM.PAC.1999.01, Center for American Music, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Bibliography
Charter, Samuel, Gates, J.M., Johnson, Bunk, et.al. An Introduction to gospel song. 3d. ed. New York, N.Y.: 2001. Features: "Leave it there," with Hattie Parker.
Martin and Morris Music Company Records, 1930-1985, #492. Series 3: Sheet Music, circa 1930-1985 – Subseries 3C: Other Publishers: Box 7 #21 – "Chas. H. Pace." Smithsonian, National Museum of American History, Archives Center.
Montgomery, Elvin – Culture Resource. ph: 212-666-4449 / fax: 212-666-8212.• #43 Sheet Music: Pace Jubilee Singers. Features: "43 Most Popular Negro Spirituals with Guitar Chords. Circa 1933. Arranged by Chas. Pace Cole. Publishing Company, Chicago. 64pp. Pictoral cover with photograph of the 7-member group set against a silhouette of a tree in the background. VG $50."
Nevins, Richard. How can I keep from singing – early American religious music and song. Vol. 2. 2d. ed. Newton, N.J.: Yazoo, 1996. Features: "Oh death."
New Orleans University Olee Club, Pace Jubilee Singers, Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, et.al. Black Vocal Groups – complete record works with four bonus tracks. Vol. 7, 1927-1941. Vienna, Austria: Document Records, 1997. Features: "I'll be satisfied," "It pays to serve Jesus," He's the one," and "You'd better mind."
Pace Jubilee Singers. Amazing Gospel. Hoboken, New Jersey: Music Club, 2001. Features: "Certainly Lord."
Pace Jubilee Singers. The half ain't never been told – early American rural religious music: classic recordings from the 1920s and 30s. Vol 1. 2d ed. U.S.: Yazoo, 1999. Features: "Certainly Lord."
Pace Jubilee Singers. O Brother: the story continues. Portugal?: Music Club, 2002.Features: "O Death."
Pace Jubilee Singers, C.&M.A. Gospel Singers/ Quintet, and Four Harmony Kings.Pace Jubilee Singers and C.&M.A. Colored Gospel Quintet (date unknown). Vol. 2. 2d. ed., 1928-1929. Vienna, Austria: Document Records, 1998. Features: "What a Friend," " Nothing betw.," "Ezekiel saw de wheel," "Stand by me," "Leave it there," "Old-time religion," "When the saints go marching in," "Seek and ye shall find," "My Lord's going to move this wicked race," "Every time I feel spirit," and "I'm going to do all."
Pace Jubilee Singers and Four Harmony Kings. Pace Jubilee Singers and Four Harmony Kings, 1921-1924. Vol. 1. 2d ed., 1926-1927. Vienna, Austria: Document Records, 1998. Features: "You gonna reap just what," "Everybody get to walk," "My Lord, what a morning," "My Lord is writin' all the time," "I'm going thru Jesus," "I do, don't you," "Is it well with your soul today?," "Were you there when they crucified my Lord," "Heaven's door's gonna be closed," "Lawdy, won't you come here," "My Lord will deliver," "Walk in the light of God," "His eye is on the sparrow," "I've started and I'm goin' all the way," "Don't you want to meet your mother over there," "We will walk through the valley of peace," "Shouting on," "Oh death!," and "Certainly Lord."
Pace Jubilee Singers with Hatiie Parker. In my heart. Richmond, I.N.: Gennett, 1928.
Tyler, Mary Ann L. The Music of Charles Henry Pace and Its Relationship to the Afro-American Church Experience. Ph.D. Diss. University of Pittsburgh, 1980.
"Bread of Heaven," 1945. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #50817.
"Don't You Want To Shout Hallelujah Over There," 1942. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508217.
"He Keeps the Fire Burning," 1947. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508392.
"He'll Say 'Well Done' Some Day," 1947. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508433.
"Hide My Soul," 1943. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508479.
"I'll Spend My Vacation in Heaven," 1934. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508675.
"I'm Not Ashamed," Date Unknown. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508708.
"In That New Jerusalem," 1945. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508735.
"Joy, Joy, Joy (I Shouted)," 1946. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #508840.
"My Road Is Rough and Rocky All the Way," 192? Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #509001.
"It's you nobody but you," 1913. Howard B. Waltz Music Library. University of Colorado.
"Out of the Depths of My Soul," 1945. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #509076.
Roots and Rhythm. ph: 888-ROOTS-66 / fax: 510-526-9001.• The Pace Jubilee Singers/ Four Harmony Kings, Document 5617. Vol. 1.1921-1924. $14.98.• The Pace Jubilee Singers/ C.&.M.A. Colored Quartet, Document 5618. Vol. 2, 1928-1929. $14.98.
"The Rose That Made Me Happy Is The Rose That Made Me Sad," 1913. Roses In Popular Song, part 1. Parlor Songs.
World of Gramophones. ph: 719-528-7122.• Going Thru Jesus/ Lord What/ Morn. Pace Jubilee Singers. #154- B129 "78 10" "Single." KIC 20225. E- $6.50.• My Lord What Morning/ Thru Jesus. Pace Jubilee Singers. #145- T201 "78 10" "Single." VIC SCR: 20255. V- $2.50.
"Table is Set so Come and Dine, The" 1935. Martin and Morris Gospel Sheet Music Collection. Chicago Public Library. #509082.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Old Ship of Zion Music Company
Charles H. Pace Music Publishers
Pace Jubilee Singers -- Tabernacle Baptist Church (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook