This is one of Jones' early career Mercury tracks from the mid-to-late '50s, straddling the line between rockabilly and honky-tonk. Certainly no one whose soul was damned could manage the hearty "oooooh" that Bradford lets rip around the :50-second mark (and if you think Bradford recalls Little Richard there, it's because they're both imitating the great Marion Williams). This Alex Bradford track from (I believe) the early '50s bucks the trend, even if the group here musters more confidence about beating the devil than the Seldom Scene manage. The singing doesn't sound exactly demonic, though I suppose the devil could conceivably be taken with the affectless chill of bluegrass harmonies.Īlex Bradford, "Don't Let Satan Turn You Round"ĭour country singers wail about the devil all the time, but Old Nick is noticeably absent from the African-American gospel tradition. The most famous example is probably the Louvin Brothers' " Satan Is Real," but this 1993 track from the Seldom Scene is also a worthy entry in the genre. There's a long bluegrass gospel tradition of warning listeners off Satan. It seems a bit odd that a saint like Hildegard would let Satan get the last word, but perhaps she was feeling especially pessimistic that day. "Sed Diabolus" is thought to be the conclusion, in which the devil, "who would leave no work of God intact and undiminished," sneers and jibes at Ursula. Ursula, who was slaughtered along with thousands of accompanying virgins after making a pilgrimage to Rome. There are three songs here the middle one is "Sed Diabolus," or "Only the Devil Laughed." It's part of a cycle dedicated to St. Hildegard von Bingen has been subjected to some unfortunate New Age renditions, but this is a pleasingly low-fi setting for voice, cello and recorder. Shelley Faulkner and Hildegard von Bingen, "Sed Diabolus"
So the number of the beast in this case is 18, unless you want to list another 648 in comments. To do this as it should be done, I should probably list 666 of them, but even my patience doesn't extend that far (to say nothing of my editor's). Still, Satan has inspired a legion of melodies. That may or may not be the case, but it's certainly true that pound for pound there are way more songs about God than about his adversary. It's often said that the Devil has the best tunes.