Edwin Othello Excell (December 13, 1851 – June 10, 1921), commonly known as E. O. Excell, was a prominent American publisher, composer, song leader, and singer of music for church, Sunday school, and evangelistic meetings during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His 1909 stanza selection and arrangement of “Amazing Grace” became the most widely used and familiar setting of that hymn by the second half of the twentieth century. The music publishing business he started in 1881 and that eventually bore his name was the highest volume producer of hymnbooks in America at the time of his death. (More from Wikipedia)
From Wikipedia: “[Judy] Collins decided to record it in the late 1960’s amid an atmosphere of counterculture introspection; she was part of an encounter group that ended a contentious meeting by singing ‘Amazing Grace’ as it was the only song to which all the members knew the words. Her producer was present and suggested she include a version of it on her 1970 album Whales & Nightingales. Collins, who had a history of alcohol abuse, claimed that the song was able to ‘pull her through’ to recovery. It was recorded in St. Paul’s, the chapel at Columbia University, chosen for the acoustics. She chose an a cappella arrangement that was close to Edwin Othello Excell’s, accompanied by a chorus of amateur singers who were friends of hers.”
(November 2014)
