b. 1821d. 1886
John Gordon McCurry
Compiler of The Social Harp (1855), a "collection of tunes, odes, anthems, and set pieces" John Gordon McCurry's camp-meeting spiritual "Zion's Walls" was immortalized in Aaron Copland's Old American Songs, Set 2.
About
John Gordon McCurry was a Presbyterian from Georgia who became a Baptist. The Social Harp was “the last new Southern four-shape tunebook published before the Civil War.” There are 222 pieces in the book.
–Christie Finn Source: David W. Music and Paul A. Richardson’s book “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America