Other notable recordings of this work have been made by Mahalia Jackson (1951, winner of the Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1976), and the Blind Boys of Alabama (2008 on their album Down in New Orleans).
[2] Aretha Franklin recorded an uptempo alternate version of the song for her 1972 album Amazing Grace, with James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir.
In 2018, Ward's original rendition was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The men were enraged that black women were riding in a luxury vehicle, a Cadillac, and surrounded their car and terrorized them with racist taunts.
The women were rescued when, in a burst of inspiration, Gertrude Ward feigned demonic possession, spewing curses and incantations at the men, who fled.