John Legend sings songs he heard his mother and grandmother singing during his childhood
John Legend takes it back to church by singing some of the biggest gospel songs that influenced his music.
RnB star John Legend's music roots can be traced back to the church, where he says he grew up listening to his mother and grandmother sing.
The ‘Ordinary People’ hitmaker was the first participant in 'The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This is Our Song', a documentary by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. which started airing on 16 February.
The singer spoke about how as a young boy he watched his mother lead the church choir.
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“My grandmother was our church organist, my mother was a choir director,” he said in an Instagram video post.
He added how gospel music has influenced the lives of many black Americans.
“For me Gospel music is really the core of the Black American music experience”.
He sang classic gospel hits such as; 'Lay My Burden Down' by Larry Sparks, Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good', and 'We Shall Overcome’ and ‘Up Above My Head’ by Kirk Franklin.
“All those songs were songs that I grew up singing in church. I grew up singing in the Pentecostal church in Springfield, Oho,” the singer said in an Instagram video post.
Listen to him singing below: