Song of the Week -- "Chester" by William Billings
William Billings is one of the most important early American (British American) hymnal writers, yet is too often overlooked by believing and agnostic songwriters for his influence and his perception of the human condition as both depraved and simultaneously so divine. Billings was born in 1746 in Boston (which is why I claim he's British American) and was a tanner by trade. In those pre-revolution days, Billings new Adams and Revere and the other hot-heads, spending time in the taverns in their revolutionary public spheres, despite his bodily deformities. University of Houston's John Lienhard describes his appearance as a "gargoyle" and as a man addicted to tobacco, likely causing his early death at the age of 54 in 1800. His first psalter, New England Psalm Singer (1770) was printed in Boston and engraved by Paul Revere. This is the first psalter entirely printed in the colonies -- Billings specifically waited to print the book until he could guarantee that th...