What do Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, Woodstock, a Barack Obama speech, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Fannie Lou Hamer’s civil rights marches, The Grand Ole Opry, and American churches have in common? All ...

As we look at another New Year’s Day, it’s a good time to reflect on a song that unites rather than divides us: the Rev. John Newton’s hymn “Amazing Grace.” The hymn first appeared in Newton’s New ...

This new oratorio by Josh Bauder tells the story of John Newton, the 18th-century prodigal and slaver who, after his dramatic conversion to Christianity, became a faithful pastor and abolitionist.

Amazing Grace. By James Walvin. University of California Press; 216 pages; $19.95 and £16.99 A short but fascinating book by James Walvin, a professor at the University of York and an expert on ...

Why John Newton’s famous hymn is still so powerful after so long. In 2016, Coldplay began the encore of a headlining set at Glastonbury Festival with a sample of “Amazing Grace” sung by Barack Obama ...

You know those songs that you just kind of know? You sing along without even thinking about the lyrics. Well, we're going to explore the history of one of these songs today. It's heard around the ...