{"id":67563,"date":"1988-04-24T11:00:06","date_gmt":"1988-04-24T18:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=67563"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:02:00","slug":"will-the-circle-be-unbroken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/04\/24\/will-the-circle-be-unbroken\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Circle Be Unbroken"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a funeral dirge and a celebration of life, a church hymn and a social protest.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Will the Circle Be Unbroken&#8221; endures in American music in part due to its tremendous versatility.<\/p>\n<p>It began in 1907 as a Christian hymn by Ada R. Habershon and Charles H. Gabriel, who asked:\u00a0<em>does a family reunite in heaven?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FL150IarjWM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>At its peak of popularity just before World War II, &#8220;Will the Circle Be Unbroken&#8221; appeared in about twenty percent of all church hymnals in use, but by then it had already branched into a more secular variant thanks to The Carter Family.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qjHjm5sRqSA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>heirs is the original version of the song we know today, made more visceral by its focus on the loss of the narrator&#8217;s mother rather than loss in general. Anchored in themes of loss, poverty, and faith, it became irrevocably attached to Appalachian culture and over time to country and bluegrass music in general. To this day, it often serves as the closing encore for jams, festivals, and ceremonial celebrations (including the annual Country Music Hall of Fame induction, each and every year).<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nGZQHCpUl_E?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IlsiamL_0O4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Will the Circle Be Unbroken&#8221; went mainstream in 1972 when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band embraced the song as statement of unity and share roots between rock and country musicians.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5eq1m2s3rzE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Countless artists have covered the song over the years (not even counting the festival and ceremonial ensembles), and among the most notable is a 1960 recording by The Staples Singers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Lwa1MQsqHwM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Although it didn&#8217;t chart, it helped establish the group as a premier musical act at the intersection of gospel and R&amp;B. So when Mavis Staples was honored at the second annual American Music Honors, it was pretty much a given the night would close with an ensemble rendition of one of her signature songs.<\/p>\n<p>And since the Honors were bestowed under the aegis of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, that meant a likely appearance by The Boss himself.<\/p>\n<p>Faith was rewarded.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bAPEiqgXJeM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Featuring Springsteen, Staples, Darlene Love, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, and Dion DiMucci, all backed by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, it was a one-time-only performance of a song Bruce had only ever performed once before.<\/p>\n<p>It was one link in a chain of tradition the continues on, ever unbroken.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will the Circle Be Unbroken<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> June 12, 2007 (Red Bank, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> April 24, 2024 (West Long Branch, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 February 10, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a funeral dirge and a celebration of life, a church hymn and a social protest. &#8220;Will the Circle Be Unbroken&#8221; endures in American music&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3609],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-little-help"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/519X2lp0KBL._UF10001000_QL80_.jpg?fit=1000%2C992&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-hzJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26872,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/03\/14\/matr-dion-bruce-springsteen-and-patti-scialfa-hymn-to-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":0},"title":"Hymn to Him","author":"Ken","date":"March 14, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"When Dion resurrected his 1986 Christian rock hymn, he asked Patti Scialfa to provide new backing vocals. He got them--along with a bonus guitar solo from her husband.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hymntohim.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hymntohim.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hymntohim.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hymntohim.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hymntohim.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56667,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/01\/kingdom-of-days-may-1-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":1},"title":"May 1","author":"Ken","date":"May 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Great highlights on this day in Springsteen history, including Bruce's first guest appearance in Europe, promotional performance footage from 1973, local Spanish TV news footage from 1993, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/officiallivedownloads_2014-05-01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/officiallivedownloads_2014-05-01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/officiallivedownloads_2014-05-01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/officiallivedownloads_2014-05-01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18898,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/16\/cover-me-i-walk-the-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":2},"title":"Cover Me: I Walk the Line","author":"Ken","date":"June 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Twice only: Bruce paid tribute to The Man in Black after his passing by opening his shows with a lovely acoustic cover of \"I Walk the Line.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/walkline.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59598,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/07\/kingdom-of-days-september-7-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":3},"title":"Kingdom of Days: September 7","author":"Ken","date":"September 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce plays Wrigley Field for the first time, and in Philadelphia he sets the unbroken record for his longest American show. Plus: the E Street Band plays a gig without Bruce, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bs240907_01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bs240907_01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bs240907_01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bs240907_01.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24822,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/09\/cover-me-the-last-internationale-land-of-hope-and-dreams\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":4},"title":"Cover Me, The Last Internationale: Land of Hope and Dreams","author":"Ken","date":"February 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Last Internationale surprised fans with an Inauguration Day cover of \"Land of Hope and Dreams.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lohadlast.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lohadlast.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lohadlast.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lohadlast.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/lohadlast.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67610,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/01\/01\/preface-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":67563,"position":5},"title":"Preface","author":"Ken","date":"January 1, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"I suppose I could have called this\u00a0Meeting Across the River Volume One. All of the essays in these pages originally ran under that banner (except for the two brand new ones, written expressly for this book). But here's a secret you probably figured out a long time ago: when it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Little Help&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Little Help","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/little-help\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67565,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67563\/revisions\/67565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}