麥爾斯（C.Austin Miles,1868-1946）在十六歲時原想接受教牧的訓練，但是為環境所逼，不得已攻讀藥劑師，畢業後在藥房工作。 業餘他勤讀聖經，並在教會領唱。 他也愛好攝影，自設暗房沖洗底片。在1892年他寫了第一首聖詩，帶去奮興會試唱，獲得眾人贊賞。 他意識到這是 神要他以詩歌來為主作見證，於是他努力編寫聖詩。 1898年他受聘於一家宗教音樂的出版公司為全職編輯，編寫並推廣福音聖詩事工。 Continue reading
這首詩的原作者是一位年輕的瑞典牧師包博（Carl Boberg, 1859-1940），詩的原名是“O Store Gud”。 包博的父親是船塢的木匠。 包博曾在他的家鄉牧會並編輯基督徒週報，他在瑞典的國會，任上議員達十二年之久。 Continue reading
作者約翰牛頓（John Newton 1725-1807）生于英國倫敦。父親是西班牙人，從事航業；母親是英國人，是一位虔誠的基督徒，渴望兒子能受良好教育，並為牧師，她時常為此心願祈禱。約翰自幼隨母熟誦經文及聖詩。不幸在他七歲時，母親病逝，而她的禱告在三十年後才蒙應允。 Continue reading
Marty Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children. His father’s drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle. Robbins left the troubled home at the age of 17 to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music. Continue reading
“Moon Over Naples” is a 1965 instrumental composed and originally performed by German bandleader Bert Kaempfert and was the first track on his album, The Magic Music of Far Away Places for Decca Records.
It would become a hit single in 1966 for Al Martino when lyrics were added by composer Eddie Snyder and songwriter Charles Singleton, and the title changed to “Spanish Eyes”. Released in late 1965 in the United States, this recording reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart in early 1966. This vocal version was also a hit in Europe, where it sold an estimated 800,000 copies in Germany and made the UK Singles Chart twice, peaking at number 49 in 1970 and then reaching number five in August 1973. Continue reading