Red Foley - Peace In The Valley

There are lots of things to say about Red Foley: that "Peace in the Valley" was the first million-selling gospel record, that he was the first country singer to record in Nashville, that he was Pat Boone's father-in-law, that he has two stars on the Hollywood walk of fame, that he died on this date forty-one years ago (thanks, Wikipedia!) -- but for this song let's just note two things. First, Foley sang this song at Hank Williams's funeral. Second, this recording is about as good an example of America's tortured race relations as you will ever encounter. "Peace in the Valley" was written by Thomas A. Dorsey, sometimes called the "father of gospel music," for Mahalia Jackson. Foley's vocal inflections are clearly based on those found in African-American gospel music. Was Foley stealing? Or did he truly love this song so much that he felt that to not copy, to instead "whiten," would in itself be disrespectful? My own feeling is that to see it as an either/or choice doesn't work, but then I'm familiar with the work of Eric Lott. I've noticed that not everyone is. It would be nice if more people were.