Noteworthy Faith Title: Singing in a Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America.

Noteworthy Faith Title Singing in a Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America by Nick Salvatore Little, Brown and Company, February 2005 $27.95, ISBN 0-316-16037-7

The Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin's (1915-1984) ascension from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the ranks as one of America's most famous preachers underscores the tragedy and beauty of this land called America--and the miraculous power of divine intervention.

In Singing in a Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America, Nick Salvatore tells the compelling, captivating, and climatic (you never know what's around the comer) story of "C.L." Franklin, one who deftly demonstrated how to harness the power of the pulpit--daring to preach politics, and daring to capitalize on the technology of his day: recording his sermons and gospel music, creating and syndicating a radio show, and touring to spread the gospel.

Salvatore, a professor of American Studies at Cornell University, uses language like notes in a finely composed song about a remarkable man who lived an improbable life. Franklin intentionally mixed the sacred and the secular, a common practice now, but in 1946 when he took the helm of New Bethel Baptist Church on Hastings Street in Detroit, where he remained for 33 years, he was a man before his time. Musical luminaries like Sam Cooke, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson, Art Tatum, Clara Ward and Jackie Wilson were his personal friends.

While Franklin was a stalwart leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and a giant on the national scene of black activism, he could not sidestep the pitfalls of his humanity. Salvatore carefully balances marital and legal challenges against otherwise stellar moments, without giving in to salacious temptation. They don't seem to matter much to those who loved Franklin. His legacy is irrefutable. Reportedly, almost 10,000 people attended his funeral.

The text is laced with an ironic cadence of the oral tradition. And like the tradition of storytelling, Salvatore's text can veer off into long passages of historical background information to place Franklin's life and the African American experience in context with the world at large, not separate from, but central to. The detours can be a welcomed rest stop on an adventurous, nail-biting journey, or a slight annoyance, for readers who want to catch their breath from the ever suspenseful life of C.L. or "Frank" as those close to him called him. He was referred to as the "Black Prince" "Jitterbug Preacher" and "The Preacher With the Golden Voice"

Franklin's story is at the core of the text, but the book is as much about the black church and the transformation of America as the title suggests, and about black music. It is a theological study of Franklin, and a sociological study of the impact of the black church.

The most audible silence in the text is the voice of Aretha Franklin, Franklin's daughter. It took Salvatore eight years to research this book, but Aretha, who started touring with her father when she was 14-years-old, was not interviewed for the book. Intuitively, it seems like 20 years after her father's death, an interview would have provided some priceless, unfiltered (possibly) insight.

By the end of the book, the urge to hear Rev. Franklin preach or sing is relentless--to feel what a nation felt a generation ago. And you want Franklin to shake your hand, look you in the eye, reveal his stunning smile and remind you that you're alive.

Alvelyn J. Sanders is a frequent contributor to Black Issues Book Review.