One of the most dynamic voices for God in America during the 20th century was Evangelist Billy Sunday. For over 40 years, the Lord used him to rekindle the fires of revival, preaching to over 100 million people and seeing over one million trust Christ as their personal Saviour. As the lost came forward to trust in Christ and the saved came forward to get right with God, it became known as “hitting the sawdust trail.”

Billy Sunday’s song leader, music organizer, and close friend was Homer Rodeheaver. God mightily used him to write the lyrics and melodies for several hymns with B. D. Ackley, publish over 80 books of evangelistic songs, and become a pioneer in the recording of sacred music. He, too, was fervent for the saving of the lost and for the clarity of the Gospel message to ring forth.

Together, Billy Sunday and Homer Rodeheaver, brought together by the leadership of God, made a powerful team. They conducted successful evangelistic crusades in every major city across America for over twenty years. During the heyday of the Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns, Rodeheaver directed the nation’s largest choirs: from a few hundred to as many as two thousand volunteers (as you will hear on this album). Billy Sunday wrote in 1917, “The songs of Homer Rodeheaver have reclaimed, redeemed, and remade the lives of thousands upon thousands of men and women.”

What you are about to hear from the following phonograph recordings are some of the most prized Gospel hymns used during the Billy Sunday campaigns and the nation-wide revival of the sawdust trail over a century ago. Many of them are from our private collection. May the Lord use these carefully remastered songs to stir your heart for old-time religion and to ignite a longing for revival in the 21st century.

Running Time: 62 minutes