Crying in the Chapel

“Crying in the Chapel” is a song written by Artie Glenn and recorded by his son Darrell Glenn. The song was released in 1953 and reached number six on the Billboard chart. The song has also been recorded by many artists including the Orioles and June Valli, but the most successful version was by Elvis Presley, whose recording reached number three in the US, and number one in the UK in 1965. According to Artie Glenn’s youngest son, Larry, the song was inspired by a personal experience his father had, and the chapel in the title was the Loving Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. By this account, Glenn had suffered a serious back problem, and while in hospital, he bargained with God that he would become a better person if God helped him recover. He recuperated from a successful spinal surgery, and when he was released from hospital, he went to pray at the nearest chapel he could find. While in the chapel, he started shedding tears of joy, which was witnessed by the pastor. The inspiration for the song then came to him, by the time he was back home, he had the basic tune and the chorus, and that evening he finished the rest of the song.