George Whitefield (1714-1770) receives little notice in history books for his hymns, there being much more to say about his incredible preaching career. According to one source, Whitefield began his "career of revival song" in 1738, the year of his first preaching journey to America.
Urgently concerned about the lower classes, Whitefield created hymns based on music they knew. Writes Stuart C. Henry: "Thinking it wrong for the 'devil's house to have all the good tunes,' [Whitefield] had appropriated some popular airs from favorite stage operas of the day and set sacred words to them."
[T]he strains of such music-hall ballads as "Love in a Village," or "Maid of the Mill" floated from the Moorfields Tabernacle. "What kind of religion sings this kind of song?' asked London. "What kind of person is Whitefield, and what sort of religion does he teach?"
Whitefield's Collection of Hymns, for "social worship," was designed to be used by his congregation in London, and first appeared when the great Tabernacle was erected there in 1753.
