From what I understand after it's original debut, Newton's verses were not well known until the song gained traction during the Second Great Awakening. I'm interested in the processes that spurred it's rise, as well as it's growing importance on both sides of the Atlantic, in both European and African American churches.
How did the song increase in popularity? How was it used/was it an important/essential hymn during the Second Great Awakening? Is it's popularity merely a modern thing? Did Newton's slave-trading past influence the acceptance of his words?
Thanks so much, and Happy Easter.
I have a follow-up question that draws from personal observation: I played the Great Highland Bagpipe from 1974 until 2006, and I played for several hundred funerals and an equal number of weddings. I noticed that in the 70s and 80s, "Amazing Grace" was the preferred tune for both, but by the 1990s, brides were repulsed by the suggestion of having "Amazing Grace" performed because it was "a funeral tune." Does anyone have statistical verification of this transition based on a subjective, personal observation?