The song you are listening to is "Not One Minute More" as sung by the incomparable Della Reese. Someone sent me this song in an e-mail and I had to make a page to share it with others. Della Reese has been a long-time favorite of mine.
Della, who was born Deloreese Patricia Early July 6, 1931 in Detriot, Michigan, began singing in church when she was six years old. At 13, she was hired by the late great Mahalia Jackson to sing with her group.
Later, while majoring in psychology at Wayne State University, Della formed her own female gospel group, The Meditation Singers, and was the first to take gospel music to the casinos of Las Vegas. Her education was interrupted so that she could help support the family after the death of her mother and her father's illness. In order to support her family she held several jobs, including clerical work, barbering, truck driving and taxi driving. Her break came while she was hostessing and singing at Detroit's famed Flame Showbar.
With her roots still in gospel music, Della was now being exposed to the talents and styles of such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Al Hibbler, Billy Eckstine and others. She developed her individual style which brought her national recognition.
In 1953, she moved to New york City and shortly thereafter signed a recording contract with Jubilee Records. Her first major hit was "And That Reminds Me (of You)". That same year she was voted "Most Promising Singer" by Billboard, Cashbox, and Variety. Her latest recording accolade was in the gospel field, where she was nominated for a Grammy as Best Female Soloist in Gospel.
In the late '50s and early '60s, she appeared on many television shows including The Perry Como Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and The Ed Sullivan Show where she appeared more than 20 times. She was the first female ever to host The Tonight Show.
Her fame has not been limited to just music. She has displayed dramatic talent in television shows such as The A-Team (NBC), Young Riders (ABC), MacGyver (ABC) and more recently, the inspirational series Touched By An Angel (CBS).
An ordained minister with an active congregation in Los Angeles, Della's real-life perspective parallels that of the character she portrays. “The human beings we touch have to churn their own butter,” she explains. “Tess, Monica (Roma Downey), and Andrew (John Dye) don’t come to fix people in trouble. They come to teach them how to fix themselves. They provide assistance for people at a crossroads. If people see the hope-see that life is not all about oppression, depression, and suppression, and have their eyes opened-they can become their own miracle.”
Enjoying what free time she has at home, Della is working on another talent, songwriting. She writes songs for herself as well as for other performers. Her first love is still singing and she performs in concert halls, night clubs and festivals in between taping of TV shows. She is frequently asked to perform with symphony orchestras, with acclaim from critics and audiences alike.
She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, producer Franklin Thomas Lett.
Not One Minute More
I'll only love you
as long as the sea
rolls on endlessly
to the shore.
I'll love you til then
not one minute more.
I'll only love you
til there's only night
and the sun,
the sun gives no light as before.
I'm gonna love you til then
not one minute more.
I'm yours, heart and soul I'm yours
and all that I'll ever possess
But if you should say to me,
will you always be
I'll just have to confess
I'll only love you
as long as the beat,
the beat of my heart
can repeat still once more
I can love you til then
not one minute more.
I know I can love you til then
not one minute more.
