Creative Minds’ Music’s Musings

For years I have enjoyed playing and performing the beautifully-styled piano-arrangements of Harold DeCou. In 2009, I decided to learn more about Mr. DeCou using online research. Unfortunately, the first thing I learned was that Mr. Harold DeCou died on December 26, 2008. Harold DeCou’s obituary is posted by the Peoria Journal Star.

This page is intended to honor the memory and music of Harold DeCou. I earnestly solicit your stories and recollections of Mr. DeCou that will be of interest to others who knew and loved him and/or his music. Your contribution will be added to a growing number of others who have been willing to share via the Comment form below.

Mr. DeCou was long associated with Billy Graham and other Singspiration staff. His output as artist, composer, arranger and orchestrator ensures that he will be remembered as a giant of Christian gospel-music.

Harold DeCou Piano Books

As I gathered all the DeCou piano arrangements in my music library, I was not surprised to find five (5) volumes of DeCou arrangements: three (3) volumes titled: “Piano Solo Favorites” (1-3), a volume: “Piano For You,” and a volume of Christmas arrangements that I rearranged for synthesizer as my 2013 Christmas-music project. The covers of four of these books are pictured.

Thumbing through the pages of these music books summons wonderful memories for me. My habit is to write (in pencil, of course 🙂 ) the date at the top of each piece that I perform, publicly. I found that I have performed twenty-five (25) pieces from these four volumes. And, I found that I performed most of those pieces several times – several, as many as five (5) times over a period of years.

I decided to record the arrangements by Harold DeCou that I previously performed most. I will record and post additional ones in some order. I hope that you will enjoy these performances as examples of Mr. DeCou’s arranging excellence.

I sincerely hoped to meet Mr. DeCou in this life and to play keyboards with him. I regret not having been able to have done so. I am thankful for the music that this gentle man left as witness of our faith. If you know a story or anecdote about, or related to Harold DeCou, please share your observations here. As evidenced by the stories shared below, this blog’s readers will appreciate your contribution to our collection of tributes.

(November, 2018 update) Good News! Piano Solo Favorites, Volumes I – III may now be obtained on a limited basis. Anyone interested in these books should submit a request via e-mail to harolddecoumusic@att.net. The agent wishes to provide copies at a reasonable price and timeframe and would like to eventually do the same with the DeCou organ books.

(April, 2020 update) I have confirmed by email that Volumes I – III of the Favorites are still available by emailing: harolddecoumusic@att.net. Please be patient with the agent and allow sufficient time, possibly several days, for a response.

Thank God for the life and music of Harold DeCou.

Welcome to the first posting of Creative Minds’ Music’s Musings.

Within a day or two I will begin to regularly post commentary about the music hosted on the CreativeMindsMusic site. The “extra” information presented here will offer observations on the music, its composers, arrangers, and/or original artists. I also will include personal reflections about the performance, production, and recording of these songs.

Thanks for your visit. I solicit your comments and requests. Please come back soon!

Regards,

Stan Owen, Jr.