‘Tell me, are you a Christian, child?’/And I said, ‘Ma’am, I am tonight!’
Those lyrics from his 1991 song “Walking in Memphis” could almost serve as a touchstone for Marc Cohn’s body of work.
Though raised Jewish, Cohn has used music to explore spiritual themes and questions in a way that transcends religious denominations. Sometimes that path has followed folk and blues traditions, but sometimes he has drawn on gospel and soul.
“I owe a lot to that culture,” said Cohn, noting that an African-American woman effectively raised him after his mother died when he was two. He also acknowledged Muriel Davis Wilkins, a black pianist name-checked in “Walking in Memphis.”
Recently, Cohn has forged a musical and personal collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama, the gospel vocal group that formed in 1939. Now touring together, Cohn and the Blind Boys will play the Mayo Performing Arts Center Friday night.
