Episode 17: He’s Able

Music was often peoples first and last impression of Peoples Temple. From the moment you walked into a temple service, the music created a certain atmosphere. The voices of the choir lifted the spirits of the congregants, electrifying the audience. In 1973 the temple recorded the gospel funk album “He’s Able”. The altruistic message of equality expressed on the album, the optimism and high energy of the singers juxtaposes what we know will be their eventual fate in Jonestown. Yet in that moment in 1973 etched on vinyl, the temple’s future is not yet set, and the dreamers still believed, and you can hear it. This is the story behind the making of “He’s Able”.