The Preacher (Horace Silver song)

The original version featured Silver on piano, with Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Doug Watkins (bass), and Art Blakey (drums). "Fired by the song's rocking beat, Dorham and Mobley soar into blues-drenched, vocally inflected solos. Silver follows with a typically stripped-down statement, built around first a two-chord percussive figure and then a descending run, each repeated. Before taking the tune out, the band riffs behind his funky noodling in classic call-and-response fashion."^[3] "The gospel influence of 'The Preacher' was achieved subtly [...] with a melody and associated riffs which had a natural, built-in back-beat."^[5]

It was almost rejected by producer Alfred Lion, who thought it was "too old-timey", but it was retained at the insistence of Blakey and Silver, who threatened to cancel the session until Silver had written another tune to record in its place if it was not included.^{[4]: 79–80}

"The Preacher" was released as a single along with "Doodlin'"; the pairing "might be the first example of a jazz hit single going on to boost sales of its source album – or, as here, albums".^[6] It was Silver's first hit.^[7] The track helped trigger interest in hard bop among other musicians.^[8]

The song was soon covered by other musicians, including organist Jimmy Smith (on At Club Baby Grand, Volume 1, 1956)^[9] and trombonist Kai Winding (on Trombone Panorama, 1956).^[10] Babs Gonzales added lyrics for his version.^[11] As of 2014, more than 220 versions of the song have been recorded.^[12]