Unspeakable Joy
Kim English promotional photo courtesy of Nervous Records
People ask me why this supernatural high,
Seeing only sun when there's a cloudy sky.
I know that trouble tries to surround me,
But I've been given something greater, deep inside of me.
With references to faith and belief in oneself, Kim English’s lyric for “Unspeakable Joy” reads like a sermon. And it has preached to me since the song’s release in 1998. One of the Chicago native’s five singles that reached #1 on Billboard’s dance charts, “Unspeakable Joy” was a staple of City bars and Hamptons parties—though, surprisingly, I have no recollection of where I first heard it. I DO know that it has always held a spot in the life-affirming playlist we each create for ourselves.
Diagnosed with kidney failure, English was on dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant when she passed away on April 4, 2019. Happening upon her obituary in that Sunday’s New York Times, I felt a profound sense of loss, overcome by the fact—not fully known to me until that moment—of just how much her song meant to me.
Meeting the musical legends of her youth at Oprah Winfrey’s 2009 Legends Ball, singer Mary J Blige said, “Where I come from, we didn’t have that many great days. But something good was happening on the day that Gladys Knight was on [the radio]… that Chaka Kahn was on. When you sang along with them, you felt better.” Oprah’s celebratory weekend gave Blige, “a chance to say, ‘Thank you. You saved my life. You saved my life.”
It is no exaggeration to say that Kim English’s joy-filled dance track saved mine. “Her mission was to present a message about God to the club scene… without being preachy,” said manager Vickie Markusic. Like the father who said Kim’s song “Missing You” helped him grieve and get in touch with God following the death of his infant son, “Unspeakable Joy” roused in me something greater than myself. In darkness, I felt the grace in its groove. In moments of paralyzing sadness, it gave me a stride when I thought I could not stand.
“Praying she finds her reward for the faithful life she led,” wrote one fan on Facebook. I pray she knew how deeply her sound affected me. And thousands of others. She was a blessed, beautiful talent. And I smile to think that upon her passing, she gave the angels, like all of us, a reason to dance.
“Like Aretha, like Whitney, like Mavis, many of the greats come from the church. If you brought Kim in on a session, you were bringing in the top, you were bringing in the best.”
The label on one of countless vinyl remixes