There's Something About That Name Meaning, History, and Theology

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! There's just something about that name"

Written: 1970
Category: Hymn

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Story

There's Something About That Name is a copyrighted 1970 gospel chorus by Gloria and Bill Gaither, sung to Bill Gaither's tune THAT NAME. The song focuses Christian worship on the saving, exalted, and enduring lordship of Jesus Christ.

Overview

There's Something About That Name is a compact gospel chorus of adoration centered on the person and name of Jesus Christ. Rather than developing a narrative across several stanzas, it concentrates attention on who Jesus is and on the enduring significance of his lordship. The repetition characteristic of the song functions devotionally: the congregation is invited to linger over the confession of Christ rather than move rapidly through a sequence of ideas.

Theologically, the song belongs with the New Testament passages that connect Jesus' name with salvation, faith, exaltation, and universal lordship. Its movement is from intimate address to a larger confession that Christ outranks every temporary human power. That gives the chorus both a personal and a cosmic dimension.

In worship, the song is especially useful as a response to Scripture, a prayer chorus, or a transition into adoration. Because it is brief, its strongest use is often alongside a substantial biblical reading or fuller hymn so that the congregation hears the scriptural claims that give theological weight to its simple devotional form.

Historical Background

There's Something About That Name was written in 1970 during a period of rapid growth in the songwriting and publishing ministry of Bill and Gloria Gaither. By then Bill had left school teaching to work full time in gospel music, and the couple had already produced songs that were moving from Southern Gospel performance into broader church use. Gloria increasingly supplied literary and lyrical strength, while Bill's work centered heavily on melody, arranging, performance, and publishing. Standard hymnals credit both as authors of the text and identify Bill as composer of the tune THAT NAME.

The song was copyrighted in 1970 by William J. Gaither. Its precise composition scene is less securely documented than the basic authorship and copyright facts. Later devotional retellings connect it with family experiences involving the Gaithers' grandparents and their early years as parents, and Gloria eventually included the song among works discussed in her retrospective writing on their songwriting life. However, readily accessible contemporary documentation does not establish all of the frequently repeated anecdotal details with enough precision to present them as certain. The safest historical account is therefore to retain the 1970 date and collaborative authorship while treating detailed origin stories cautiously.

Text and tune originated together. Bill Gaither composed the melody now indexed as THAT NAME in the same year as the text. Hymnary identifies the meter as irregular and commonly records the tune in E-flat major. Unlike many older hymns that acquired their familiar tunes decades later, this chorus entered circulation with a purpose-written musical setting, so its text-and-tune association is original rather than editorially imposed.

An early hymnal appearance currently indexed by Hymnary is The Best of Sacred Music from 1972. By 1976 it appeared in Hymns for the Family of God and The New Church Hymnal, and it continued into denominational collections such as The New Broadman Hymnal, The United Methodist Hymnal, The Worshiping Church, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, The Celebration Hymnal, the African American Heritage Hymnal, Lead Me, Guide Me, and later collections. This trajectory shows a short gospel chorus moving from the Gaithers' performance and publishing world into established congregational hymnody.

The tune is normally called THAT NAME, although a few hymnals identify it by its opening incipit or use another descriptive tune label such as JESUS, JESUS. Hymnary's tune authority credits Bill Gaither as composer and dates it to 1970. Some modern commercial arrangements credit both Gaithers more broadly as composers, but major hymnal records consistently distinguish the shared text authorship from Bill's composition of THAT NAME.

The song remains copyrighted. Hymnary gives the original copyright as 1970 William J. Gaither, while current licensing records identify William J. Gaither, Inc. and Gaither Copyright Management or Capitol CMG administration depending on the resource. CCLI identifies the song as number 14064. Modern reproduction, projection, recording, streaming, and arrangement should therefore follow the permissions attached to the specific licensed edition being used.

Biblical Foundations

Philippians 2:9-11 is the clearest biblical foundation for the song's focus on the name of Jesus. In Paul's hymn-like confession, God exalts Christ and gives him the name above every name, leading ultimately to universal acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is Lord. The song's adoration is therefore rooted in Christ's exalted identity rather than in the sound of a name by itself.

Acts 4:12 gives the theme a specifically soteriological dimension: salvation is found in no one else, and the apostolic proclamation ties salvation to the unique name given among humanity. John 20:31 similarly connects believing in Jesus as the Christ and Son of God with receiving life in his name.

Revelation 19:16 places the confession within the biblical vision of Christ's royal authority. The title identifying him as supreme King and Lord gives theological substance to the song's contrast between temporary human power and the enduring reign of Christ. Together these passages support adoration, salvation, confession, and the lordship of Jesus.

Verse Explanation

Lyrics are intentionally omitted and not processed because the song remains under copyright.

In broad thematic terms, the chorus begins with direct devotional attention to Jesus and uses several Christological titles to focus the worshiper's mind on his person and saving identity. The movement then widens from personal address toward public and universal confession.

The closing theological direction contrasts the transience of human power with the enduring significance and lordship of Christ. This gives the brief song a movement from intimacy to proclamation without requiring a multi-stanza narrative.

Theological Reflection

The song expresses a theology of the name of Jesus in the biblical sense of name as identity, authority, and revealed person. Christian reverence for Jesus' name is not a form of verbal magic. The significance lies in the one named: Jesus is confessed as Savior, Lord, and the exalted Christ.

This gives the chorus a strong Christological center. Its devotional intimacy is balanced by the New Testament's larger claim that Christ possesses authority that exceeds every earthly structure. Personal affection for Jesus and confession of his universal lordship therefore belong together.

The song also carries a soteriological implication. Acts 4 and John 20 connect Jesus' name with salvation and life through faith. Worship of Christ is not simply admiration of an inspiring religious figure; it arises from trust in the one through whom God gives salvation.

Because the text is short, its theology is best deepened liturgically rather than forced into the chorus itself. Pairing it with Philippians 2:5-11, Acts 4:8-12, or another substantial Christological reading allows the congregation to understand why the name being praised carries such significance.

Church Impact

There's Something About That Name moved into printed hymnody unusually quickly for a modern gospel chorus. Hymnary indexes an appearance in The Best of Sacred Music in 1972 and records the song in dozens of later hymnals. Its inclusion in Hymns for the Family of God in 1976 placed it within a collection to which the Gaithers themselves contributed substantially, while subsequent denominational books carried it far beyond their original performance audience.

The hymn's later placements show broad Protestant and ecumenical reception. It appears in Baptist hymnals, The United Methodist Hymnal, The Worshiping Church, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, African Methodist Episcopal and A.M.E. Zion collections, African American Heritage Hymnal, Lead Me, Guide Me, and other resources. Editors commonly classify it under praise of Christ, the name of Jesus, adoration, and Christ's lordship.

Its history also illustrates the late twentieth-century movement of short gospel and praise choruses into denominational hymnals. Such songs could function as refrains, responses, altar or prayer music, and brief acts of adoration within services that otherwise used longer hymns.

Because the song is still under copyright, its continued congregational use depends on authorized hymnals or applicable licenses. The underlying 1970 composition and many later arrangements remain protected, so worship leaders should distinguish between permission to sing the song and permission to reproduce, stream, record, or arrange it.

Musical Notes

The standard tune is THAT NAME, composed by William J. Gaither in 1970 for the text he wrote with Gloria Gaither. Hymnary lists the meter as irregular and gives an incipit of 53535 33211 12135. E-flat major is the key most commonly identified in hymnal records and commercial editions, although published arrangements appear in other keys.

The musical setting is short, lyrical, and deliberately unhurried. Its repeated melodic gestures mirror the text's meditative repetition and allow congregations to sustain attention on a small number of Christological ideas. Hymnals sometimes describe the meter more specifically as 6.8.6.8.6.8.9.8, but irregular remains the standard authority classification.

THAT NAME was created with this chorus rather than borrowed from an earlier hymn. That original union of words and melody helps explain why alternative tunes have not developed a significant independent tradition. Some hymnals use the opening words as the tune designation instead of THAT NAME, and The New Broadman Hymnal uses JESUS, JESUS, but these labels refer to the same song tradition.

Performance practice should preserve the song's reflective character without stretching it into sentimentality. A steady, gentle pulse and restrained accompaniment usually serve the melody better than either hurried singing or excessive rubato. Modern choral, piano, organ, and worship-band arrangements may carry separate copyrights from the underlying 1970 song.

Application

Use the chorus as a deliberate act of Christ-centered adoration rather than as background music or a merely familiar refrain.
Connect reverence for Jesus' name with obedience to Jesus' lordship in speech, relationships, work, and public witness.
Read Philippians 2:9-11 before singing so that repeated praise is anchored in the biblical confession of the exalted Christ.
Let Acts 4:12 and John 20:31 move reflection from sentiment about Jesus toward faith in him as Savior and source of life.
When planning worship, pair this brief chorus with Scripture, prayer, or a fuller hymn that develops the person and work of Christ.
Observe copyright and licensing requirements when projecting, printing, recording, streaming, or arranging the song.

Discussion Questions

What does the Bible mean when it connects the name of Jesus with his identity and authority?
How does Philippians 2:9-11 move Christian worship from personal devotion toward public confession of Christ's lordship?
What is the relationship between the name of Jesus and salvation in Acts 4:12 and John 20:31?
How can repetition in a short worship chorus deepen attention rather than become automatic or thoughtless?
Why is it helpful to pair a brief devotional song with a substantial Scripture reading?
How should confessing Jesus as Lord affect a Christian's life beyond the act of singing?

Teaching Tips

Begin with Philippians 2:9-11 and let the biblical text establish why the name of Jesus is central to Christian confession.
Explain that Gloria and Bill Gaither jointly wrote the text in 1970, while Bill composed the tune THAT NAME specifically for it.
Treat detailed stories about the song's immediate inspiration cautiously unless using a documented account from Gloria Gaither's own retrospective writings.
Use Acts 4:12 and John 20:31 to show that biblical teaching about Jesus' name includes salvation, faith, and life as well as adoration.
Point out that the chorus entered printed hymnals by the early 1970s and later appeared across Baptist, Methodist, African American, Catholic, and other worship collections.
Use an authorized hymnal or licensed resource because the song remains under copyright.

Sources

Hymnary.org, text authority page for There's Something About That Name.
Hymnary.org, tune authority page for THAT NAME.
The Best of Sacred Music, 1972, no. 162, early indexed hymnal appearance of There's Something About That Name.
The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, no. 171, There's Something About That Name.
Baptist Hymnal, 1991, no. 177, There's Something About That Name.
Gaither Music, official biographies of Bill Gaither and Gloria Gaither.
Hymnology Archive, Bill and Gloria Gaither biography and bibliography.
Gaither, Gloria. Something Beautiful: The Stories Behind a Half-Century of the Songs of Bill and Gloria Gaither. FaithWords, 2007.
Easy Song Licensing, copyright record for There's Something About That Name, copyright 1970 William J. Gaither, Inc.
WorshipTogether, song record for There's Something About That Name, CCLI song no. 14064.
World English Bible, public-domain Scripture text.

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Scripture Foundations

Suggested Worship Uses

Adoration Jesus Christ Kingship of Christ Lordship of Christ Name of Jesus Praise Salvation Worship

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