Various ArtistsBlack Gospel Rarities, Vols. 1 – 3
Available at www.crystalballrecords.com(US) or www.bim-bam.com (UK)
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
Galen Gart’s painstaking research into the 1950s rhythm & blues scene produced the valuable (though sadly out of print) First Pressing series, a Duke/Peacock discography, and other music reference materials. Not limited to the written word, Gart is documenting some of gospel music’s Golden Era singles in his Black Gospel Rarities series of CD reissues.
With Gart’s release of his fourth volume of golden goodies, TBGB looks back at the first three volumes. Each contains 24 tracks, comprised almost exclusively of gospel groups and quartets, although some of Madame Edna Gallmon Cooke’s early Republic sides are included, as are two 1960s releases by Philadelphia’s Barbara Ann Ward.
The volumes shy away from gospel’s top acts, such as the Davis Sisters, Roberta Martin Singers, and the Dixie Hummingbirds, to focus on the lesser known, but sometimes just as effusive, caravan of gospel highway denizens. What the artists collected for this series have in common are their unfettered exuberance. Most of them possess a no-holds-barred Holy Ghost fire in their voices that explodes from the diaphragm with an urgency that commands attention.
Volume One includes selections by some of the series’ hardest singing groups, such as Nashville’s Cross Jordan Singers. The volumes also offer the sophisticated harmonies of the Ever-Ready Singers from their Capitol days (e.g., “One Day When I Was Walking” and “O Mary Don’t You Weep”), the transitional quartet singing of the Royal Travelers (Aladdin), and Gladys Beamon’s intense leads with Chicago’s Little Lucy Smith Singers. Elder White’s emotionally-charged retelling of Jesus crucifixion on the Dynamic Gaylarks’ “He Rose” will make your hair stand on end.
Each volume features late 1950s singles by the Gospel Wonders, a Newark-based male group patterned after the flamboyant Alex Bradford Singers. The steel guitar player on their “Only Jesus Can Save” (Scatt) sounds for all the world like Sam Whinham, whose fiery work accompanied the Ward Singers and the Angelic Choir.
Falling in the “pleasant surprise” category are the under-appreciated Joy Rite Singers. Their Federal sides “What About You” and “You Better Mind” evoke the Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio in their propulsive force of motion, thunderous singing, and declamatory lyrics.
As with Gart’s recent Federal Records gospel best-of CD, the Black Gospel Rarities releases were produced from the original 45s and 78s. Despite this limitation, the sound quality of each CD is very good. With the exception of two Gospel Stars tracks on Fortune that are slightly warped, the selections do not even sound pulled from vinyl. The liner notes include personnel and recording session data, but no biographical information on the artists themselves.
Although built with the collector in mind, the Black Gospel Rarities series will also fascinate the mainstream gospel enthusiast who wants to dig deeper into the seemingly endless vault of golden era recordings.
Four of Five Stars
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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