Shirley Wahls – Born to Sing

Shirley Wahls
Born to Sing
Shirley Wahls Music 2009
www.shirleywahls.com

Not only can Shirley Wahls sing, she was born to sing.

Her earliest vocal experience was with the junior choir of Chicago’s Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, under the direction of a young Ruth Jones (aka Dinah Washington). Wahls went on to join some of gospel music’s most famous and fiercely impassioned female groups, such as the Argo Singers, Ward Gospel Singers and the Dorothy Norwood Singers. She also did some stage work, principally with Jackie Taylor’s famed Black Ensemble Theater. Wahls’ ability to deliver gospel classics in a late night jazz club mood, a la Fontella Bass, has made her a perennial favorite of European audiences.

Wahls just released Born to Sing, a solo CD that showcases her booming, no-nonsense alto on a collection of contemporary tracks, traditional pieces and two cuts from a concert she gave in Montreux, Switzerland. In fact, the Montreux performances are the CD’s finest moments because they feature the gospel solo voice in the most pristine of circumstances: accompanied only by piano. Wahls’ Montreux version of Andrae Crouch’s “I Don’t Know Why Jesus Loves Me” is even better than the original.

“Searching for the Light” is another solid pick. Loping along as a gospel blues at the beginning, the tempo picks up midway through to become a church stomper. Later, Wahls sings the notes off the page on “Jesus is the Best Thing,” James Cleveland’s gospelized version of the Gladys Knight hit.

Wahls assembled top musicians to back her on Born to Sing, including Terry Callier, Kevin Smith, Harold Chip Johnson, Duane Jones, organist Richard Gibbs (Inez Andrews’ son), and the distinguished Robert Mayes of Christ Universal Temple, where Wahls is a member and Rev. Carlton Pearson is the new interim senior minister.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Searching for the Light,” “I Don’t Know Why Jesus Loves Me.”

Review by Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel Blog