Essential Gospel – Classic Recordings: Week 123

“I’m Happy in the Service of the Lord”/”My Life is in His Hands”
The Memphis Gospel Singers (aka Spirit of Memphis Quartet)
DeLuxe 3221
1949
[“Happy…” also available on Rounder CD: Bless my Bones: Memphis Gospel Radio – the Fifties]

Record collectors: be on the lookout for this wonderful 78 rpm disc when perusing stacks of shellac at your local used vinyl store, antique shop, record show, or in record auctions.

The Spirit of Memphis Quartet’s second disc, a scorching double-sider from 1949 that lists the group as The Memphis Gospel Singers, pre-dates its more popular King and Peacock sessions and demonstrated the quartet’s promise as a gospel super-group. In fact, Memphis gospel quartet authority Kip Lornell notes that the DeLuxe disc was largely responsible for propelling the Spirit of Memphis Quartet into national stars. This was a very auspicious debut for the group, and leaves no doubt as to why Syd Nathan signed the group to King Records.

Both sides feature the Spirit of Memphis’ remarkably rhythmic a cappella harmonies with Silas Steele and Jet Bledsoe taking turns on lead in obvious emulation of the Soul Stirrers’ R.H. Harris and Paul Foster. True to the performing style of Golden Age a cappella quartets, the song builds in intensity until the hard singing of Steele is literally lunging out of the speakers. This disc represents the sound that made gospel’s Golden Age truly golden.

Want to check out other “Essential Gospel” tracks? See more of them on this blog or at “Gospel”: www.island.net/~blues/gospel.htm