GOSPEL FRIEND

"It is inexplicable that Golden Age stars such as J. Earle Hines and the St. Paul Baptist Church Chioir of Los Angeles, Wings over Jordan and Georgia Peach lacked decent reissue for years, but thanks to Gospel Friend, their music and story live on."
[Bob Marovich, the Black Gospel Blog, November 2010]

These are our current titles. To find out more about a specific CD, please click the corresponding image.
We will continue to add new titles to the list as they are published.


PN-1500: Marie Knight Hallelujah What a Song A magnificent contralto, combined with jazzy timing and an ability to adapt her voice in sacred as well as secular settings, enabled Marie Knight to become one of the first gospel super stars as a duo partner with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A few classics of Knight's and Tharpe's recordings are included in this CD, but the majority features many of her best selling records under her own name. She is accompanied by the elite of the 1940s New York musicians, above all boogie pianist Sam Price. On a few tracks she has blues guitarist Brownie McGhee and the famous gospel quartet, the Nightingales with her.	PN-1501: J. Earle Hines & His Goodwill Singers Jesus Steps Right in With his thunderous baritone and committed delivery, James Earle Hines epitomizes the consummate artist, who gave up Shubert and Brahms to sing gospel. After having performed with the famous Wings over Jordan Choir, Hines emerged as a nationally sought-after gospel soloist and choir director. He personally encouraged and inspired many singers, like the young Etta James. Some of Hines studio recordings for Sacred, Gotham and Specialty are included here, mixed in with some of his live recorded best sellers for Capitol, with the widely popular St. Paul Baptist Church Choir of L.A.	PN-1502: Clara Ward and the Ward Singers I Feel the Holy Spirit Clara Ward excelled as a singer, piano player and arranger, as well as leader of her own group. Inspired by gospel poet, Rev. W.H. Brewster, she composed the standard, "How I Got over". Clara's artistic dedication and professional stage routines gave the Ward Singers a national, and eventually an international following. Clara had an indelible influence on a generation of singers, among them Aretha Franklin. The Ward Singers were one of the first gospel groups to enter show business with success in the Las Vegas lounges. Their classic, early 1950s recordings on this CD prove their ambitions.

PN-1503: Dixie Hummingbirds Jesus Has Traveled This Road Before The Dixie Hummingbirds were the most successful male quartet to come up in the wake of the Golden Gate Quartet, the most celebrated quartet ever. Building their style on precise vocal attacks, showmanship and original song material, they became true masters of their craft. Their enduring popularity rested on well modulated harmonies, slight body movements and the vocal pyrotechnics of lead singer Ira Tucker. He served the model for rhythm & blues and soul singers from Jackie Wilson and Clyde McPhatter to Bobby Bland. Tucker also introduced the concept of the activity singer, who ran up and down the aisles, jumped from stage etc., using the body to underscore lyric content. At the fading of the gospel quartet movement in the mid 1960s, the Birds found home in the folk music circuit. This CD gives examples of the Dixie Hummingbirds abundant recordings, from the outset of their career with Decca in 1939, continuing with Apollo, Gotham and Okeh and ending up on Peacock, where they scored their biggest success.	PN-1504: Georgia Peach Let Me Be More Humble in this World Equipped with a beautiful contralto voice, Clara Hudman Gholston, a.k.a. the Georgia Peach, was a pioneer in gospel singing. She first became acquainted with the famous gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey, who let her sing his songs. He compared Georgia Peach's vocal ability to blues singer Bessie Smith. A little later Clara teamed up with the vastly popular Atlanta singing preacher Rev. J.M. Gates, who gave her solo spots on his records. Georgia Peach predated and influenced her more famous successors, Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward. Beginning with spirituals and hymns in her childhood Baptist churches in Georgia, Clara Hudman started making records already during the Depression years. After moving to New York, she switched from Baptist to C.O.G.I.C. and eventually had become a star performer in 1939, when she headlined in a Spirituals to Swing concert at the Radio Music City Hall. This CD comprises Georgia Peach's whole recording career, 1930-1960.	PN-1505: Wings over Jordan Choir Trying to Get Ready The Wings over Jordan Choir had an impact unequalled in the American music history. Led by their originator, Rev. Settles, they first appeared on the public scene in the late 1930s. They became the first full-time professional black choir in the USA. The WOJC was so proficient and versatile, that in the period 1938-1949, they performed before sold-out, non-segregated audiences in over forty American and European countries, Canada and Mexico. By utilizing the powerful Columbia Radio Broadcasting net work and selling gramophone records, WOJC influenced the minds of millions of Americans during the entire World War II and beyond. This CD is the first ever to present a broad perspective of this hugely popular choir's achievements. It contains some of their early and scarce radio broadcasts, including a V-Disc, as well as selected performances from commercial record companies, which helped immortalize the WOJC during the 1940s-1950s.

PN-1506: South Carolina Gospel Golden Stars of Greenwood, S.C. & Rev. Norris Turner Through an illustrious career, starting in his home town as a member of The Golden Stars of Greenwood, S.C., with records for local labels, Norris Turner hooked up with the Spiritualaires of Columbia, S.C. to travel nationwide and recording for Vee Jay. After settling in New York, he was offered to join the prestigious Selah Jubilee Singers, with which he appeared at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theatre, on Ed Sullivan show, and before President Eisenhower. His friendship with Sam Cooke inspired Turner to write his own songs. He then built a large local following furthered by a stream of solo records on HSE out of Greenwood/Nashville. In 2012, Rev. Norris Turner made a successful tour is Sweden.	PN-1507: Gay Family God Will Take Care of You Consisting of the three sisters, Evelyn, Mildred and Geraldine, and little brother Donald, the Gay siblings developed a remarkable skill for solo as well as harmony singing. Evelyn and Geraldine also mastered the piano. Recording for Savoy in 1951, their career got a flying start. Their best selling records enabled the group to tour and appear with such major stars as Mahalia Jackson, the Clara Ward Singers, the Davis Sisters and Jessie Dixon. The late 1960s opened new opportunities as the group, now led by brother and Reverend Donald, was offered recording contracts by Chess and Peacock. The resulting sessions yielded issues on the Checker and Song Bird labels. These, along with more obscure recordings up until 1975, sum up the Gay Family's musical heritage on the CD.	PN-1508: Clara Ward and the famous Ward Singers In 1953, an American magazine reported that when Clara Ward's big voice delivers a gospel song, she transforms a quiet audience of 10.000 or more men and women into a pandemonium of screaming, shouting and crying. Apart from outdrawing contemporary blues and jazz artists for live appearances, Clara Ward and her Famous Ward Singers had no other peers in selling records. They kept an earthy sound, despite refined arrangements and accomplished musicianship. Soprano Marion Williams (later the celebrated leader of the super gospel group, the Stars of Faith) is the featured soloist on many of the songs on the CD. Gospel expert Anthony Heilbut has contributed with intriguing observations in the notes, written by Robert Sacre.

PN-1509: Sallie & Cora Martin Just a Little Talk with Jesus From 1929 to 1970, Sallie Martin was one of gospel's most influential figures. A powerful publisher, choir and group organizer, soloist, and recording artist, Martin paved the way for generations of gospel singers to come. Without her, gospel may never have become the widespread phenomen it is today. Martin's association with Thomas A. Dorsey was crucial for her, as she rose to become gospel music's first financial success story. Her adopted daughter, Cora Martin joined the Sallie Martin Singers in 1940. Cora's marvelous and adventurous contra alto can be heard on the majority of the tracks on this CD, in company with Sallie Martin. On a few tracks she is heard alongside J. Earle Hines and Brother Joe May. Notes by Robert Marovich, author of A City Called Heaven - Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music. (University of Illinois Press, 2015.)	PN-1510: The Pilgrim Travelers Gospel Boogie - Rare recordings 1946-1957 The Pilgrim Travelers - along with the Soul Stirrers and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi - were the hardest-working, best-dressed, farthest-traveling and most recorded male quartet on the gospel highway. During an intense period of eight years (ca 1947-1954), they kept the same personnel and built a national career. With their magnificent voices, artful arrangements and outstanding showmanship, the group won acclaim and fame by singing with a fervor and power hardly heard before in gospel history. They were the first quartet to perform at New York's Apollo Theater in 1953. Singer , taent scout and A&R man at Specialty Records, J.W. Alexander, who later became Same Cooke's mentor, described the Pilgrim Travelers' lead singer Kylo Turner: He had the looks, he had the voice, he had it all.	PN-1511: Edna Gallmon Coke My Joy - Rare recordings 1948-1966 There is no more beautiful combination of the gospel sound and the quartet tradition than the marriage of Edna Gallmon Cooke and the Radio Four [or the Singing Sons]; And that includes Mahalia and the Selahs, Rosetta and her quartets, or the Staple Singers. Tracks like Amen or Walk Through the Valley reach imperial heights. And Madame Cooke's solos are the most erotic vocals in any form of music. (Anthony Heilbut, author of The Gospel Sound and The Fan Who Knew Too Much.) The collection includes Cooke's first record, Merit 102, the original hit DeLuxe recording of Angels, Angels, Angels, and the Republic recordings of Walk Through the Valley and Amen. These and all other tracks are not duplicated on any other currently available CD reissue.

PN-1512: Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio - Moving Up The Early Years 1956-1965 In the late 1950s, the Gospelaires of Dayton, Oh moved up to become one of the most exciting gospel quartets of the 1960s. They followed in the footsteps of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, the Sensational Nightingales, and the Dixie Hummingbirds, who were all on the famous Peacock label. Several best selling records propelled the Gospelaires into touring nationally. They performed at the most prestigious venues, such as the Apollo Theater, where they appeared along with James Cleveland, the Staple Singers and the Violinaires. They also visited Europe. This is the first CD compilation of the Gospelaires's early and seminal recordings. The booklet notes are by Robert Marovich, editor of the Journal of Gospel Music, and author of A City Called Heaven - Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music.	NarroWay PN-1600: Best of Revelation Records 1959-1962 Though Revelation Records in New York City's Harlem lasted for four years only (1959-1962), the company made a large contribution to gospel music history, especially of New York and New Jersey. The label's brain and operating power, John Bowden, kept a tight relationship with a company called Fury/Fire Records. It was owned by the ingenious R&B producer Bobby Robinson. Along with a number of local groups, prominent gospel ensembles of the era, like the Stevenson Singers, the Gospel Wonders and the Christian Tabernacle Choir of N.Y. were captured on Revelation 45s. So were male quartets, like the Cross Jordan Singers and the Five Singing Stars, as well as the impressive females, the Gospel Challengers. Notes by Per Notini.	NarroWay PN-1601: Best of Proverb & Gospel Corner Records The entire production is crystal clear, thanks in large parts to Henderon's production talents but also to Notinis flair for reproduction. The informative illustrated liner notes give the enthusiast as much knowledge about Hedenderon as exists, depicting an entrepreneur who made a living by giving the little guy a chance. A must for gospel music fans who revel in the pop-infused traditional gospel of the 1960s. [Five of five stars] (Bob Marovich, Journal of Gospel Music, Sept 28 2016) Includes recordings by Mighty Clouds of Joy, James Wafer & Pilgrim Travelers, Chambers Brothers, Singing Corinthians, Hamptonaires, Melvin Boyd & Ohio Wonders, Prince Dixon, Sweet Singing Cavaliersand 18 other acts. Notes by Per Notini.

PN-1513: Prof. Harold Boggs (& Lula Reed) Lord Give Me Strength - Early Recordings 1952-1964 Widely appreciated for his bluesy and powerful style, blind singer/pianist/choir leader Prof. Harold Boggs, was admired for his ability to write songs with infectious lyrics like, When It Hits You, That's It and That's Where It's At. The bulk of them were recorded by the fabulous Nashboro label. So influential was Rev. Boggs', that his songs were duplicated and stolen by people like Sam Cooke and Eric Clapton. Gospel historian Opal Louis Nations portrays Prof. Boggs' intriguing life story, while also giving space to Bogg's protegé, Lula Reed. This CD is the first to be entirely devoted to Prof. Harold Boggs' music.	PN-1602: Soul Don't Worry Black Gospel During the Civil Rights Era, 1953-1967 The selected recordings on this double CD are from the Civil Rights Era, 1953-1967. During this period, important progress was made – despite fierce resistance in the southern states of the USA – in breaking down barriers of race segregation inherited from the times of slavery. A dozen songs explicitly touch these issues: I’ll Fight For the Right, What Is Freedom, Shout School Children, A Better World to Live In, The News That Shook the Nation etc. Included are: Mahalia Jackson, Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Dorothy Love Coates, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Casietta George, Fairfield Four, Staple Singers, and forty other artists. Notes by Per Notini.	PN-1514: The Jewell Gospel Trio Many Little Angels in the Band The Jewell Gospel Trio of Nashville were three tot-sized female juveniles with voices as loud and mature as The Ward Singers. Their names were Canzietta Staton, who during the 1970s crossed over as soul singer Candi Staton, her sister Maggie Staton-Peebles, and the late Naomi Harrison who became the Chief Overseer of the Church of the Living God. Other members were Sederia Boles and Shirley Ann Boyd. The latter had a short but fascinating career of her own. The CD covers the group’s career for Excello Records in the mid-1950s. Four late 1960s tracks by Shirley Ann Boyd are also included. Notes by Opal Louis Nations

PN-1603/1604: Put the Whole Armour On Female Black Gospel – The 1940s-1950s Decca’s signing of Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1938 seems to have been the first concerted attempt to exploit the commercial potential of a woman gospel singer. Tharpe’s swinging renditions of gospel songs had great success in nightclubs and theaters. She enjoyed a widespread popularity, both with African Americans and white audiences. From World War II, the most significant woman in gospel was Mahalia Jackson in and beyond the United States. The success of Jackson’s records was an important factor encouraging the recording of other women. This CD brings together some of the finest gospel ladies, both famous and obscure and includes many un-reissued titles. Notes by Chris Smith	PN-1515: Elder Charles Beck Your Man of Faith For almost 60 years, Elder Charles Beck enjoyed widespread recognition as a singer, pianist and trumpeter, as well as a preacher, church leader and civil rights activist. Beck’s role model for gospel piano was pioneer Pentecostalist Arizona Dranes. Another important influence on Beck was Pentecostal spiritualist leader ”Sweeet Daddy” Grace, who encouraged trance by having his flock ”dance with the spirit”. During World War II, Beck was involved with political issues and the fight to break segregation. Beck’s musical career included recordings for the Decca, Bluebird, Gotham, King and Chess labels. His services at his church in Buffalo, New York gave Beck renown even in folk music circles. Notes by Opal Nations.	PN-1605/1606/1607: A Capella Black Gospel – 1940–1969: Look How the World Has Made a Change The first half of the 20th century, vocal group singing was one of the most progressive and inventive of African American arts. In the absence of instruments, singers had to work much harder to make sure that their own distinctive sound grabbed and held the attention of the audiences and record buyers. The recordings assembled here show that a capella singing is deeply indigenous. The leaders in the field were groups like the Soul Stirrers, the Flying Clouds of Detroit, the Southern Sons, the Pilgrim Travelers, and the Wings Over Jordan. Some of their rarest recordings are included in the 3-CD box set. Notes by Ray Templeton.

PN-1516: Prof. Alex Bradford – Feel Like Running For the Lord During the 1950s, Prof. Alex Bradford built a tremendous following as a singer, pianist, song writer, and recording artist for prestigious companies like Apollo, Specialty, Savoy and Vee Jay Recods. In the early 1960s, he revitalized his star image by becoming a leading performer with the gospel musical Black Nativity, which thrilled audiences in Europe. This CD takes aim at the un-reissued original recordings from Prof. Bradford’s early career, 1951–1961. Notes by Per Notini	PN-1608/1609: The Story of Michael-Righteous-Peace Records – There Will Be Joy From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Harold Freeman operated a record business in Chicago with labels Michael, Righteous and Peace. A host of choirs, soloists and quartets, among them, Rev. Maceo Woods Christian Tabernacle Choir, Donald Vails Choraleers, and the Windy City Four appeared in the impressive catalog of 45s and LPs. Author Robert Marovich reveals, in the CD booklet notes, the concealed story of Freeman’s enterprise, reflected through interviews with colleagues and gospel singers and musicians.
Gospel Friend Records also represent Gospel Treasures, a label that was formed in 2002 and discontinued after two issued titles.

OLN-2000 - Stars of Bethlehem Above My Head With its classic doo-wop gospel sound, this CD features singer, guitarist and song writer Richard Wallace's strong quartet. Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers were the model for Wallace, who later joined the leading quartet of the U.S. during the latter part of the 1960s and beyond, the Mighty Clouds of Joy. Notes by Opal Louis Nations.	OLN-2001 - King Louis Narcisse It's Nice To Be Nice The founder of a non-denominational spiritual church in West Oakland, California, Louis H. Narcisse and his congregation exerted a strong attraction on the community. The CD presents a line of recordings (1949-1962), including twelve live tracks from Narcisse's church. Extensive notes with photos by Opal Louis Nations.