Author and Baylor University professor Robert Darden tells stories - and plays recordings - from the Baylor University Libraries' Black Gospel Music Restoration Project in an on-going weekly series of two-minute segments. Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments explores the distinctly African-American sound of the "Golden Age of Gospel" (1945-1975). The series celebrates this fertile musical period in American history, presenting cultural snapshots that reveal the depth of a people, their community, and the influence they have had on the rest of American music.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rev. Raymond Dozier
The patriarch of the Dozier family of gospel singers, the Rev. Raymond Dozier, is a masterful gospel singer himself – witness his rendition of “No Kids Allowed.”
2/11/2024 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Sons of the Birds
When a member of the Dixie Hummingbirds missed a show, a member of the Sons of the Birds stepped right in!
2/4/2024 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Dorothy Maynor
The glorious voice of Dorothy Maynor deserves to be better known today.
1/28/2024 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rev. Willie A. Treadwell
The Rev. Willie A. Treadwell’s Treadwell Community Singers were much loved in their native Chicago for their rendition of old favorites like “Sit Down, Servant.”
1/21/2024 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers
The Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Choir’s “It’s Gonna Rain” may be the best cover version ever of an Andrae Crouch and the Disciples songs.
1/14/2024 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "The Virgin Mary Had One Son" by The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers’ elegiac, mournful version of the ancient spiritual “The Virgin Mary Had One Son” is a great way to say goodbye to 2023!
12/31/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "We Three Kings" by Williams Brothers
You’re not likely to hear a more creative interpretation of the old carol “We Three Kings” than this one by the Williams Brothers.
12/24/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Christmas Joy" by The Soul Stirrers
The legendary Soul Stirrers recorded a handful of Christmas songs in the late 1960s, including the pop-oriented “Christmas Joy.”
12/17/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" by The Gospel Starlets
The Gospel Starlet’s version of the old folk spiritual “Children Go Where I Send Thee” owes much to legendary producer Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” approach.
12/10/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Melvin Boyd and the Fabulous Ohio Wonders
“I’m Going to Work” is a sterling gospel release by the powerful vocalist Melvin Boyd and the Fabulous Ohio Wonders.
11/26/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Melody Kings
The Melody Kings of Los Angeles epitomize a certain deep-South soulful gospel with “I’m Going to Walk Through the Streets.”
11/19/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Georgia Mass Choir
The Georgia Mass Choir conduct a master class on the power of gospel music with their live version of “I’m Going to Hold Out.”
11/12/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Louise McCord
The powerful voice of Louise McCord is featured on the Thomas Whitfield produced gospel stomper, “I’m Going On.”
11/5/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Candi Staton
In her 50-year career, Candi Staton has sung every kind of music, but may be at her best with gospel, including her irresistible hit, “He Set Me Free.”
10/15/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Angelic Choir
The famed Angelic Choir of Nutley, New Jersey, released a host of compelling albums and songs, including “The Last Request” from 1968.
10/8/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - McHenry Boatwright
That’s the glorious bass-baritone voice of McHenry Boatwright singing and playing piano on the old spiritual, “Let Us Break Bread Together.”
10/4/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments
The Tabernacle Echoes were founded in 1955 at Washington D.C.’s legendary Tabernacle Baptist Church.
10/2/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Jubilee Messengers
"I Won't Have to Cry No More" is a great example of the talents of longtime Memphis favorites, the Jubilee Messengers.
9/24/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Stapleton Singers
The old gospel song "Tell Him What You Want" gets a rousing treatment from 22-year-old Mavis and the Staple Singers.
9/17/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Leontyne Price
Legendary lyric soprano Leontyne Price's ethereal voice elevates the beloved spiritual "There is a Balm in Gilead" to new heights.
9/10/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Donald Vails
In his short life, Donald Vails left a great gospel music legacy with his Choraleers, including "He Looked Beyond My Faults" in 1975.
9/3/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sandra Crouch
The Sandra Crouch LP We Sing Praises is credited with saving the nearly bankrupt Light Records label in 1983.
8/27/2023 • 2 minutes
Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sister Wynona Carr
Sister Wynona Carr’s “The Ball Game” has found a new life in recent years -- nearly 70 years after it was first released!
8/20/2023 • 2 minutes
Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rev. Lionel Davis
“I Picked It Up and Put It Down, God Turned My Life Around” by the Rev. Lionel Davis is that rare gospel song with a sense of humor.
8/13/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Mighty Supreme Voices
The Mighty Supreme Voices of Dallas, Texas, tear up their own composition, the funky “I Don’t Have a Friend Like Jesus.”
8/6/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Mighty Skylights
The Mighty Skylights were part of the even mightier Vee-Jay Records' roster of gospel artists in the late 1950s.
7/30/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Cassietta George
The legendary Cassietta George was a star both with the Caravans and as a solo artist, wrecking churches with songs like her rendition of "I Must Tell Jesus."
7/23/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sara Jordan Powell
You'll never hear a more powerful version of "Keep Your Hands on the Plow and Hold On" than this one by Sara Jordon Powell.
7/16/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Rev. Janice Barnes
The Rev. Janice Barnes and the Jr. Petite Choir of Red Budd Holy Church of Rocky Mount, NC, I Must Be Young deliver a devastating gospel version of the beloved hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross."
7/9/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Confessionals Gospel Singers
The otherwise unknown Confessionals Gospel Singers offer their own interpretation of Andrae Crouch's "I Don't Know Why Jesus Loved Me."
7/2/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Rev. Timothy Wright
The Rev. Timothy Wright’s untimely death at age 61 in 2009 was a great loss to gospel music.
6/25/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Edwin Hawkins & the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir
Edwin Hawkins and the Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir send the live audience home with a rousing “None But the Righteous.”
6/19/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Antioch Baptist Church Choir
You’ll love the innocent authenticity of the Antioch Baptist Church Choir’s rendition of “He’s My Savior, Too.”
6/11/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Blind Boys of Alabama
The always innovative Blind Boys of Alabama tear up Hank Williams “I Saw the Light” in 1965.
6/4/2023 • 2 minutes
The Anna Murrell Singers - "I Heard the News."
The Anna Murrell Singers' "I Heard the News" showcases the voice of Madame Anna - the pride of Pittsburgh's thriving gospel scene.
5/23/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Albertina Walker and the Caravans
Albertina Walker and the Caravans put their gospel-ized spin on Jackie DeShannon’s pop hit, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.”
4/30/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 350th Episode features the Testimonial Singers
This week marks the 350th episode of SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments. Hear about the Testimonial Singers’ “Thank You for the Mind,” and hear the Winans before they were famous!
4/23/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moment - Jordan Travelers
“Go Where Jesus Is” is a standout track from the little-known Jordan Travelers, fueled by the dynamic voice of Floyd Skinner.
4/16/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Bradley Singers
The Bradley Singers were a joyfully talented group of siblings from St. Louis whose original composition “Up, Up and Away” was guaranteed to wreck the church wherever they performed.
4/9/2023 • 2 minutes
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - J. Robert Bradley
J. Robert Bradley’s magnificent voice could cause an entire convention to call for an intermission after one of his performances.
