Sanctified blues/ guitar evangelists/ gritty & crazed gospel, anyone?

Elder Charles Beck
Barbecue Bob
Emmett Brand
Richard “Rabbit” Brown
Rev. Pearly Brown
Elder Richard Bryant
Sam Butler AKA “Bo Weavil Jackson”
Rev. E.D. Campbell
Wynona Carr
Clarence Clay & William Scott
Rev. Edward Clayborn “the Guitar Evangelist”
Austin Coleman
Jaybird Coleman
Dennis Crumpton & Robert Summers
Elder Curry
Rev. Gary Davis
Blind Willie Davis
Thomas A. Dorsey
Arizona Dranes
Duckett & Norwood
Brother Willie Eason
Brother Claude Ely
Sister Callie Fancy
Rev. Lonnie Farris
Blind Mamie Forehand
Jesse Fuller
Rev. J.M. Gates
Aubrey Ghent (how much of the ‘Sacred Steel’ artists, if any, to include?)
Blind Roosevelt Graves
Blind Arvella Gray
Henry Green
Suddie Griffins
Holy Ghost Sanctified Singers
William “Blind Willie” Harris
Goldia Haynes
Eddie Head & His Family
Jessie Mae Hemphill
Jessie May Hill
Mississippi John Hurt
Rev. Charlie Jackson
Otis Jackson
Skip James
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Rev. A. Johnson
Bessie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson
Prof. Johnson & His Gospel Singers
Elder Otis Jones
Alfred G. Kanes
Louisville Sanctified Singers
Thee MacGee
Luther Magby
Rev. Moses Mason
Sister Matthews
Mother McCullum
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Rev. F.W. McGee
Lonnie McIntorsh
Memphis Sanctified Singers
Sister Mary M. Nelson
Blind Gussie Nesbit
Nugrape Twins
Rev. Louis Overstreet
Isaiah Owens
Frank Palmes
Charley Patton AKA Elder J.J. Hadley
Sister Lottie Peavy
Elizabeth Phillips
Washington Phillips
Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers (? – not sure how much to enter into preacher and congregation type artists – whether to just use a few who are really bluesy or just to forego them entirely?)
Leon Pinson
Rev. D.C. Rice
Staple Singers
Homer Quincy Smith
Rev. Utah Smith
William & Versey Smith
Horace Sprott
Bozie Sturdivant
Blind Joe Taggart
Sister Ola Mae Terrell
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Two Gospel Keys
Henry Thomas
Bishop Perry Tillis
Joe Townsend
Rev. I.B. Ware (with Wife and Son)
Rev. Charles White AKA James Butler
Bukka White AKA Washington White

and ned: yeah, i have a working cd already made up -- will get it to you (along with my two end of the year mixes) within the month, ok!

Relative contemporaries would include the Bishop Perry Tillis and Rev. Charlie Jackson (who both died recently) and Isaiah Thomas, who's still alive. Two of the key documents of this music from the blues'folk revival era are Fred McDowell's 'Amazing Grace' Lp and the awesome, tranced-out LP by Rev. Louis Overstreet. Music at least marginally like this is made in COGIC / Baptist/ Pentecostal churches all over the country. But it seems to be super rare to find recent recordings of it.

I've been reading references to Sister Rosetta for years and have meant to follow up and listen to her but embarassingly,have never done so.

I def. will include the Sacred Steel phenom in the book, and its antecedents -- Rev. Lonnie Farris & Utah Smith -- though that deserves its own book, really. I love the way the whole thing was so barely documented until some smart and intrepid folkore cat's dissertation/ cassette tape a dozen years or so ago... And Overstreet, yes! I love Brian Turner's comment (I paraphrase) that he played it after Lightning Bolt one day and it kicked LB's ass, hah!

Talking to Grossman is an excellent idea, thanks. He was obv. in touch with a lot of players at the height of the revival. And Paul Oliver's still alive? That makes me very happy.

For Sister Rosetta, I kind of figure this book that's about to come out will probably tell me all I need for a chapter on her; maybe I'll interview the author? http://www.amazon.com/Shout-Sister-Rock-Roll-Trailblazer/dp/0807009849

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E3TQKmKzM9w

http://youtube.com/watch?v=m0LcYNrZYGQ

http://www.bluesworld.com/PAULOLIVER.HTML

I don't know what became of these two - a quick Internet search reveals a few of their old records for sale on eBay, and their AMG entry could be printed on a matchbook and still have room. However, Sullivan is quoted, in the present tense, in the upcoming Sister Rosetta Tharpe bio, so he may still be alive and pickin'. Don't know about Iola.

Antyway, if you want sanctified, shouting gospel that veers on blues (with lots of down-home reverb guitar), you may want to check out the Consolers. There are a few CD's available, and if you still buy vinyl, you may be able to find some of their Nashboro albums (they were popular in their time, so the LP's do turn up every now and then).

As an aside, the most recent Consolers album I have is from 1983 - by that time, Nashboro was surrounding their heavenly harmonies with these SYNTHS straight off of a Duran Duran record (remember, this was 1983). BUT EVEN THEN, this is still a worthwhile elpee!

nashboro's one of those label's that i'll buy almost anything on, up to a point -- they had a pretty great track record, from what i've heard anyway. (i am one of the vinyl people, yes. i only buy cds if it's the only way to get something.)

rev. charlie jackson "morning train"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq4Ce-inJrg

rev. overstreet "working on a building"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqoHhjmHAD0

swan silvertones "only believe"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pFVHo-OxWy0

rosetta tharpe "up above my head"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1dmkJy8mw

rev. gary davis "death don't have no mercy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzpg5YiKTU

rev. jackson "wrappedd up"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFUhglYDSMs

rev. overstreet "walk through the streets take 1"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqoHhjmHAD0

julius cheeks and the knights
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OY5G-l4T8r8

gospelaires "ride this train"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXz-0bZteU

rev. overstreet "walk through the streets take 2"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T1bM7fbH3w

caravans "to whom shall i turn"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qbs6eGbJjaA

b.w. johnson "dark was" used as sdtk to a passolini pic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnpITwuZKrs

I just discovered it in my collection the other day and it is changing my life. Top .05% of my favorite pieces of music ever...

To Msr. Yeti:
I'm going to pick my dad's brain on this one ASAP, because he booked Mississippi Fred and Big Mama for a while (among others). I'll let you know.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but is your dad Dick Waterman (who himself worked with McDowell and Thornton)?

same here, if it's a quartet or a solo singer whose first name is "Rev.," and they're on this label, it'll never be bad 9 times out of 10. basically nashboro/creed/crescent had the same standards of rawness that it established on it's blues labels like excello and abet.

Well, given Mike started this thread, I might as well revive it to note that his interest in all this eventually resulted in this, which just arrived in my mail.

sweet. not much advance news on this one.

He's mentioned working on it for a while now -- starting to give it an ear now, some wonderful stuff right out of the gate like "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again" by Rev. Anderson Johnson.

very cool!

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/24/246422683/first-listen-i-heard-the-angels-singing

Mike, who started this thread, was involved in compiling the album streaming in the linked piece

From 1951 until the early '90s, when Young sold it, Nashboro was one of the leading gospel labels, and its glory days are captured on the 4-CD set I Heard the Angels Singing: Electrifying Black Gospel From the Nashboro Label, 1951-1983, produced by Mike McGonigal, Kevin Nutt and Tompkins Square founder Josh Rosenthal.

these comps are so great, can't wait to get the new one.
in the same vein, this is awesome: http://canary-records.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-moon-goes-down-in-the-valley-of-time-african-american-gospel-1939-51

Old-school gospel lives on live too:

*RT Production 1st Anniversary Gospel spectacular...Doors open @ 3pm program starts @ 4pm we have The Mighty Cloud Of Joy, The Canton Spirituals, The Swanee Quintet, The Pilgrim Jubilee, Spencer Taylor & The Highway QC,s, The Violinaires, The Sensational Nightingales, The Soul Messengerz,and The Southern Gospel Singers it all going to happen at Mt. Calvery Baptist Church 5120 Whitfield Chapel Rd. Lanham,Md. Buses and Vans discounted rates

That's this Saturday December 7th

http://www.reunionministry.com/gospel-concerts.php

You can see that bill in North Carolina too.

https://daily.bandcamp.com/2016/10/07/death-is-not-the-end-label-profile/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_content=Death%20is%20not%20the%20End

London-based Luke Owen's label with releases on cassette and vinyl (and downloads/streams maybe). Am hoping he is trying to contact family etc who may have a relation to the original recordings.

“I was partly inspired to dig into the vaults,” he says. “I don’t want to generalize and say that the electronic music I had ended up working with had no ‘soul,’ but when you work with new music a lot in your day job, and in your spare time you run a label putting out new electronic music, it’s not hard to imagine wanting to connect with a more raw, scratchy musical element.”

He soon found that a lot of the artists in the archives—like Sprott, Sister Ola Mae Terrell, and Rev. Edward W. Clayborn—never had proper LP-length releases; they only appeared on old blues and gospel compilations. With his interest in releasing new music waning, Owen decided to start reissuing old recordings digitally and on cassette—and soon after, on vinyl—starting with the long out-of-print Angola Prison Spirituals.

Maybe I should have posted that on a Mississippi label thread...Since folks who like that label's reissues might find these of interest.

the OM Terrell stuff is great, however you get it.
just saw that Mike McGonigal (original poster here) is still at it: https://buked.myshopify.com/
sounds good!

Mike is in Detroit these days and writing there also

Saw movie doc “How They Over: Gospel Quartets and the Road to Rock and Roll” @filmfestDC tonight. Some great ‘50s tv footage of Highway Q.C.’s , Dixie Hummingbirds, Blind Boys of Mississippi, Inez Andrews & more plus interviews re obstacles they faced.

Wonder if there’s a good comp of Don Robey label gospel. The “How They Got Over” doc touches on his role (including his thuggish rep).

really appreciate the revive of this thread, I'd never seen it
amazing stuff in here.

Yes, some good stuff on here. I don't remember checking out the Julius Cheeks youtube Mike posted in 2007, but Cheeks dazzled me in the "How They Got Over..." doc, so I need to go check that out.

Saw the following great bill in December 2017 (can't remember if I ever posted about it on ILX)

Sat. 12-2- A Night with the Legends: 72nd Anniversary of The Pilgrim Jubilees Featuring: The Canton Spirituals, The Pilgrim Jubilees, The Sensational Nightgales, The Soul Messengerz, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, The Swanee Quintet, Spencer Taylor & The Highway QC's and The Southern Gospel Singers DC @ 3pm at Scripture Cathedral , 7610 Central Avenue Capital Heights, Md.

i signed up for mcgonigal's detroit gospel thing last year and still haven't gotten the next three LPs! i'm sure it'll get sorted but :'(

He did some kind of an apology note in November 2017 on his website, but he hasn't tweeted since 10-17, and I haven't noticed online any post July 2017 articles by him in the Detroit Metro Times.

he's on facebook every day.

yeah, saw that — says the next batch would ship in january right?
i'm sure putting it all together in a DIY way is a chore, but wouldn't mind a little more communication ...

That Social Music Record Club he did several years back ended up many months late and no communication. Great stuff, ultimately (though some records shipped in plain sleeves (but not for all subscribers?)), but getting there was messy.

Back in '05, my Mom sent me looking for sacred harp, and I came upon this word:

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If you had to choose just one Sacred Harp disc to own, this would be it. Volume 10 in the Southern Journey series may have more fuguing selections, but this is the best overall for its startling, briskly recorded stereo sound--no mean feat for a field recording from 1959! In addition to songs like "Cussetta," the always great "Weeping Mary," and "Montgomery," there are snippets of testimonials and confessions placed throughout. So you get to hear Harp singer Joyce Smith declare, "A lot of times a preacher will get up and preach and it don't seem like it has any effect on anybody. But you let a band of God's children get together and get to singing--people's gonna feel it." --Mike McGonigal
referring to
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61382b-d0zL._SX450_.jpg

Southern Journey, Vol. 9: Harp Of A Thousand Strings - All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp
Alabama Sacred Harp Singers--From The Alan Lomax Collection

And she dug it! Thanks, Mike!

Scroll down and see lots more from this series and maybe others--of course Lomax went all over, musically and geographically:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000002UQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Speaking of Sacred Steel, Robert Randolph came out of that community, same one as the Campbell Brothers I think, just as the jam band circuit got big and variegated, has his own band and other projects like The Word (cosmic jazz-blues etc) with North Mississippi All-Stars' Dickinson brothers and sometimes John Medeski, also has toured with Experience Hendrix etc. Hadn't heard of John Coltrane or Duane Allman 'til somebody related them to his approach, sounds like he's caught up now, though may not have needed to, strictly speaking.

That jam band stuff is not for me

Speaking of North Mississippi All-Stars, they provide especially strong backing for Rev. Sekou's personal testimonial--he wants to obey the admonition to "be in the world not of it," certainly isn't above it--from my Nashville Scene ballot comments:
North Mississippi Allstars: Prayer For Peace, James Luther Dickinson: I’m Just Dead, I’m Not Gone: Lazarus Edition, Rev. Sekou: In Times Like These
]North Mississippi Allstars wheel Dad through the Afterlife and vice-versa one more time, with bonus pepper candy encores. They also provide strong support for Rev. Sekou and themselves, on two albums where the personal and political and tropes and rhetoric and blues and gospel and other strands of history and right nows are always ticking and clattering and pumping, and he’s the one with the compelling voice and eye.
Gospel elements in the mix of Algiers' albums too, especially the first one.

May check that out for the Rev. But i Have always found North Mississippi Allstars too Jam band. They lack the finesse and subtlety of those on this thread. Their flashiness and fancy playing lacks the innovation of many of the gospel folks that this thread is for. They’re not Jim Dickinson either

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1m3oz2xdc0

Mike Mcgonigal who has complied a number of such albums is in the hospital in need of financial support

Go fund me goal hit. Hope Mike M is doing better