The Meditation Singers - The Singles

Of the great units of the golden era of gospel, it seems that the Meditation Singers have yet to occupy their proper place on this blog.  

The Meditation Singers were formed in 1947 under the leadership of lead singer Earnestine Rundless.  Della Reese was the original second lead, although she was replaced in the early 50s by Earnestine's adopted daughter, Laura Lee Rundless.  Laura Lee, of course, went on to fame as a great secular soul singer in the late 60s and 70s. 








During the CD era, Specialty released a fine disc of the Meditations'1950s recordings for the label, many previously unreleased, under the title, "Good News."   But even greater single releases for other labels went largely unissued.  I have therefore chosen to post a Meditations singles collection from the 50s and 60s here that derives mostly from that assembled by Opal Lee Nations for his CDR release on the Pewburner label.  To that collection, I have added two fine singles that the Meditations cut for Jewel records.  All in all, this collection is a great representation of the art of the Meditation Singers, and gives a much fuller picture than the Good News CD on Specialty.   In my opinion, the Meditations didn't reach their peak until the 1960s, when the dual leads of Earnestine Rundless and Laura Lee really started working off of each other to great effect.

The first two tracks here are a bit unusual.  This is the very first recording of the Meditation Singers for De Lux in 1953.  At that time, they temporarily had a lead male singer, Herbert Carson.   One of the singles from Speciality here, My Soul Looks Back and Wonders, also features the Reverend James Cleveland, who sang with the Meditations a bit in the late 1950s.  

So gear up for your Sunday with the divinely soulful Earnestine Rundless, Laura Lee, and the Meditation Singers: classic golden age hard gospel!

Tracks

1) Jesus is With Me (De Luxe)
2) We're Marching to Zion (De Luxe)
3)  I'm Determined (Specialty)
4) Promise to Meet Me There (Specialty)
5) Ain't That Good News (Specialty)
6) My Soul Looks Back and Wonders (Specialty)
7) His Eye is On the Sparrow (Hob)
8) One More River to Cross (Hob)
9) He Has Done Something to Me (Hob)
10) Jesus Be a Fence Around Me (Hob)
11) I'm Determined (Hob)
12) It Must Be Jesus (Hob)
13) If He Holds Your Hand (SAR)
14) There Must Be Rest (SAR)
15) Every Knee (Gospel)
16) Sanctified Lord (Gospel)
17) Look What the Lord Has Done (Gospel)
18) Mercy Lord (Gospel)
19) I've Been Buked (Gospel)
20) My Soul Looks Back (Gospel)
21) Father Alone (D-Town)
22) My Soul Got Happy (D-Town)
23) The Love of God (D-Town)
24) Your All On the Altar (D-Town)
25) I Feel It (Checker)
26) It's Wrong to Do It (Checker)
27) Don't You Want to Go: Parts 1&2 (Checker)
28) Let Love Fill Your Heart
29) Certainly Lord (Jubilee)
30) Hard to Get Along (Jubilee)
31) Jesus Will Answer Prayer (Jubilee)
32) Amen (Jubilee)