The Kelly Brothers - Gospel Recordings: 1957-1969

A re post of Preslives files:

Let me join KC in the Sunday festivities today.

Before crossing over into secular music, the Kelly Brothers developed a strong reputation on the gospel programs.  While avi issued a great full CD in 1996 of the Kelly Brothers' secular recordings for Excello from the 1960s, CD releases of their gospel sides have been limited to just a handful of tracks on various compilations.  So it was left for Opal Lee Nations to release a full 28-track collection of the Kelly Brothers' gospel legacy on his underground Pewburner label.   Like most releases on Pewburner, the sound quality (remastering) is not optimal, although in this case I find it quite listenable.  Here are the Kelly Brothers on Creed, Federal, and Nashboro, mostly from the late 50s and early 60s.

The Kelly Brothers proper consist of the brothers Andrew, Robert, and Curtis Kelly.  However, the primary lead singers for the group were not relatives: Offe Reese and T.C. Charles Lee.   The group was first formed in the late 40s with Offe Reese, and T.C. Lee joined later in 1955.

There are quite a number of moving performances here, including the Kelly Brothers' biggest hit from 1961: "He's the Same Today."   Enjoy!