A rerun by request:
Gospel music was largely neglected during the surge of CD reissues in the 90s and early 21st Century. Only the Specialty and Nashboro labels had significant reissues. The Spirit of Memphis Quartet was unquestionably one of the greatest, most popular, and most influential quartets of the Golden Age of Gospel in the 40s and 50s. But the CD generation had little opportunity to hear it.
Gospel music was largely neglected during the surge of CD reissues in the 90s and early 21st Century. Only the Specialty and Nashboro labels had significant reissues. The Spirit of Memphis Quartet was unquestionably one of the greatest, most popular, and most influential quartets of the Golden Age of Gospel in the 40s and 50s. But the CD generation had little opportunity to hear it.
Recently, in the Sunset of the CD Age, the
indefatigable Opal Lee Nations managed to put into print for first time in many
decades a good chunk of the recorded legacy of the Golden Age of gospel. He uses European labels that
exploit the liberal copyright laws of the EU. The two most prolific labels have been Acrobat and JSP. While JSP is still going,
Acrobat folded rather quickly after a string of great releases.
Happy in the Service of the Lord was the single most important release
on Acrobat, a 2-disc 
collection that brings us the most important recordings
of the Spirit of Memphis Quartet, those made for King and Peacock during
1949-1952. During this time,
The Spirit of Memphis may have wrecked more churches than any other
outfit. The lineup featured three great lead singers: Willmer “Little Axe” Broadnax (tenor),
Jet Bledsoe (tenor/baritone), and the inimitable thundering baritone of Silas
Steele. A number of other classic recordings of the Spirit of
Memphis from the mid-later 1950s, many of which with Joe Hinton on lead
vocals, were included in Acrobat’s 9-Volume “Texas Gospel” reissue of the
Peacock label. We can get
into that series later on for this blog if there will be demand for it.
collection that brings us the most important recordings
of the Spirit of Memphis Quartet, those made for King and Peacock during
1949-1952. During this time,
The Spirit of Memphis may have wrecked more churches than any other
outfit. The lineup featured three great lead singers: Willmer “Little Axe” Broadnax (tenor),
Jet Bledsoe (tenor/baritone), and the inimitable thundering baritone of Silas
Steele. A number of other classic recordings of the Spirit of
Memphis from the mid-later 1950s, many of which with Joe Hinton on lead
vocals, were included in Acrobat’s 9-Volume “Texas Gospel” reissue of the
Peacock label. We can get
into that series later on for this blog if there will be demand for it.
The Spirit of Memphis stands for quite a rich and diverse gospel
tradition. The Quartet has
roots dating back to the 1920s and continues to perform today as one of the finest remaining gospel
quartets. If they come to
your town, don’t miss them.
There are also excellent CDs available from the newer aggregations. But here you have the very artistic
peak of the Spirit of Memphis, and one of the peaks of recorded gospel
music.
