How else can I follow KC’s last incredible O.V. Wright post except with more
of the same? I have gathered
here what should be something close to all of O.V. Wright’s first recordings
from the late 50s and early 60s, when he was singing gospel with the Sunset
Travelers and hadn’t yet crossed over into secular music. Before O.V. Wright became a Soul
legend, he had already become a sensation on the gospel programs (But I don't know of any photos of the Sunset Travelers with O.V. Thus, photo to the left)
The Sunset Travelers started in Memphis in 1950. They recruited the teenage O.V. Wright
in the late 1950s and first recorded with O.V. for Peacock in 1959. The first 12 tracks here correspond to
the Peacock LP, “On Jesus Program.”
Although a few of the tracks do not feature O.V. Wright on lead vocals,
I left them in for completeness.
"On Jesus Program" was actually issued on CD in the US in the late 1980s on the compilation "Raisin' the Roof," pictured on the right. When MCA launched the Peacock Spiritual Series at the dawn of the CD era, that raised a lot of hopes for a spectacular reissue series of the Peacock label. But after this release and a few other CDs (which I may post later), MCA trashed gospel reissues altogether and never again released anything from the vast Peacock catalog in the US.
I have tacked on to “On Jesus Program” ten more Sunset
Travelers tracks featuring the incomparable O.V. Wright on lead vocals. Track number 13, “Sit Down and
Rest a While.” deserves comment.
This is the very first recording featuring O.V. Wright when had just joined the group. The Sunset
Travelers themselves made it as a demo. When I first heard it, I didn’t even think that it was
O.V. The sonorities are right, but
certain elements of his mature style are not there yet. However, Grover Blake, a member and manager of this Sunset Travelers group, has verified that it is is indeed O.V. Wright. Lazurus and You Are Blessed come from
the very first 45 the Travelers with O.V. Wright made for Peacock in 1959. Here, the unique presence of O.V. is already unmistakable.
So there you have it – the first installment of the O.V.
Wright story. Whatever you do on
this blog, do not miss the second installment (Backbeat and Goldwax recordings) posted by KC below. The third installment (the Hi
Recordings) might show up here sooner or later. But those recordings are easily purchased commercially.
