10 all-time favorite gospel recordings

[glencro]

I grew up in a house full of gospel music and it has been my first love since childhood. I'm sure that this post has been here before but I'm going to revisit it since there have been new members over the years and there have been new recordings released over the years. Mine are in no particular order [[overall lp or cd):

1. Thomas Whitfield Co "And They Sang A Hymn"
2. Andrae Crouch "No Time To Lose"
3. Walter Hawkins "Love Alive II"
4. The Clark Sisters "Sincerely"
5. Various Artists- "A Salute To The Caravans"
6. Aretha Franklin "Amazing Grace"
7. Vanessa Bell Armstrong "Peace Be Still"
8. The Clark Sisters "You Brought The Sunshine"
9. Yolanda Adams "Just As I Am"
10. Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir "20/85 The Experience"

Most of these were released in the 80's which still is my favorite period of gospel music.

[motony]

I only have 2 "Touch Me Jesus" By Darlene Love & the Blossoms & "991/2"by the Wright Specials

[robb_k]

1. I'll Fly Away-Staples Singers
2. Nobody Knows-Stars of Bethlehem
3. Hammer and Nails-Staples Singers
4. I'm A Rollin'-Swan Silvertones
5. Pray Sometime-Swanee Quintet
6. Wade In The Water-Salem Travelers
7. I'm Gonna Sit Down and Rest-Pronouns
8. This Little Light of Mine-Swan Silvertones
9. Jesus Gave Me Water-Soul Stirrers
10. May Be the Last Time-Charles Taylor Singers

Not bad for a nice Jewish boy, eh?

Kind of tough when I could only get one Soul Stirrers' song in, and NONE by The Five Blind Boys, Radio Four, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Gospelairs, Sensational Nightengales, Ward Singers, Caravans, etc.

[tallone]

LOL@Robb K.
Not bad for a Jewish kid, indeed. But I'm going to take you back.....
1. Peace be Still..........James Cleveland
2. Did you stop to pray this morning....The Pilgrim Travelers
3. Only Believe....The Swan Silvertones
4. God Specializes....The Roberta Martin Singers
5. Open our eyes.....The Gospel Clefs
6. Touch the hem of his garment...The Soul Stirrers
7. You Can't beat God giving....The Caravans
8. Only Believe....The Harmonizing Four
9. Only a look......The Roberta Martin Singers
10. You must be born again.... The Gospel Harmonettes

And I agree with you Robb, it is indeed hard considering that I only touched on songs from the 40's, '50's and early 60's. I haven't even begun to talk about the late 60's through modern times.

[marv2]

Here are mine in no particular order regarding how much I liked the song/performance:

1. Walk Around Heaven All Day - The Caravans
2. I'm Going Up Yonder - Tramaine Hawkins
3. Ain't No Need In Crying - Rance Allen
4. Oh Happy Day - The Edwin Hawkins Singers
5. We've Come This Far by Faith - Donnie McClurkin, The Choir at St. Marks' and various others
6. Precious Lord, Take My Hand - Aretha Franklin
7. Mahalia Jackson - How I Got Over
8. I'll Fly Away - by various
9. Ain't No Need to Worry - The Winans with Anita Baker
10. No Charge - Shirley Caesar

[caliluv]

Marv2 - The song is "Going Up Yonder" by Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir led by Tramaine Hawkins. I was a member of the choir on that recording.

[marv2]

Marv2 - The song is "Going Up Yonder" by Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir led by Tramaine Hawkins. I was a member of the choir on that recording.

caliluv, Really? Wow! That is great. That song has been a favorite of mine for many, many years. Did you know how popular that song was with young people? My high school choir even performed it!

Marv

[nosey]

At one point, Goin Up Yonder was the funeral song in most black churches so much so that I started disliking that song as folks wanted to sing the chorus a million times! LOL! Will be back with my favorites. [[I'm a quartet girl myself.)

[nysister]

Too many to mention, but I tried.

1. He Shall Feed His Flock - James Cleveland
2. Love Alive - Walter Hawkins
3. Love Alive II - Walter Hawkins
4. Peace Be Still - Vanessa Bell Armstrong
5. Changing Times - Mighty Clouds of Joy
6. Best of the Soul Stirrers w/Sam Cook
7. Introducing The Winans - Winans
8. Amazing Grace - Aretha Franklin
9. Matters of the Heart - Commissioned
10. Live at Carnegie Hall - Andre Crouch

[glencro]

Caliluv, that first LOVE ALIVE album made me fall in love with gospel music. Mahalia Jackson was my mother's favorite singer and when I was a kid, she played her all the time. I was around 9 years old when she brought home the "Love Alive" album and when I say she played that album day and night. I used to play it when she wasn't playing it.
I met Walter Hawkins at the Stellar Awards a few years ago and was able to tell him that able made me fall in love with gospel music.
When we marched out of the church at my mother's funeral, the choir sang "Goin Up Yonder". What a timeless classic.

[glencro]

NYSISTER, loved Commissioned. "Matters of the Heart" was a great recording.

[ollie]

Alex Bradford ~ If My Mother Knew
Blind Willie Johnson ~ Motherless Children
The Charioteers ~ Wade in The Water
Brother Joe May ~ We Need Power
Highway Qc's ~ I'll Be Satisfied
James Cleveland ~ Great Day
Mahalia Jackson ~ I'm On My Way
Marion Williams ~ Mean old world
O'Neal Twins ~ Power In The Blood
Soul Stirrers ~ Listen To The Angels Sing

and there's so much more, 10 is just so hard to do.
I do another 10!

The Burnadettes ~ I'm Going Home
The Wright Specials ~ Pilgrim Of Sorrow
The Staple Singers ~ Don't Drive Me Away
The Staple Singers ~ So Soon
The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama ~ Alone & Motherless
The Spirit of Memphis Quartet ~ The worlds prayer
The Swan Silvertones ~ Saviour Pass Me Not
The Meditation Singers ~ Sanctify Me Jesus
The Dixie Hummingbirds ~ I'll Never forget
Georgia Louise ~ I Can't Keep From Crying

of course there is more, much more,
The Winans ~ Questions Is
Sam Butler & Jackie Banks, Ben Odum, Willie Rogers ~ Sunlight of No Light -- Gospel At Colonus 1988
Emily Bram & The Nightingales ~ When The Morning Comes
Imperial Gospel Singers ~ The Lord Will See You Through
Garden State Choir ~ Motherless Child
Clark Sisters ~ Endow Me

[caliluv]

This picture was taken after "Love Alive" and before "Love Alive II. The choir had changed some members and had also grown at the time this picture was taken. Only me and three other guys in this picture were on the first recording. Tramaine, Walter, Ed and Daniel, and Joel [[members of the Hawkins Family) were not in this picture. No one could have ever told me at the recording of Love Alive that the choir would become world renoun. I traveled to Switzerland and on our way one night to a concert, our chaperone put Love Alive in the cassette player. It was very gratifying to me to hear something I was a part of on the other side of the world.

[glencro]

Great pic caliluv. Was Sylvester really a part of the Love Center Choir? Nosey, are you familiar with the Soul Seekers. A fairly new group witha very authentic old school quartet sound

[caliluv]

I met Sylvester when he started attending LC and LZ Love and Jerry and started singing with him before Martha and Izora. As far as I know, Sylvester was just a member of LC and occasionally just sang at the church but not as a member of the choir.