“The Vision of the Shepherd” was one of dozens of memorable compositions and performances by Maggie Ingram and the Silver Stars.
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Welcome to Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments. I’m Robert Darden.
Maggie Ingram was a musical treasure in her home state of Virginia, first with the Silver Stars, then with her daughters the Ingramettes, Maggie toured the world, but always returned to Virginia, where she headlined everything from bluegrass concerts to jazz and rock’n’roll festivals.
Ingram’s own recording career began in 1960 and before her death in 2015, she released dozens of 45s and LPs on various labels, most featuring her own visionary compositions. The Ingramettes in particular were astonishing in concert, with each of the three sisters possessing a riveting voice and stage presence.
Maggie took her first group, the Silver Stars, into the studio for Nashboro around 1963 to record a handful of Christmas-themed gospel songs, none more memorable than her own composition “The Vision of the Shepherd,” a vocal tour-de-force and a brilliant new re-telling of the old, old story.
MUSIC: “Vision of the Shepherd” by Maggie Ingram and the Silver Stars, 1945
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.
