When you went to a Bill Moss and the Celestials concert, all eyes were on Essie, Bill's wife. She was one of the gospel's most flamboyant performers - shouting, dancing, racing up and down the aisles, preaching and of course singing.
Essie didn't have a beautiful voice like Yolanda Adams. It was more rough-hewn and raspy, like Dorothy Love Coates. But boy! Could she sing a song. She only recorded a couple solo releases, the best of which is I am Truly Saved, recorded late in her career with the Obedient Missionary Baptist Church Choir of Detroit. It's a great choir and Moss is a great form - there are only six songs on the entire album, and each one features a passionate, no-holds-bared performance.
My favorite track is "Satan, You Won't Win the Fight" - a four and a half minute, double-time rave-up ... baked by both her husband and son on keyboards, and yes, Essie holds nothing back - by the end of the song, you believe she's won this battle with Old Scratch himself.
Music: "Satan, You Won't Win the Fight" by Missionary Essie Moss and the Obedient Missionary Baptist Church Choir of Detroit, I Am Truly Save LP, Side 2 Track 2.
I'm Robert Darden "Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments" is brought to you by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.