Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Golden Wings of Atlanta, Georgia

The Golden Wings of Atlanta, Georgia recorded some silky smooth gospel in the 1980s, particularly for the small Meltone Record label. With their stylish tuxes, the Wings looked and sounded like the great R&B groups of the day – the Whispers, the Delfonics and Shalamar. What made them stand out from other gospel groups of the era is that they featured multiple lead singers – all of whom worth listening to.

The Wings album It’s a Needed Time contains a particularly tasty collection of original songs and arrangements of old gospel standards and hymns. Their tight harmonies, the leads – which ranged between sweet falsettos and raspy baritones – and an in the pocket band make songs like “Jesus Will Make Everything All Right” a delight to listen to, even today.

MUSIC: (2413) The Golden Wings of Atlanta, Georgia, It’s a Needed Time LP, “Jesus Will Make Everything All Right,” Side 1, Track 1

I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.

RECENT EPISODES OF SHOUT! BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC MOMENTS

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Newberry Singers

Led by Edwin Newberry, the always innovative Newberry Singers sound like no other gospel group on their own composition, “Trouble Will Soon Be Over.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sarah Vaughan

The incomparable Sarah Vaughan recorded a handful of spirituals during her long career, including this gentle version of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Patterson Singers

The Patterson Singers’ “I’m Moving Up” features an irresistibly up tempo closing gospel vamp.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Swanee Quintet

In there more than 70 years together, the Swanee Quintet released a host of great gospel songs, including this one - “The Lord’s on My Side.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Harmonettes

The legendary Dorothy Love Coates was one of the true stars of gospel music and her powerful “99 ½ Won’t Do” was adopted as a freedom song during the civil rights movement.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Rev. Morgan Babb

The Rev. Morgan Babb’s passionate version of “Lord, You’ve Been Good to Me” spontaneously emerges from the altar call during one of his legendary sermons.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Singing Corinthians

The otherwise unknown Singing Corinthians deliver an impassioned version of the old spiritual, “The Lord Will Provide.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Blend Wright Trio

The Blend Wright Trio were a poppy, upbeat gospel group led by the multi-talented Eleanor Wright, who recorded for Savoy in the 1960s.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Bible Way Church of God

The Bible Way Church of God Choir’s “What Do You Say About Jesus?” features the church’s longtime pastor, Little Abraham Swanson.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Melody Kings

The LP Believe in Me by the Melody Kings features a rousing version of Lee Wallace’s gospel rave up, “I Pray.”