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SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Victory Travelers

The Victory Travelers are one of the last remaining examples of the hard-driving gospel quartet sound of the 1960s.

I once had the great fortune to interview Reuben Burton of Chicago’s Victory Travelers. Burton, still pastors a church on the South Side, and the Travelers are mainstays of the Chicago gospel scene and were active in support of the civil rights movement as well as Operation PUSH.

During their long careers, the Victory Travelers consistently released classic gospel quartet music, usually led by Pastor Burton’s husky, soulful voice. While all of their recordings are worth seeking out, the Beautiful Gates EP has several superb songs, including the title track – a memorable example of the best in 1960s gospel soul.

MUSIC: The Victory Travelers, Beautiful Gates EP, “Beautiful Gates,” Side 1, Track 1

The Victory Travelers - Beautiful Gates

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

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Robert F. Darden is the author of two dozen books, most recently: Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume II: Black Sacred Music from Sit-In to Resurrection City (Penn State University Press, 2016); Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume I: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement(Penn State University Press, 2014); Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor(Abingdon Press, 2008), Reluctant Prophets and Clueless Disciples: Understanding the Bible by Telling Its Stories(Abingdon Press, 2006); and People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music(Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2004).