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SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - I Came to Preach a Sermon by Rev. Johnny "The Hurricane" Jones

The Rev. Johnny “The Hurricane” Jones preached and sang at Second Mount Olive Baptist Church in Atlanta for nearly 60 years!

For nearly 60 years, the Rev. Johnny “The Hurricane” Jones presided over Second Mount Olive Baptist Church in Atlanta. Born in poverty in rural Alabama, Jones rose to become a beloved figure in Atlanta as a singer, archivist, DJ, musician – and a legendarily powerful preacher.

His services mixed sermons and impromptu gospel chants, stomps and songs, like this one from the live album by the same name, “I Came to Preach a Sermon.”

When Jones died on the evening of November 8, 2015, at the age of 79, he was – as always -- in his beloved church that morning and he preached from his very first sermon ... 60 years earlier.

Rev Johnny Jones - I Came to Preach a Sermon

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).