We’re delighted to present the only known copy of the Faithful Gospel Singers of Washington D.C.’s recording, “God’s Disciples.”
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Welcome to Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments. I’m Robert Darden.
If you’ve heard me talk about the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project – or gospel music in general – over the years, you’ve probably heard me mention and play “The Old Ship of Zion” by the Mighty Wonders of Aquasco, Maryland – it’s probably my favorite track of the 14,000 items in our collection.
“The Old Ship of Zion” is what we used to call a vanity project, that is, it was not recorded for an organized record label. Instead, the artist hires a company like Mark V out of Arlington, VA, to record them, then print the 45 or LP – usually a hundred copies or less. Some are pretty amateurish, of course, but other are astonishingly beautiful – like the songs by the Mighty Wonders.
So you can imagine how happy we were to acquire another project recorded for Mark V, partly because so few copies of ANY of their recordings exist, and partly because of the connection to the Mighty Wonders. This particular 45, “God’s Disciples” is by the Faithful Gospel Singers of Washington D.C. They’re clearly talented and it’s a great song. They recorded one more 45 for Mark V, then ... like so many before them ... disappear. Still – they’ve left us something beautiful and we’re grateful to have preserved the only known copy of this little gem.
MUSIC: “God’s Disciples,” Faithful Gospel Singers of Washington D.C., 45
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.