One of the oldest and rarest pieces of vinyl in the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project is “The Fire is Always Burning in My Soul” by the Heavenly Gospel Singers.
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Welcome to Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments. I’m Robert Darden.
One of the very oldest – and certainly one of the rarest – pieces of vinyl in Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project is “The Fire is Always Burning in My Soul” by the Heavenly Gospel Singers. This 78 was recorded somewhere around 1939 to 1940 ... and it just sounds old. This is spooky early jubilee, shape-note singing gospel -- very close to what the spirituals must have sounded like. The “B” side is a true spiritual, “Do Lord, Send Me.”
That alone is enough to make this disk special. But the Heavenly Gospel Singers recorded for the famed Bluebird label – the home of Jimmie Rodgers, Rudy Vallee, King Oliver, Glenn Miller and many, many more legends. However, this disk is from the old Montgomery Ward department store chain. At a time when most recordings and record players were sold in furniture stores -- Montgomery Ward – like Sears & Roebuck -- periodically re-issued popular 78s as store-branded product.
These recordings are exceedingly rare – and the copy in the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project is in pristine condition – as you’ll soon hear. And remember, you can always listen to the entire track at KWBU DOT ORG, then going to the “SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments” tab.
MUSIC: “The Fire is Always Burning in My Soul,” Heavenly Gospel Singers,” 78
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