Rance Allen was always lavishly talented – he could sing, play a mean piano, and compose and arrange memorable songs. Born in 1948, he was a licensed preacher by age 9 and was already singing with brothers Tom and Steve in the Rance Allen Group.
By the 1960s, Rance and the gang were topping the gospel charts with songs like “I Stood on the Banks of Jordan,” “Something About the Name of Jesus” and their re-working of the Temptations’ smash “Just My Imagination” – called “Just My Salvation.” Rance was so talented that Stax Records created a gospel label just for them – the famed Gospel Truth label.
Eventually, however, Allen’s health declined and even as he became a Bishop in the Church of God in Christ denomination, he was able to tour and record less and less. One of his last public appearances was on the Henry Louis Gates documentary, The Black Church in 2019. He passed a year later, but left behind a wonderful legacy of music, including this version of the old gospel song, “Jesus is on the Mainline” from 1983.
MUSIC: “Jesus is on the Mainline,” from LP Hear My Voice by the Rance Allen Group, Side 2, Track 4
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU, the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries and is funded by generous support from the Prichard Foundation.