When the Rev. Clay Evans passed in November 2019 at age 96, he was one of the very last of the great voices of the civil rights movement. When Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference came to Chicago in 1966, Evans and his Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church were one of only two congregations to support the movement – and paid a heavy price. And with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, he co-founded Operation PUSH in 1965.
Besides being a legendary preacher and pastor, Evans was a dynamic singer and songwriter. Usually recording with his group the Ship, he released 38 LPs in his lifetime, many of them “Billboard” best-sellers. With his soulful Southern voice, powerful presence and old school musical sensibility, the good reverend was a national treasure.
It was really hard to pick a favorite among his hundreds of recorded songs and sermons... so let’s go with “Holy, Holy, Holy” from 1973 – a classic up tempo shout on the equally classic Deep South-based Jewel label. It’s a triumphant cry of praise from one of the giants of our age.
MUSIC: “Holy, Holy, Holy,” the Rev. Clay Evans and the Ship, 45
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.