SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sara Jordan Powell

In the 1970s and '80s, everybody was talking about Sara Jordan Powell's voice. It took her everywhere from Calcutta, India to the White House to sing for President Jimmy Carter. As a youngster, she was a member of the Sallie Martin Singers and was later signed by the Rev. James Cleveland and released a handful of excellent LP's for Savoy Records.

But Powell, who has both a master's and a seminary degree, was more interested in ministry and education and - along with her husband, Bishop John Powell, gradually moved on from gospel music in the late 1980s. Fortunately, she left us a legacy of terrific gospel music., including her extraordinary version of te protest spiritual, "Keep Your Hands on the Plow and Hold On" - recorded live at the infamous Cook County Department of Corrections in Chicago!

MUSIC: Sara Jordan Powell, Recorded Live at Cook County Department of Corrections, Chicago, Illinois LP, "Keep Your Hands on the Plow and Hold On," Side 2, Track 3.

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.

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