SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers

Everybody loved the Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers in the 1980s and ‘90s. The “Tommies” – as they were affectionately called – released 22 albums, 10 of which charted. They even won a Grammy award for Best Gospel Chorus or Choir in 1995.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Brunson wasn’t known as a singer or songwriter – but the Tommies always featured top musicians and arrangers, including alumni like Jessy Dixon and Ricky Dillard.

Before Brunson’s death at age 68 in 1997, the group had released a number of memorable songs, including “He Cares for You,” “Jesus Rose,” “There is No Failure,” “Available to You” and probably the best cover of an Andrae Crouch song ever, their triumphant version of “It’s Gonna Rain.”

MUSIC: (2402) The Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers, It’s Gonna Rain LP, “It’s Gonna Rain,” Side 1, Track 2

I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.