Waco, Texas, featured several first-rate quartets in the 1950s and ‘60s, most notably the Stars of Harmony, the Estelle Family Singers, the Southern Jubilee Singers and, later, the Gospel Sons. Thanks to historians like Bettie V. Beard, we know a lot about these groups that were widely popular throughout Central Texas.
Pastor Edward Ross – son of Leslie Ross, one of the founding members of the Southern Jubilee Singers – said that the group traveled to Temple in the 1970s to record their only 45, a bright and bouncy remake of the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet’s hit from the 1940s, “Noah.” Fortunately, Stan Wojciechowski of Waco’s Spin Connection records managed to find a copy – and gave it to the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program, where everyone can hear it again!
MUSIC: Southern Jubilee Singers, “Noah,” 45
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.