© 2026 KWBU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Gwen Carter

Prepare to be moved by Gwen Curtis’ impassioned vocals on this titanic version of John Stallings’ “Learning to Lean.”

In the early 1970s, the dynamic husband and wife team of Tony and Gwen Curtis founded TCS Records in their hometown of Philadelphia. As you’ll hear, Gwen had a stunning gospel voice and was a fine instrumentalist, too. The couple released more than a dozen LPs and 45s – and all are worth checking out.

Alas, the Gwen and Tony never found much success in the gospel music world, despite stellar songs and production. Perhaps, they were just too far ahead of their time. Their “You Can’t Make Me Doubt Him” was the first gospel song I can remember with a disco beat. And “No Never” was as funky as anything on the R&B charts. But they really shined when they let Gwen tear up a slow and emotional gospel blues number like this one, “Learning to Lean.”

Gwen Carter - Learning to Lean

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

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I Belong to the Band, Hallelujah' by The Rev. Gary Davis
The legendary guitarist the Rev. Gary Davis recorded 14 stunning gospel tracks in New York City in 1935, including “I Belong to the Band, Hallelujah.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I Made a Vow' by The Supreme Voices
The Supreme Voices never quite broke through during the Golden Age of Gospel Music, but with great tracks like “I Made a Vow,” it’s clear they probably should have been stars.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I'll be Welcomed' by The Sweet Brothers
The Sweet Brothers of Vero Beach, Florida, deserved wider recognition for their soulful, slow burn gospel songs, including “I’ll Be Welcomed.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Alright, Alright by The Cotton Brothers
The Cotton Brothers of Macon, Georgia, excelled at a particularly exciting brand of gospel soul, including the rave-up, “Alright, Alright.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'One of These Mornings' by The Rev. J.R. Lockley and His Original Gospel Clefs
The Rev. J.R. Lockley and His Original Gospel Clefs, featuring big-voiced Ann Moncrief, deliver a killer version of the spiritual, “One of These Mornings.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'You’ve Got to Live the Life' by The Echoes of Life
New York City’s Echoes of Life turn Thomas Dorsey’s beloved “You’ve Got to Live the Life” into a rough and raspy old school gospel shout.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'You've Got to Move' by Abbysinnia Baptist Church Young People’s Choir
In 1959, the Abbysinnia Baptist Church Young People’s Choir recorded a cheerfully up tempo version of the old spiritual “You’ve Got to Move” for the famed Gotham Record label.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Ol" John (Behold Thy Mother) by The Faithful Wonders
The Faithful Wonders’ funky “Ol’ John (Behold Thy Mother),” first released in 1968, has been re-released multiple times on various gospel and R&B anthologies in recent years.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'Is There Anything Too Hard for God?' by The Kansas East Sunshine Band Children’s Choir’s
The Kansas East Sunshine Band Children’s Choir’s Young & Gifted Recorded Live! LP features a killer vocal by 9-year-old Crystal Morris on the funky “Is There Anything Too Hard for God?”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Old Ship of Zion" by Zion Missionary Baptist Church Music Department
From the Zion Sings LP by the venerable Zion Missionary Baptist Church of East Chicago, Indiana, comes this moving and reverent version of the spiritual, “The Old Ship of Zion.”

Robert F. Darden is the author of two dozen books, most recently: Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume II: Black Sacred Music from Sit-In to Resurrection City (Penn State University Press, 2016); Nothing But Love in God’s Water, Volume I: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement(Penn State University Press, 2014); Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor(Abingdon Press, 2008), Reluctant Prophets and Clueless Disciples: Understanding the Bible by Telling Its Stories(Abingdon Press, 2006); and People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music(Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2004).