SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Patterson Singers

The Patterson Singers were built around the piano playing and arranging skills of Robert Patterson and a group of four talented female singers – Barbara Appling, Mildred Lane, Mary Stephens and Barbara White – which gave them a unique sound in gospel music. The Pattersons began recording for the legendary Vee-Jay Records in the late 1950s as “hard” gospel, with hints of doo wop and boogie woogie.

A good example is this memorable Patterson track from 1963’s The Lord’s Prayer, “I’m Moving Up.” It has a great up tempo closing vamp and the singers really cut loose.

But by the ‘70s, they’d transformed themselves into a funky gospel incarnation like Undisputed Truth or Klymaxx. Like the Staple Singers, they sometimes gospelized pop and R&B songs. They even recorded an album at the famed Muscle Shoals studio in 1972. That self-titled album is much coveted by gospel collectors today and I’ve seen copies in good condition go for $70 and more.

But for now, enjoy this classic Patterson Singers track from 1963, “I’m Moving Up.”

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

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