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SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Rosie Wallace and the First Church of Love, Faith, and Deliverance Choir

Few could match the power of Evangelist Rosie Wallace and the First Church of Love, Faith and Deliverance Choir of Philadelphia!

Rosie Wallace first came to the attention of gospel music lovers as the astonishing lead singer with the Imperial Gospel Singers of Philadelphia. Eventually, she left the Imperials and founded the First Church of Love, Faith and Deliverance and became Evangelist Rosie Wallace. Her very first recording with her choir produced the well-loved gospel song, “God Cares.”

After that, every Evangelist Rosie album was a special occasion. Her multi-octave voice, songwriting and sheer presence dominated every stage, every recording session. When it was time for her next recording, industry giant Savoy Records brought in its top people, including famed producer the Rev. Fred Roberts. From 1968, sit back and enjoy the power of Evangelist Rosie Wallace and the First Church Choir’s spine-tingling rendition of “Lord, Please Hold My Hand.”

Evangelist Rosie Wallace - Lord Please Hold My Hand

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 - The Harold Smith Majestics
The Harold Smith Majestics could sing anything, from light classic to gospelized Broadway tunes to classic gospel like “The Lord Will Carry You Through.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Newberry Singers
Led by Edwin Newberry, the always innovative Newberry Singers sound like no other gospel group on their own composition, “Trouble Will Soon Be Over.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Sarah Vaughan
The incomparable Sarah Vaughan recorded a handful of spirituals during her long career, including this gentle version of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Patterson Singers
The Patterson Singers’ “I’m Moving Up” features an irresistibly up tempo closing gospel vamp.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Swanee Quintet
In there more than 70 years together, the Swanee Quintet released a host of great gospel songs, including this one - “The Lord’s on My Side.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Harmonettes
The legendary Dorothy Love Coates was one of the true stars of gospel music and her powerful “99 ½ Won’t Do” was adopted as a freedom song during the civil rights movement.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Rev. Morgan Babb
The Rev. Morgan Babb’s passionate version of “Lord, You’ve Been Good to Me” spontaneously emerges from the altar call during one of his legendary sermons.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Singing Corinthians
The otherwise unknown Singing Corinthians deliver an impassioned version of the old spiritual, “The Lord Will Provide.”
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Blend Wright Trio
The Blend Wright Trio were a poppy, upbeat gospel group led by the multi-talented Eleanor Wright, who recorded for Savoy in the 1960s.
SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - The Bible Way Church of God
The Bible Way Church of God Choir’s “What Do You Say About Jesus?” features the church’s longtime pastor, Little Abraham Swanson.

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).