SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Pray on My Child" by Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers

The Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers have been a force in gospel music since their founding in 1948. A host of hit records and music industry awards later, the “Tommies” – as they are affectionately known – hold a special place in gospel music history.

I particularly like their LP, No Child is an Island, because it introduced the powerful voice of Maggie Bell to gospel music. Bell sings lead on “Pray on My Child,” and as strong as the Tommies are, they have trouble keeping up with the artist who – for a few years in the 1970s, at least – was known as “The Princess of Gospel Music.” 

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

PREVIOUS EPISODES OF SHOUT! BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC MOMENTS

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Down by the Riverside" by The Rev. Cecil Harris and His Choir

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SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "No Friend Like the Lord" by The Silver Bells

The unknown Silver Bells of Macon, Georgia’s “No Friend Like the Lord” is a masterclass in a cappella doo-wop styled gospel singing.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "No Cross, No Crown" by Brooklyn All Stars

The Brooklyn All Stars were New York’s best-known gospel group, singing hits like the slow and stately “No Cross, No Crown.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "No Coward Soldiers" by The Caravans

The Caravans ruled the Gospel Highway in the 1950s and ‘60s with songs like the upbeat “No Coward Soldiers.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Jericho March" by Grace Emmanuel Singers

The music of Daddy Grace’s United House of Prayer for All People is an ecstatic rave-up, fueled by a dozen honking trombones!

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Follow the Star" by Edwin Hawkins

Edwin Hawkins and his friends deliver a wonderful serene and soothing Christmas ballad, “Follow the Star,” to close out a tumultuous 2025.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Little Jesus Boy" by The Vilionaires

The Violinaires’ doo-wop version of “Little Jesus Boy” will bring back many happy Christmas memories.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Christmas in Heaven" by Claude Jeter

Claude Jeter’s magnificent falsetto is at the heart of “Christmas in Heaven.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Blackberry Records

The Williams Family and the legendary Canton Spirituals combine for one of the funkiest Christmas songs of all time, “Down Home in Mississippi".