The tiny Indy Record label in Independence, Missouri, released 11 45s in the early 1970s, including two by the Jordan Jubilee gospel group. Today, the label would be completely unknown if not for the Jubilee’s brooding, menacing track, “No Segregation in Heaven,” which is regularly anthologized.
It’s a great slow blues jam, like classic Staple Singers, but what sets it apart is the in-your-face lyric – imagine being a young Black man or woman walking the streets of, say, Birmingham, back then with a 45 with the title “No Segregation in Heaven” printed on it! You’d have to be pretty brave ... and whoever the Jordan Jubilee are – or were – they were pretty gutsy to release it!
I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.
