Clara Ward & the Famous Ward Singers - In Memory of Willa Ward-Royster - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Famous Ward Singers, based in Philadelphia, were one of the foremost gospel groups of the post-war era. Originally founded as a family group in 1931 by Gertrude Ward as a family group, then called, variously, The Consecrated Gospel Singers or The Ward Trio, the collective achieved fame after the Second World War when Gertrude's daughter Clara Ward was leader. - A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted the lead-switching style, previously used primarily by male gospel quartets, creating opportunities for spontaneous improvization and vamping by each member of the group, while giving virtuoso singers such as Henrietta Waddy, Marion Williams and Willa Ward Moultrie the opportunity to perform the lead vocal in songs. - This 77-track collection comprises a fairly significant proportion of the 130 or so A and B sides released on the Gotham and Savoy labels during this era, which represented the years when they achieved their greatest success. The releases were under various guises - Clara Ward as a solo artist, The Famous Ward Sisters Of Philadelphia, The Clara Ward Specials, Clara Ward & the Ward Singers, The Clara Ward Singers, The Famous Ward Singers and simply as The Ward Singers. It features the million-seller Surely God Is Able, along with How I Got Over, and Packin' Up, plus many gospel classics and standards. Ward died in 1973 at the age of 48 and Aretha Franklin and Rev. C. L. Franklin sang at her funeral in Philadelphia. She was honoured posthumously at the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City four years later in 1977.

An utterly hard-working and extremely successful female singer, she was ranked as no. ONE in the gospel field during the 1950s-1970s. This CD of never before reissued recordings shows that Clara Ward's musical legacy had a far-reaching impact on popular music in general.

Limited 180gm brown colored vinyl LP pressing. Released in 2020, Great South Road is their seventh album, and features InchWallpaperInch, InchGravityInch, InchYou've Heard It All BeforeInch and InchOversea And ElsewhereInch. Fronted by brothers Peter O'Doherty and Reg Mombassa, Dog Trumpet have been playing, writing and recording their music since the early 90s. Reg and Pete were founding members of iconic Australian band Mental As Anything, who hit the charts around the world with InchLive It UpInch. The band made a mark with their left field mix of music, art, video and humor and leading eventually to ARIA awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Recorded and produced by Peter at home in his 'South Road' studio, the brothers have created an inventive and original body of work distinguished by an eccentric and offbeat harmonic warmth and melodic drive propelled by Reg's distinctive slide guitar and Peter's elegant acoustic guitar and mandolin. Their poetic, yet at times absurdist lyrics are set against a sonic backdrop that could loosely be described as a meld of rock and roll, psychedelic folk, country and semi-abstract blues.