– Gene Viale: Checker 10054

Gene Viale was a latin soul singer, and included in the discography for reasons of completeness. He was associated with James Cleveland and sang with the James Cleveland Singers. The Checker album featured the first recordings of his own and a couple more albums followed in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Gene Viale died in 2011. Read more about this artist on the Golden Era Gospel Blog. Click on the image below for album details and images.

 

– Los Angeles Angels

All recordings made by Los Angeles Angels were released on Brother Henderson’s Proverb label. They had one LP which was released twice in 2-3 years time. The reissue version was made and distributed by Kent Gospel Records. The same thing happened with Proverb LP 500 (Willie Cotton) and LP 503 (Watts Community Choir). LP 502 (Pilgrim Travelers) remains a little mystery as only the Kent Gospel version is known to exist.

Today I received my copy of the first version of the Los Angeles Angels LP and I decided to scan it right away. Click on the image below to see all details.

 

– Hosanna scans

Apart from adding information on Hosanna LP 1522 by the Texas Northeast Gospel Choral Ensemble (see previous post), I also added many 45rpm scans to the Hosanna discography.

– TX NE Gospel Choral Ensemble

Recently, I found two albums by the Texas Northeast Gospel Choral Ensemble. The reason to buy these albums was the Hosanna label, on which the second one was released, the first being a custom release. Click on the images below to see the LP pages.

 

– Bethlehem Travelers

Every once in a while a previously unknown release pops up on sites like eBay. Sometimes even the group is unknown and that seems the case for two Hosanna 45’s (#7684 & 8080) which were auctioned recently. The group is the Bethlehem Travelers and although the Gospel Discography (Laughton/Hayes) lists two groups with such a name, this may very well be a different group. The groups that are listed in the discography are from Hattiesburg, Mississippi and from Belair, Maryland. Of course it could be one of these groups, the Hattiesburg group being the most likely, but there’s no similarity in member names or anything else that gives an indication. Intriguing! The 45’s are now listed in the Hosanna discography.

 

– Willie Cotton

Proverb LP 500 by Willie Cotton was released twice, first in 1969-70, then again in c. 1972. The covers and the album titles were different and so were some of the tracks on side 2. I’ve added scans of the second version, in addition to the scans of the first version. Click on the images below to see all images and further details.

– Brother Henderson

Brother Henderson ran the Proverb and Gospel Corner labels and also had a recording career of his own. First under the name Duke Henderson (R&B, 1940’s and early 1950’s), then, after his conversion, as Brother Henderson and sometimes Minister Henderson. His recording output as a religious man was limited to narrations/sermons, except for “I Made Up My Mind” b/w “Pass Me Not” on R and B 1312 (as Brother Henderson’s Spiritual Lambs, 1955). His main business was running the aforementioned labels. See for a detailed history the 2CD “Best of Proverb & Gospel Corner Records” on NarroWay.

Today I’ve added images for Minister Henderson’s sermon LP on Gospel Corner, from the early 1970’s (click on the image below to see all images).

– Clara Ward

It’s been too long! I have been busy with work and loads of other things and couldn’t find the time or inspiration to work much on the website. This evening I have updated the Elko discography as Elko 918, credited to Sister Christine, is actually by Clara Ward/Clara Ward and the Ward Sisters. The recordings were first issued on BBS 1002. Images of both the Elko and the BBS discs are included (check the note on the Elko 918 page and click on the link to see BBS 1002).

I also added a 10-inch album by the Ward Singers to the Savoy discography. This obscurity was offered on eBay recently (too bad, I forgot to make a bid). The catalog number of this record is 15057 and it was released in 1955, so prior to the 14000 series (which started in 1956).

 

(internet)