The legendary Golden Gate Quartet, GGQ for short, is the oldest and most successful, still active Gospel “Jubilee quartet” in the world. The quartet was formed in 1934 in Norfolk, Virginia, as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers by students Willie Johnson (baritone), William Langford (tenor), Henry Owens (second tenor), and Orlandus Wilson (bass). Inspired by the Mills Brothers, the quartet was trying its hand at popular music styles early on. Many appearances in churches and especially a regular radio show made the group known regionally. The first recordings were made in 1937, when the group recorded fourteen songs in only two hours! They also came to the ears of jazz- and concert-producer John Hammond, who organized the first "From Spirituals to Swing"- concert at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1938, presenting – alongside the GGQ – Blues musician Big Bill Broonzy, early jazz by Sidney Bechet and Boogie Woogie with Albert Ammons and James Pete Johnson as forerunners of the jazz stars of the time, especially Count Basie, Lester Young and Benny Goodman.
Frenetically welcomed by New Yorkers, the GGQ soon became a fixture in the program of Café Society, the hottest music club in the Big Apple. The quartet was also the first black group ever to be invited to perform at the White House where they performed at the inauguration ceremony of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Constitutional Hall in 1941 – with many more presidential invitations to follow. Recordings for Columbia, appearances in Hollywood movies and highly popular tours overseas, kept increasing their fame until the end of World War II. The young Elvis was a fan of the group and remained loyal to them even later, when he had become a star and could often be seen in the audience at their concerts. From the mid-1950s on the GGQ conquered concert stages around the world and, with a new cast, continues to delight its audience in the 21st century.
Tracklist
CD 1
■ MOTHERLESS CHILD (1937 – 1938)
1. Golden Gate Gospel Train (Traditional) 2.38
2. Gabriel Blows His Horn (Traditional) 2.25
3. Bedside of a Neighbor (Traditional) 2.50
4. Jonah (Traditional) 3.06
5. Preacher and the Bear (Traditional) 2.51
6. Born Ten Thousand Years Ago 1.55
(Traditional)
7. Behold the Bridegroom Cometh 2.07
(Traditional)
8. Go Where I Send Thee (Traditional) 2.22
9. Won't There Be One Happy Time 2.12
(Traditional)
10. Job (Traditional) 2.40
11. Bonnet (Traditional) 2.01
12. Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground 2.50
(Traditional)
13. Stand in the Test in Judgement 3.10
(Traditional)
14. Found a Wonderful Savior 2.24
(Traditional)
15. Carolina in the Morning 2.37
(Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)
16. Motherless Child (Traditional) 2.29
17. Travelin' Shoes (Traditional) 1.55
18. John, the Revelator (Traditional) 2.20
19. Remember Me (Traditional) 2.34
20. Pure Religion (Traditional) 1.55
21. Dipsy Doodle (Traditional) 2.18
22. Swanee River (Traditional) 2.26
23. Lead Me on and On (Traditional) 2.04
Golden Gate Quartet:
Willie Johnson (baritone, leader)
William Langford, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 56.18
CD 2
■ ROCK MY SOUL (1938 – 1939)
1. Sweet Adeline 2.25
(Harry Armstrong, Richard Gerard)
2. Sampson (Traditional) 2.12
3. I Was Brave (Traditional) 3.00
4. Take Your Burdens to God (Traditional) 3.19
5. Ol' Man River 2.41
(Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)
6. When They Ring the Golden Bells 1.54
(Traditional)
7. My Lord Is Writing (Traditional) 2.28
8. Rock My Soul (Traditional) 2.03
9. Bye And Bye Little Children (Traditional) 1.56
10. God Almighty Said (Traditional) 2.19
11. Let That Liar Alone (Traditional) 2.04
12. To the Rock (Traditional) 2.02
13. Saints Go Marching In (Traditional) 2.14
14. Cheer the Weary Traveler (Traditional) 3.04
15. I Heard Zion Moan (Traditional) 2.54
16. Noah (028964) (Traditional) 2.11
17. Lord, Am I Born to Die? (Traditional) 2.41
18. What Are They Doing in Heaven Today? 2.40
(Traditional)
19. Packing Up - Getting Ready to Go 1.59
(Traditional)
20. Troubles of the World (Traditional) 2.48
21. Lis'n to De Lambs (Traditional) 3.28
22. Everything Moves By the Grace of God 2.17
(Traditional)
23. This World Is in a Bad Condition 2.19
(Traditional)
Golden Gate Quartet:
Willie Johnson (baritone, leader)
William Langford, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 57.08
CD 3
■ PRECIOUS LORD (1939)
1. Precious Lord (Traditional) 2.36
2. Noah (031980) (Traditional) 2.37
3. Ol' Man Mose 2.04
(Louis Armstrong, Zilner Randolph)
4. Change Partners (Traditional) 3.07
5. What a Time (Traditional) 2.30
6. He Said He Could Calm the Ocean 2.48
(Traditional)
7. Hide Me in Thy Bosom 2.24
(Blind Willie McTell)
8. If I Had My Way (Traditional) 2.21
9. I Looked Down the Line and I Wondered 2.54
(Traditional)
10. Way Down in Egypt Land (Traditional) 2.51
11. Our Father (Traditional) 2.06
12. You'd Better Mind (Traditional) 2.52
13. I'm a Pilgrim (Traditional) 3.16
14. Every Time That I Feel the Spirit 2.50
(Traditional)
15. Whoa Babe (Traditional) 2.45
16. Stormy Weather 2.52
(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)
17. The Devil with the Devil (Traditional) 3.04
18. Julius Caesar (Traditional) 2.21
19. Timber (Traditional) 2.43
20. Jonah in the Whale (Traditional) 2.27
21. Gospel Train (Concert) (Traditional) 2.13
22. I'm on My Way (Concert) (Traditional) 3.03
23. My Walking Stick (Irving Berlin) 2.21
24. Darling Nellie Gray (Traditional) 3.07
25. What's New? (Burk, Haggart) 2.22
Golden Gate Quartet:
Willie Johnson (baritone, leader)
Clyde Riddik, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 66.43
CD 4
■ THE GOSPEL TRAIN (1939 – 1943)
1. My Prayer (Traditional) 2.39
2. What Did Jesus Say? (Traditional) 2.42
3. The Valley of Time (Traditional) 2.45
4. Daniel Saw the Stone (Traditional) 2.44
5. Jezebel (W. Johnson, Orlandus Wilson) 2.49
6. Time's Winding Up (Traditional) 2.43
7. God Told Nicodemus (W. Johnson) 2.35
8. The Sun Didn't Shine (Traditional) 2.11
9. Blind Barnabus (Traditional) 2.10
10. Anyhow 2.42
(Conrad Frederick, Orlandus Wilson)
11. Didn't It Rain (Traditional) 2.28
12. Toll the Bell Easy (Traditional) 2.35
13. He Never Said a Mumblin' Word 3.21
(Traditional)
14. Moses Smote the Waters (Traditional) 2.34
15. Handwriting on the Wall (Traditional) 2.08
16. Run On (Traditional) 2.47
17. Dip Your Fingers in the Water 2.22
(Traditional)
18. My Time Done Come (W. Johnson) 2.47
19. Stalin Wasn't Stallin' (W. Johnson) 3.12
20. Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer 3.05
(Traditional)
21. Julius Caesar (Traditional) 2.09
22. Summer Rain (Traditional) 1.31
23. The Gospel Train (Traditional) 1.54
24. The Preacher and the Bear (Traditional) 2.01
Golden Gate Quartet:
Alton Bradley (baritone, leader)
Clyde Riddik, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 61.03
CD 5
■ JESUS MET THE WOMAN
AT THE WELL (1945 – 1949)
1. The General Jumped at Dawn 2.17
(Jimmy Mundy, Larry Neal)
2. I Will Be Home Again 3.17
(Bennie Benjamin, Raymond Leveen, Lou Singer)
3. Bones, Bones, Bones 2.57
(Ezekiel in the Valley)
(Wilson, Owens, Riddik, Frederick)
4. God's Gonna Cut 'Em Down (Traditional) 2.35
5. Swing Down, Chariot (Traditional) 3.33
6. No Restricted Signs (Up in Heaven) 3.02
7. Atom and Evil (Lou Singer, Hy Zaret) 3.22
8. Shadrack (Robert MacGimsey) 2.39
9. Hush! (Golden Gate Quartet) 3.14
10. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho 2.42
(Traditional)
11. Wade in the Water (Traditional) 2.48
12. Pray for the Lights to Go Out 3.04
(Golden Gate Quartet)
13. High, Low and Wide (Golden Gate Quartet) 2.39
14. Do Unto Others (Golden Gate Quartet) 2.48
15. Broodle-Oo, Broodle-Oo 2.50
(Golden Gate Quartet)
16. Abdullah (Golden Gate Quartet) 2.54
17. Fare You Well, Fare You Well 2.28
(Golden Gate Quartet)
18. She's Gonna Ruin You, Buddy 2.57
(Golden Gate Quartet)
19. I'm Just a Dreamer 2.59
(Golden Gate Quartet)
20. Talking Jerusalem to Death (Traditional) 2.45
21. Mene, Mene, Tekel 3.10
(Golden Gate Quartet)
22. Jesus Met the Woman at the Well 2.58
(James W. Alexander)
23. Mary, Mary (Golden Gate Quartet) 2.54
24. John Saw the Wheel (Traditional) 2.47
25. Lord, I Am Tired and I Want to Go Home 2.59
(Traditional)
Golden Gate Quartet:
Willie Johnson (baritone, leader)
Clyde Riddik, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 72.45
CD 6
■ RAIN IS THE TEARDROPS OF ANGELS
(1949 – 1952)
1. Seven Angels And Seven Trumpets 2.55
(Traditional)
2. Lord I Want to Be a Christian 2.55
(Traditional)
3. You Ain't Got Faith (Till You Got Religion) 3.03
(Traditional)
4. Religion Is a Fortune (Traditional) 2.41
5. Satisfied (Traditional) 3.18
6. Lord I Want to Walk with Thee 2.24
(Traditional)
7. There's a Man Going 'Round 2.36
Taking Names (Traditional)
8. Didn't That Man Believe (Traditional) 2.17
9 Same Train (Traditional) 2.28
10. Ride on Moses (Traditional) 2.26
11. Look Up! (Traditional) 2.26
12. Listen to the Lambs 2.56
(O. Wilson, Orlandus Wilson) (Traditional)
13. Hold The Wind 2.46
(O. Wilson, Orlandus Wilson) (Traditional)
14. Nicodemus (Traditional) 2.24
15. On Top of Old Smokey (Traditional) 2.22
16. Mother's Love (Traditional) 3.15
17. Bones, Bones, Bones (Traditional) 2.00
18. You Better Mind (Traditional) 2.33
19. I Just Telephone Upstairs (Traditional) 2.46
20. Rain Is the Teardrops of Angels 2.54
21. Hit the Road to Dreamland 4.48
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
22. The General Jumped at Dawn 1.50
(Jimmy Mundy)
Golden Gate Quartet:
Orville Brooks (baritone, leader)
Clyde Riddik, Henry Owens (tenor)
Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 60.12
CD 7
■ SPIRITUALS
1. Shadrack (Rober McGrimsey) 2.27
2. Go Down Moses (Traditional) 3.04
3. Anyhow (Traditional) 2.54
4. Another Year This Time (Traditional) 2.41
5. When the Saints Go Marching In 2.48
(Traditional)
6. By and By (Traditional) 2.16
7. You Better Run (Traditional) 2.10
8. John the Revelator (Traditional) 3.03
9. Swing Down Chariot (Traditional) 3.06
10. God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down 2.38
(Traditional)
11. Steal Away and Pray (Traditional) 2.48
12. Didn't Old Pharaoh Get Lost (Traditional) 2.34
13. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho 2.16
(Traditional)
14. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen 2.50
(Traditional)
15. Daniel Saw the Stone (Traditional) 2.27
16. Blind Barnabus (Traditional) 2.07
n NEGRO SPIRITUALS VOL. 2
17. Elijah (Caleb Ginyard) 2.14
18. My God's Comin' Down Again 1.37
(Caleb Ginyard)
19. Steal Away (Orlandus Wilson) 2.53
20. Theres a Man Going Around 2.57
(Caleb Ginyard)
21. Little David, Play on Your Harp 3.03
(Orlandus Wilson)
22. Sometime I Feel Like a 3.12
Motherless Child (Orlandus Wilson)
23. Down by the Riverside 2.47
(Ginyard, Orlandus Wilson)
24. Go Tell It on the Mountain (Orlandus Wilson) 2.08
25. When Was Jesus Born (Orlandus Wilson) 2.30
26. Silent Night (Gruber, Muhr) 2.42
27. Go Where I Send Thee (Orlandus Wilson) 2.11
28. John Henry (Orlandus Wilson) 2.15
29. Lula (Orlandus Wilson) 2.25
30. Round the Bay of Mexico (Orlandus Wilson) 2.39
Golden Gate Quartet:
Clyde Riddik (first tenor) Clyde Wright (2nd tenor)
Caleb Ginyard (baritone) Orlandus Wilson (bass)
Total Time 79.04
CD 8
■ LEADBELLY AND THE
GOLDEN GATE QUARTET
1. The Midnight Special 3.07
(Traditional, arr Leadbetter)
2. Ham an' Eggs (Leadbetter) 2.55
3. Grey Goose (Leadbetter) 3.03
4. Stewball (Leadbetter) 3.00
5. Pick a Bale of Cotton (Leadbetter) 2.59
6. Alabama Bound 3.05
(Traditional, arr Leadbetter)
7. Rock Island Line (Leadbetter, Lomax) 2.34
Leadbelly (voc, git)
The Golden Gate Quartet
Recorded in June 1940
n THE GOLDEN GATE QUARTET
WITH GUY LAFITTE
8. Ballin´ the Jack (Smith, Marks) 1.52
9. Alexander´s Ragtime Band (I. Berlin) 2.19
10. Golden Slippers (Bland) 3.26
11. Margie (Davis, Robinson) 2.50
12. Deep River (Traditional) 4.33
13. What a Time (Traditional) 2.44
14. Wallie-Wallie (Traditional) 2.52
15. The World Outside (Traditional) 2.28
16. Memories of You (E. Blake) 2.28
17. Nelly Bly (Traditional) 2.20
18. I Got a Home in That Rock (Traditional) 3.44
19. Tell Old Bill (Traditional) 2.55
20 It´s Me, Oh Lord! (Traditional) 2.20
21. Me and Brother Bill (Traditional) 2.38
The Golden Gate Quartet
with Guy Lafitte (ts)
Released in 1962
Total Time 60.27
CD 9
■ FROM SPIRITUALS TO SWING I
1. Benny Goodman Sextet: I Got Rhythm 3.23
(Gershwin)
2. Benny Goodman Sextet: Flying Home 3.15
(Goodman, Christian, Hampton)
3. Benny Goodman Sextet: Memories 3.06
of You (Blake)
4. Helen Humes: Blues with Helen 4.12
(Basie, Humes)
5. Count Basie Combo: Mortgage Stomp 3.59
(Basie)
6. Count Basie Band: One O'Clock Stomp 0.57
(Basie)
7. Count Basie Band: Blues with Lips (Basie) 3.55
8. Count Basie Band: Rhythm Man (Mundy) 2.40
9. Kansas City Six: Good Morning Blues 3.49
(Basie)
10. Kansas City Six: Way Down Yonder 2.29
in New Orleans (Creamer, Layton)
11. Count Basie, Walter Page, Jo Jones: 4.22
I Ain't Got Nobody (S. Williams)
12. Count Basie Combo: Don't Be That Way 4.13
(Sampson)
13. James P. Johnson: Mule Walk 2.20
(James P. Johnson)
14. James P. Johnson: Carolina Shout 2.19
(James P. Johnson)
15. New Orleans Feetwarmers: 2.03
Weary Blues (Artie Matthews)
16. New Orleans Feetwarmers: 2.25
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
(Piron)
Buck Clayton (tp: 4 to 10, 12) Ed Lewis (tp: 6 to 8)
Harry Edison (tracks: 6 to 8) Shad Collins (tp: 6
to 8) Tommy Ladnier (tp: 15, 16) Benny Morton
(tb: 6 to 8) Dan Minor (tb: 6 to 8, 15,16) Dickie
Wells (tb: 6 to 8) Benny Goodman (cl: 1 to 3)
Sidney Bechet (ss, leader: 15, 16) Earl Warren
(as: 6 to 8) Hershal Evans (ts: 6 to 8) Lester
Young (ts: 4 to 10, 12) Jack Washington (bs: 6
to 8) Charlie Christian (git: 1 to 3, 9, 10) Freddie
Green (git: 6 to 10) Count Basie (p: 4 to 8, 11, 12)
Fletcher Henderson (p: 1 to 3) James P.
Johnson (p: 13 to 16) Arthur Bernstein (b: 1 to 3)
Walter Page (b: 4 to 12, 15, 16) Jo Jones (drs:
4 to 12, 15, 16) Nick Fatool (drs: 1 to 3)
Lionel Hampton (vibes: 1 to 3)
Recorded live on December 23, 1938 and
December 24, 1939, at Carnegie Hall, New York
Total Time 49.27
CD 10
■ FROM SPIRITUALS TO SWING II
1. Benny Goodman Sextet: 3.18
Stomping at the Savoy (Sampson)
2. Benny Goodman Sextet: 3.54
Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller)
3. The Golden Gate Quartet: Gospel Train 2.09
(Traditional)
4. The Golden Gate Quartet: 2.59
I'm On My Way (Traditional)
5. Ida Cox and Band: Four Day Creep (Cox) 3.26
6. Benny Goodman Sextet, Count Basie Band 9.37
with Meade Lux Lewis, Pete Johnson and
Albert Ammons: Lady Be Good (Jam Session)
(Gershwin)
7. Sonny Terry: Mountain Blues (Terry) 3.10
8. Sonny Terry and Bull City Red: 3.36
The New John Henry (Terry)
9. Joe Turner and Pete Johnson: 2.37
It's All Right Baby (Turner, Johnson)
10. Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis and 2.59
Albert Ammons: Cavalcade of Boogie
(Ammons, Lewis, Johnson)
11. Big Bill Broonzy with Albert Ammons, 2.31
Walter Page, Jo Jones: Done Got Wise
(Broonzy)
12. Big Bill Broonzy With Albert Ammons, 2.57
Walter Page, Jo Jones: Louise, Louise
(Broonzy)
13. Mitchell's Christian Singers: 2.15
What More Can My Jesus Do (Traditional)
14. Mitchell's Christian Singers: 2.18
My Mother Died a'Shoutin' (Traditional)
15. Kansas City Six: Paging the Devil (Page) 3.52
Buck Clayton (tp: 5, 15) Harry Edison (tp: 6)
Dickie Wells (tb:5) Lester Young (ts: 5, 6, 15)
Charlie Christian (git: 1, 2, 6, 15) Freddie Green
(git: 5, 15) Albert Ammons (p: 6, 10 to 12) Count
Basie (p: 6) Fletcher Henderson (p: 1, 2, 6)
James P. Johnson (p: 5) Meade Lux Lewis (p:
6, 10) Pete Johnson (p: 5, 6, 10) Arthur
Bernstein (b: 1, 2, 6) Walter Page (b: 5, 10 to 12,
15) Jo Jones (drs: 5, 10 to 12, 15) Nick Fatool
(drs: 1, 2, 6) Lionel Hampton (vibes: 1, 2, 6)
Golden Gate Quartet: Henry Owens (1st tenor: 3, 4)
Willie Johnson (1st bass: 3, 4) William Langford
(2nd tenor: 3, 4) Arlandus Wilson (2nd bass:
3, 4) Sonny Terry (voc, harmonica: 7, 8) Bull
City Red (washboard: 8) Ida Cox (voc: 5)
Joe Turner (voc: 9) Big Bill Broonzy (voc, git:
11, 12) William Brown (1st tenor: 13, 14) Julius
Davis (2nd tenor: 13, 14) Louis Davis (baritone
voc: 13, 14) Sam Bryant (bass voc: 13, 14)
Recorded live on December 23, 1938
and December 24, 1939, at Carnegie Hall,
New York City
Total Time 51.39
Details
Genre: Soul/Blues/Gospel
Set content: 10
EAN: 4053796004789