Sunday afternoon gospel--"The Kitty Wells Family Gospel Sing" (1965)

 

Every day, I learn something new.  For instance, I'd have sworn that Kitty Wells' husband, Johnny Wright, was not the creator of William M. Golden's Where the Soul of Man Never Dies, Thomas A. Dorsey's Shake My Mother's Hand for Me, or J.W. Vaughan's The Old Country Church, but apparently he was.  I mean, a major label like Decca wouldn't lie, would it?  A disappointing but good-in-spots gospel LP by the Kitty Wells Family, one from which I was expecting a lot more, if only because the track listing includes classics like Glory Land March and Jesus Is Coming Soon.  But, in the latter case, it pays to read the fine print: This is not the unforgettable R.E. Winsett Coming Soon but a piece of fluff by one Bill Phillips.  And how can you go right with a title like Let's Regain the Garden?  You can't.  And I wish Roy Botkin hadn't wasted our listening time with A Family Gathering at Home and There's No Greater Time Than Now--Couldn't Decca have chosen a couple more P.D. classics to fill said space?  (And credit them to Kitty's hubby?)

But the good tracks almost make up for the filler titles--the spirited Glory Land March, an excellent Precious Memories, and three other genuine gospel goodies, including Thomas (Precious Lord, Take My Hand) Dorsey's Shake My Mother's Hand for Me.  I'm generally not big on mother songs when it comes to gospel, but at least this particular mother song, while falsely attributed, is the real gospel deal.  Five out of twelve ain't bad, though I still feel pretty let down.  I mean, this is Kitty Wells, her family, and the label is a major one, so we don't really expect such cheap tactics as borrowed credits and cliché-athon filler.  But so it goes, sometimes.

Now, that was a ringing endorsement, wasn't it?  Seriously, though, the five good tracks (Side 1-3, 5; Side 2--1, 2, 5) make this worth the download.  But, if you're me, you'll want to avoid the rest.

On the mp3 ID tags, I've given the proper author/composer credits.

DOWNLOAD: The Kitty Wells Family Gospel Sing (Decca DL 74679; 1965)

Jesus Is Coming Soon
A Family Gathering at Home
Where the Soul of Man Never Dies
Let's Regain the Garden
Shake My Mother's Hand for Me
Heaven
Glory Land March
Precious Memories
I'm on My Way
Thank God for a Mother Like Mine
(With My Friends At) Old Country Church
There's No Greater Time Than Now

The Kitty Wells Family Gospel Sing (Decca DL 74679; 1965)

Lee