Sunday morning gospel--Sego Brothers and Naomi: Our Best Gospel Songs (Runa 1943; 1977 or 1978)

 

When I see a Sego Brothers and Naomi LP in the Goodwill bin, and the front cover lists God Walks the Dark Hills, I'm Going Up, and Because He Lives, I know it's going to be a great album.  And that's exactly what it turned out to be.  It was a sure thing, and sure things are rare when it comes to gospel LPs--you can almost never tell for certain from the cover photos--or even the track line-ups--whether you're getting a classic or a dog.  But with this group... Well, they're one of the most dependable outfits of their type.  Were one of them, I should say.  Here's a great write-up on Naomi, who passed away in 2017: The End of a Southern Gospel Legend.

Now, Southern gospel is a broadly inclusive category, and of course Naomi and the Brothers belong to it, but I personally would use the label "country gospel" to describe their superb brand of sacred music.  To some extent, country gospel (to me, at least) is a cross between traditional quartet gospel of the Blackwood Brothers type and bluegrass gospel of the Lewis Family type.  But, so much for labels--more to the point, this is first-rank popular gospel, and the track line-up is one modern (i.e., latter 20th-century) gospel classic after another, from Audra Czarhikow's God Walks the Dark Hills to Bill and Gloria Gaither's Because He Lives.  I would imagine, as of 2021, these numbers have joined the ranks of the "old songs" (another broadly inclusive category), though I tend to regard them as modern gospel.  I'm listening with an historian's ear, I guess.  Actually, two of them.

Runa Records is new to me, but at Discogs I see that this group recorded a number of LPs for this label.  It was by catalog number comparison that I determined this is from either 1977 or 1978, and the photo certainly suggests as much.  I like the contrast between the professionally-done front cover photo and the stock art on the reverse--We can guess that Runa was a mid-budget label.

A first-rate Sunday gospel experience awaits:

DOWNLOAD: Our Best Gospel Songs--Sego Bros. and Naomi

God Walks the Dark Hills (Audra Czarhikow)
I'm Going Up
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
What a Time Over There
Going Home
Because He Lives (Bill and Gloria Gaither)
He Pilots My Ship
He's More Than Just a Swear Word
You Never Mentioned Him to Me
Give Me the Roses While I Live

Our Best Gospel Songs--Sego Brothers and Naomi (Rune 1943; 1977 or 1978)

Lee