Song: God Told Nicodemus
Song by: The Golden Gate Quartet
Podcast vocals (intro): Gail Nobles
Hi! I’m Gail Nobles and you’re listening to The Gospel Greats. Today’s topic: The Golden Gate Quartet.
The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is a vocal gospel group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active.
The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers in 1934, by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in
...See More Norfolk, Virginia. According to the group's website, the original members were Willie Johnson (baritone 1980), William Langford (tenor; d. 1970), Henry Owens (second tenor 1970) and Orlandus Wilson (bass; 1917–1998); other sources state that Langford and Wilson replaced earlier members Robert "Peg" Ford and A.C. "Eddie" Griffin in 1935.
From 1935, the group sang in churches and on local radio, gaining a regular spot on radio station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina in 1936.[ They began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated with barbershop quartets with rhythms borrowed from the blues and jazz like scat singing. They developed a broad repertoire of styles – from Owens' mournful, understated approach in songs such as "Anyhow" or "Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name", to the group's highly syncopated arrangements in "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego". Like The Mills Brothers in popular music, they would often include vocal special effects in their songs, imitating train sounds in songs such as "Golden Gate Gospel Train". Langford often sang lead, using his ability to range from baritone to falsetto, while Johnson narrated. Wilson’s bass served as the anchor for the group and Owens harmonized with Langford and Johnson.
In 1940 the group signed a new contract with Columbia Record’s Okeh label and shortened their name to Golden Gate Quartet.
The quartet lost their pre-eminent position in gospel music after the war, when they faced competition from the newer hard gospel quartets.
The Golden Gates revived their career in 1955, however, when they toured Europe for the first time where they became widely popular.
The group made their first tour of Africa in 1962, and during the early 1960s gradually expanded their accompanying band to Incorporate guitar, piano, bass, and drums.
The Golden Gates sang a lot of songs. One of the songs that I like to hear the group sing is God Told Nicodemus.
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