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1Segro Choir Gives ItaliansNew Idea O f American Musicccsrr1i1iBy Sgt. ROBERT MEYERStars and Stripes Staff WriterGENOA, June 13—A lot of Ital-| by the way the soldiers are receiving Mus everywhere.Ians who used to think that “Pistol Packin’ Mamma” was the sum and substance of American music are changing their ideas these days, and much of the credit for that change belongs to America's famed Wings Over Jordan choir. The. 18-voice Negro choir, which specializes in spirituals, is presently encamped with the 92nd Division in this vicinity, and almost every place the singers perform for the troops the audience is fringed with Italians.Wings Over Jordan, as thousands of Americans know, is not a new idea dreamed up for the entertainment of soldiers overseas. The unit has ranked among the foremost exponents of U. S. Negro folk music for almost eight years. It was organized by Rev. Glynn T. Settle at Gethsemane Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1937, and shortly1lt;tti1]“Why, man, in some places they’ve been hanging from the rafters, and they keep shouting their favorites and making request for numbers we’ve been singing since ‘Wings’!1 was organized.”There are. about 18. spirituals in the choir’s repertoire. The favor-j] ite of favorites is “Little David,” a number in which basso profoundo Ellison B. White of Cairo, Ga., reaches almost to his ankles for one note and invariably stops the show. Other favorite spirituals are j lt;I’ve Done The Best I Can,” “Thej] Ol’ Ark’s Amooverin’ ” and “There j i Must Be A God Somewhere.”Rev. Settle, his manager, Miss Mildred Ridley, and the choir’s con- , ductor. Miss Hattye Easley, call j i Cleveland home. The majority of \ the singers come from various parts of the south. In the chorus are:»“Leaning On The Lord,” “When1after that the group landed a regu- Sylvia Avery, Asheville, N. C.; Rheda lar sustaining assignment with the . Chatman, Memphis, Tenn.; Dorothy Columbia Broadcasting System.Clarke, Memphis. Tenn.; CynthiaEarly In 1939 the choir began a Grovely, Leaksville, N. C.; Mildred series of cross-country tours, and! Hunter, Asheville, N. C.; Myrtle j lriends they made on those trips; Jones, Greensboro, N. C.; Rell are being met again overseas. j pierce, New Orleans, La.; John Car-“Renewing those friendships is , penter, Corning, N. Y.; Cecil Dandy, one of the greatest thrills of our St. Petersburg, Fla.; Marvin Hayes, overseas trip,” says Rev. Settle, a'Goldsboro, N. C.; Sherman Sneed, ro3y-poly storybook type of Negro; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Eugene preacher who is still shepherd of j Strider, and Kenneth Slaughter, his flock. We haven't had many Columbus, Ohio; George Rates, unusual experiences so far because Owensboro, Ky.; William Peoples, we have been here just six or eight Birmingham, Ala., and Ezekiel weeks, but. we aro mighty thrilled ‘Dearon, Beaumont, Texas.i
Newspaper Details
Mediterranean Stars and Stripes
Naples, Naples, IT
Thu, Jun 14, 1945
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Nathan O.
OH, USA 07 Jan 2022
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