I am by no means a religious person. Unfortunately for my record collection, this choice has left me with a plebian knowledge of gospel music, a member of the musical specturm that often demonstrates serious funk and/or soul tendencies (a fine example: the Good God! collection compiled by the fine folks at the Numero Group a few years back). The addition of funky gospel sides to my record colleciton has been further limited by the lack of "funky tip-offs"* on gospel records. Fortunately, the aquisition of a portable turntable has made it a little bit easier for me to stumble on gospel finds as of late. One such example**, acquired just this last weekend during a dig at one of my favorite spots in Chicago, has been provided for you listening pleasure today...Stanley Keeble was born in Chicago in 1937. His musical career started in 1952 with the Fellowship Bible Church choir, a group he directed, as well as accompanied on the piano and organ. His career in gospel music was continued through connections with artists like Inez Andrews and Jesse Dixon. In 1968, he decided to start his own gospel choir, The Voices of Triumph***, who back him on today's selection. Although I'm not sure how long the group was active, I do know that he worked with the group through at least 1974, as that is the publishing date stamped on the 45 label. More recently, he is credited with establishing the Chicago Gospel Music Heritage Museum, as well as hosting a weekly radio program on WKKC.
*Examples include, but are not limited to, the word "funky" in the song title or an artist name like, "(insert first name here) and the (insert object here)".
**There's no use in denying that I was initially drawn to this record by the imprint name, Sounds of Soul. Luckily, as has happened a great many times in the past, the imprint name tip-off didn't fail to impress.
***The Voices of Triumph are also featured on the Good God! collection released by Numero Group.
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