The Gay Sisters
The Gay Sisters were a popular gospel singing group in the 1950s during the Golden Age of Gospel Music. The three sisters, Evelyn (1923-1984), Mildred (1926-2002), and Geraldine (1931-2010), sang in a church choir led by their mother Fannie. The sisters started performing and recording together in the late 1940s. The Gay Sisters are best known for their hit record “God Will Take Care of You” on Savoy in 1951. Mildred sang soprano. Evelyn played sanctified, blues piano for the group. Geraldine was also a gospel pianist who added early bebop riffs and chords to her playing.[1]
History
The Gay Sisters performed at the first gospel music concert, which was called the First Annual Negro Gospel Music Festival, at Carnegie Hall on October 1, 1950.[2][3] At that concert, the Gay Sisters were on the same bill as Mahalia Jackson and the Clara Ward Singers. Evelyn and Mildred were joined by their baby brother Donald, who was also known as the “Boy Preacher.”[4]
The Gay Sisters recorded two songs for the Dolphin label in 1948, two songs for Exclusive in 1949, twelve songs for Savoy in 1951, and two songs for Decca in 1955. The twelve songs on Savoy were rereleased on an album in 1958.[5]
In 1966, Geraldine and her younger brother Donald, recorded nine songs for Checker Records. Two of them were released: “Let Me Alone” and “He’s Calling Me.”[5]
Family members performed at the nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976 at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.[1][6]
After Evelyn passed away, Mildred, Geraldine, and Donald recorded several tracks on Anthony Heilbut’s production called the Soul of Chicago. Geraldine also accompanied Gladys Beamon, Vernon Oliver Price, and Little Lucy Smith on this recording. After Mildred passed away, Geraldine and Donald made two records on The Sirens Records, In the Right Hands and Soulful Sounds.
Family
In addition to their three daughters, Jerry (1897-1978) and Fannie (1907-1999) Gay raised two sons, Robert (1924-1967) and Donald (b. 1945).[1]
Robert was a jazz trumpet player who was known as “Little Diz.” Robert Gay and Sonny Rollins did drug rehabilitation at the same time at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Sonny Rollins lived with the Gay family in Chicago before and after his drug treatment.[7]
Works
- Dixon, Jessy, Geraldine Gay, Donald Gay, and Nash Shaffer, Jr. In the Right Hands. The Sirens Records SR-5010, 2004, compact disc.
- Gay Family. God Will Take Care of You. Recorded 1948–1977. Gospel Friend Records, 2013, compact disc.
- Gay, Geraldine, and Donald Gay. Soulful Sounds. The Sirens Records SR-5016, 2007, compact disc.
- The Soul of Chicago. Shanachie CD-6008, 1993, compact disc.
References
Hayes, Cedric J., and Robert Laughton. Gospel Discography 1943–2000. 2 vols. Canada: Eyeball Productions, 2014.
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Carpenter, Bil (2005). Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 150–153. ISBN 0879308419.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ "8,000 Witness First Negro Gospel Concert at Carnegie Hall". Chicago Defender. October 14, 1950.
- ↑ "Mahalia Jackson Gospel Song Diva". New York Amsterdam News. October 7, 1950. p. 14.
- ↑ Marovich, Robert (2015). A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 197. ISBN 9780252080692.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hayes, Cedric J. and Laughton, Robert (2014). Gospel Discography 1943–2000. Canada: Eyeball Productions. pp. 348–349.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
- ↑ Nations, Opal Louis (Summer 1996). "The Gay Sisters". Blues Gazette. Summer 1996: 18–19.
- ↑ Levy, Aidan (2022). Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins. New York: Hachette Books. pp. 185–186.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) Search this book on
