Wild Private Press Christian Drum Solo 45!
- Listen to these songs on youtube: Gospel Drums
- Listen to these 45s in a Spotify playlist here with other 45s from the blog (though note, spotify doesn’t have all / many of the songs featured on the site so some playlists may be incomplete or feature slightly different versions than the original 45s I’m referring to here.
- Download the songs by clicking the titles above
Happy to be back with another 45 after a much too long and unanticipated break from the blog. To make up for it I’m dropping a favorite 45 on you all and hope to have a few more posts up in short time.
Today’s side is an absolute scorcher of interesting provenance. When one does and inventory of a “standard” Gospel tune and breaks it down into parts then ranks those parks the drums would probably not be in the top three. Often times a killer gospel 45 won’t even have percussion outside of some hand clapping. So when you drop this Billy Blackwood 45 on your turntable and side one reveals itself to be an unremarkable acoustic number the prospects for a riveting side of gospel drums is diminished even further.
Well, boy oh, boy does this record deliver!
Tons of open drums, awesome little organ lead in the middle of a drum solo, simple driving bass/guitar. A cold stop into a kinda flimsy and surfy guitar lead. They even kinda sneak a piano flourish. It’s a really really fun record that feels without inhibition and oozes youthful joy. AND IT’S FULL OF AWESOME DRUM BREAKS!
There’s no definite date I can pin on this 45 but it seems safe in terms of Billy’s bio and the sound of the record to put it at 1967 or 68. Billy Blackwood comes from the gospel royalty of the Blackwood Brothers gospel quartet at the time of this record, hailing from Memphis, TN. During the early sixties he sang with the Blackwood “Little” Brothers, leaving in 67 to drum with JD Sumner (who sang bass for the Blackwood Brothers until 1965) and The Stamps. It’s just speculation but feels right that this 45 sits in that pocket. He’s moved from early teenage singing to a touring drummer though he hasn’t left gospel music for secular sounds yet so even the instrumental break filled freakout is labelled “Gospel Drums.” In 1969 he joins his father in the Blackwood Brothers proper as a drummer which makes me think- again, along with the sound, instrumentation and general vibe- the record falls before 1969.
There’s also a mild connection here to Elvis Presley that is worth mentioning. Elvis was a big fan of the Blackwood Brothers and had auditioned for what was essentially their farm team The Songfellows. His inability to harmonize and later when he improved, his newly signed deal with Sun records got in the way of him joining that group. Elvis did have the Blackwoods back him up on recordings and their relationship continued including in 1973 when the group Voice with the Gospel Drummer himself Billy Blackwood on the kit. For those who are so inclined he seems to have at least one LP from the period between this 45 and the mid 70′s that features some of the ‘out’ tendencies of the period.
Billy’s foray into secular music didn’t last long and started his own mission in the early 80′s where he continues to practice- with music at the forefront- today.
I hope you enjoyed today’s record and always remember to flip the dang 45 over, you never know what the other side has in store!
Till the next rotation.
-George / Snack Attack
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