Sunday, November 27, 2005

Sweet Gospel Sunday

Spirit of Memphis Quartet - Lost in Sin

The influence of gospel on soul music is well-documented, but it is always a treasure to me to find songs that so strongly demonstrate the connections between the two. Today's selection features the Spirit of Memphis, whose most famous lead was Wilmer "Little Axe" Broadnax, who in death revealed a dramatic secret: the sweetest-singing gospel male lead was actually a cross-dressing woman! The lead on this recording, however, belongs to Joe Hinton, who later had a major R&B hit with "Funny." "Lost in Sin" features a strong doo-wop sound and some tasty guitar work.

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