Monday Gospel Time w/ The CBS Trumpeteers

Joseph Johnson & The CBS Trumpeteers - Nobody Knows the Trouble I See

Today I'm going to do a "Monday Gospel Time" post featuring the CBS Trumpeteers, a jubilee-styled gospel group best known for their theme song, the gospel ballad "Milky White Way," which made waves as a 1948 release on Score. (They were known then simply as "The Trumpeteers"; they changed their name in the '50s to include the network on which they broadcasted for some time.) Lead singer Joseph Johnson was not as acrobatic, be it physically or vocally, as his peers in groups like the Dixie Hummingbirds, but Johnson proved to be adept at balladry and uptempo patter songs like "The Mighty Number" and "Right John" (featured in a post some time ago). After Johnson's death in 1984 the group continued performing, although I don't think they are active at this time (anyone have info about the group to clarify?) If you go on YouTube, there are three videos of the group, two from a '60s appearance on "TV Gospel Time" (singing "Milky White Way" and "The Mighty Number") and one of the post-Johnson group doing "Straighten Them Out" in the '80s.

Today's selection comes from the latter half of the '70s. The Trumpeteers recorded one LP, The Mighty Number, for HSE after a long tenure with Nashboro. The group's version of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See" was the flip of the title track 45. After a nice spoken introduction, the group and Johnson really sell the song. Unfortunately, my 45 is a bit scratchy, but it's too good a tune for me to not feature it.