By this time, she had been nominated 11 times for the Grammy Award. Walker had moved to Word/Epic recording Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart, I Will Wait on You, and Joy Will Come In the Morning. Walker re-signed with Savoy releasing such LPs as Please Be Patient With Me (her first Grammy-nominated album), I Can Go to God In Prayer, Spread the Word, I Wont Last a Day Without You. The Caravans disbanded in the mid-’70s, though there were occassional reunion tours. Other hit albums with VeeJay include Walk Around Heaven All Day and To Whom Shall I Turn. Riding high in 1962, the Caravans signed to pioneering Chicago record label Vee-Jay to record the LP Seek Ye the Lord. Dance fans should take note that the Caravans, in 1966, included teenager and future disco diva Loleatta Holloway.īy 1956, the Caravans were among the most popular acts on the gospel music circuit due in part to their ethereal, amazing vocal interplay and strong alternating leads. In 1955, they were signed to Savoy Records. In that tradition, the pioneering gospel singer started The Albertina Walker Foundation for the Creative Arts which provides scholarships to gospel musicians and singers. The Caravans are heralded as an unparalleled launching pad for future gospel superstars: Shirley Caesar, Inez Andrews, Bessie Griffin, Dorothy Norwood, Cassietta George, and James Cleveland were just a few of the ensemble’s alumni who later went on to solo fame. Walker for the soundtrack of Steve Martin’s movie Leap of Faith, in which she makes a brief cameo.

Classic recordings for the States label between 19 were “Mary Don’t You Weep,” “Soldiers in the Army,” “The Solid Rock,” “The Lord I’ll Keep Me Day By Day,” “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power,” and “Blessed Assurance. The original group also included Ora Lee Hopkins, Elyse Yancey, and Nellie Grace Daniels.

She joined gospel groups, beginning with the Pete Williams Singers, the Willie Webb Singers, and the Robert Anderson Singers before forming the Caravans in 1951. A lot of great gospel artists used to come to her church: the Roberta Martin Singers, Sadie Durham, and Professor Fyre. She was popularly referred to as the “ Queen of Gospel Music“.īorn the youngest of nine children on Augin Chicago, IL, Albertina Walker grew up on the south side and started singing as a child at Westpoint Baptist Church. Albertina Walker was an American gospel singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian.

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