First off, I just wanted to let you know this has been a crazy busy month for me. I probably will not be posting as much as I have this month as I usually do. I hope to get another album up on here by the end of the month. If time constrains me from doing so, I wanted to put out a strong choice if this is the only one I can share for April.
This is an incredible rarity I found by chance online (another search for a general term instead of anything specific on Ebay.) Like the "Pioneers for Christ" album before it, this is a remarkable recording because it features the works of United Pentecostal musicians before they split off from the Assemblies of God Church.
The main draw here is Rev. Carroll McGruder and his early recordings with his first wife, Linda Coffey. Many know and love his musical work with The McGruders where he recorded album after album with his wife, Priscilla McDonald. It's wonderful to find these early recordings and wonder how Linda's influence would have affected the eventual work The McGruders put out.
And if that was the only Oneness Pentecostal artist on this record, it would be worth sharing. But there are MORE!
"Evangelist and Mrs. Tony Carson" are Tony and Martha Carson of Memphis, TN. They later on went to minister in South Carolina and also at the Bethlehem Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Potts Camp, MS. I actually have full length LP of them in my collection I will be sure to share in the near future!
And, of course, included in the mix is the indelible group The Wilson Brothers Quartet. Bishop Steve Wilson is the lead in this group and still ministers to this day at the Bethlehem Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, where Bro. Tony Carson also ministered in the past.
The record also lists Rev. M.L. and Ruby Walls. From what I can find, they stayed with the Assemblies of God, but from their church page at the Medora Pentecostal Church in Medora, IN they were still Assemblies but looks like they held on to their Oneness beliefs and Acts 2:38 salvation plan according to their beliefs link on their website.
I do not know about the members of the Hot Springs Trio and the Apostolic Messengers Quartet, however. Rev. McGruder lists Nedra Fry as a member of the trio and, from her obituary, it doesn't look like she attended the UPC.
It's also worth noting that Rev. McGruder covers a song written by Rev. Spencer McCool, who performed with his wife as The McCools.
So, in this crazy month, if this is the only record I can give you, I think this is a fantastic selection. The condition of the vinyl was in amazing shape, as well. I really feel God led me to look it up on the day it was up for sale on Ebay! Praise Jesus! He knew this was a little light that needed to shine, not be hid "under a bushel" in a stored collection somewhere!
You can download this amazing piece of Pentecostal history HERE!