Clara Ward

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Clara Ward (born April 21, 1924 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † January 16, 1973 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American gospel singer, composer and arranger. She had great success with her vocal group The Famous Ward Singers , especially in the 1940s and 1950s.

biography

Clara Ward's mother Gertrude Ward (1901-1981) founded the Ward Singers in 1931, consisting of herself and her daughters Clara and Willa. They performed under different names, such as "The Consecrated Gospel Singers" or "The Ward Trio". In addition to her engagements with the Ward Trio, Clara made her first solo recordings in 1940.

From 1943 the Ward Singers were traveling all over the USA. In 1947 Willa Ward left the company, and Henrietta Waddy took her place. A little later, Marion Williams made the trio a quartet. The group's first recordings appeared in 1948. In 1950 Clara Ward and the Famous Ward Singers first performed at New York's Carnegie Hall , along with greats like Mahalia Jackson .

While Gertrude Ward took over the organization of the performances and tours, Clara Ward was responsible for the musical area. More singers were hired, even a second group called "The Clara Ward Specials" was put together. However, Gertrude Ward paid the other singers very poorly.

In 1958 the break came: Marion Williams, Henrietta Waddy, Frances Steadman and Kitty Parham left the Ward Singers and founded their own singing group, The Stars of Faith . After that, the Ward Singers' success waned. They performed in nightclubs and in Las Vegas in the 1960s , causing them to lose many of their religious followers.

Occasionally, Clara Ward sang in the choir on recordings by other artists, such as Dee Dee Sharp's number 1 hit Mashed Potato Time (1962). In 1963 she became the first gospel singer to appear on Broadway . She was also the first gospel singer to record with a symphony orchestra . In the 1960s she increasingly turned to popular music.

In 1968 Clara Ward starred in the Hollywood movie "A Time To Sing" with Hank Williams . In 1968 and 1969, the Ward Singers performed in front of American soldiers on behalf of the US government in Vietnam . During this time, she toured around the world. TV appearances were the order of the day.

In the early 1970s, Clara Ward retired from the music business due to her poor health. She died in Los Angeles in January 1973 after two strokes. At her funeral in Philadelphia, Aretha Franklin and her father, Rev. CL Franklin, sang , who were among Clara's closest friends. Marion Williams sang at a memorial service a few days later in Los Angeles.

Awards

In 1977, Clara Ward was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame . In 1998, a 32-cent stamp with her portrait appeared in the USA.

literature

  • Willa Ward-Royster: How I Got Over: Clara Ward and the World-Famous Ward Singers . Temple University Press, 1997, ISBN 1-56639-490-2 (English)
  • Nick Salvatore: Singing in a Strange Land: CL Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America . Little Brown, 2005, ISBN 0-316-16037-7 (English)
  • Horace Clarence Boyer: How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel . Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7 (English)
  • Anthony Heilbut: The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times . Limelight Editions, 1997, ISBN 0-87910-034-6 (English)
  • Jerry Zolten: Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music . Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-515272-7 (English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ All Music Guide (see web links) gives August 21, 1924 as the date of birth.
personal data
SURNAME Ward, Clara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American gospel singer, composer and arranger
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH 16th January 1973
Place of death Los Angeles , California