Joy Down In My Heart: The Best Of The Gospel Recordings 1959-1962

At the absolute height of his 1950s fame, Richard Wayne Penniman forsook his rock 'n' roll lifestyle for religion, and gave up popular music for gospel. For nearly 5 years he sang very little else but gospel, not going back to the stuff that made him famous until a UK tour in 1962 brought out the rock 'n' roller in Richard and returned him to performing the music that his fans always hoped he would return to. Richard did not give up recording entirely during his half a decade away from the limelight; in fact, he made three gospel albums and a number of singles during that time. The best of his recordings from this period can be heard in this new Jasmine collection. They might be some way away from 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Long Tall Sally' stylistically, but they offer invaluable insight into a period of his career that is far too often overlooked or neglected. The fact that legendary record producers like George Goldner and Quincy Jones still wanted to record Richard in a gospel style shows that demand for his services did not significantly diminish while he was in the ministry and while the whole music world was glad to see him getting back to what he did best, he did not let himself or anyone else down with the great music this CD contains.

• Joy Down In My Heart: The Best Of The Gospel Recordings 1959-1962
• Music
• Jasmine Records