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

Description

At the height of his fame in the 1950s, Richard Wayne Penniman abandoned his rock 'n' roll lifestyle for religion, and left popular music for gospel. For nearly 5 years, he sang very little else but gospel, not returning to what had made him famous until a British tour in 1962 that brought out the rocker in Richard and led him back to performing the music his fans always hoped he would return to. Richard did not completely abandon recording during his five years away from the spotlight; in fact, he released three gospel albums and several singles during that time. The best of his recordings from this period can be heard in this new collection from Jasmine. They may be somewhat removed from "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" stylistically, but they offer a valuable insight into a period of his career that is far too often overlooked or neglected. The fact that legendary producers like George Goldner and Quincy Jones still wanted to record Richard in a gospel style shows that the demand for his services did not significantly diminish during his ministry, and while everyone in the music world was happy to see him return to what he did best, he did not disappoint himself or anyone else with the great music contained in this CD.