Bells of Joy - Play On Your Harp Little David

Описание: The Bells of Joy were by far the most successful gospel group to come from my home Austin, Texas. They were best known for their first single, the immortal "Let's Talk About Jesus." Its success sent the group's career in an unusual direction. Their first three Peacock singles were recorded with A.C. Littlefield, Vernon Maynor, Clem Reed, Ester Littlefield, A.D. Watson, and Namon Brown.

But when "Let's Talk About Jesus" became a surprise hit, not all the members were ready to become touring musicians. A.C. Littlefield, Clem Reed, and Vernon Maynor continued to sing with the group, but the other members were replaced by members of the Southern Tones for an album on Checker and six singles on Peacock, Wildcat, and Checker.

The original members rejoined the group when they began recording for Nashboro, releasing this album and five singles. The group continued to perform regularly, recording at least three CDs, including a Bells of Joy with Friends album that features collaborations with Willie Nelson and Bobby Rush. They performed at Willie Nelson's church each year on Easter.

Longtime frontman A.C. Littlefield also worked at the Texas School for the Deaf for twenty years, and attended Mount Olive Baptist Church. The Texas State Historical Association gives his biography: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/e...

The Bells of Joy continued performing and recording for years after Littlefield's passing in 1999, but retired in 2020. The last remaining original member A.D. Watson was 90 years old.

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I am always interested in hearing from members of groups and their families, as well as anyone who can help tell the story of these groups. I try to incorporate biographical information about the groups whose records I post, but I often am not able to find as much as I'd like to. Names and biographies of group members, other groups that they played in, dates of releases, home cities of groups, information about labels, and stories about the groups are all great. The men and women who gave glory with this great music deserve to be remembered better. With the help of group members, their families, their friends, and their fans, we can help keep the stories of the amazing people behind this amazing music alive.

My intent is to give people a way to hear this forgotten and hard to access music. All songs on this channel are recorded from my own collection. I do not own the copyright to this material. If you'd prefer that I not share the music you made or own the copyright for, please contact me at [email protected]. I'll promptly remove the video.