Gospel Songbird - The Singles & Albums Collection 1943-59

Born Ernestine Thomas in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1914, from the age of four was singing alongside her sanctified singer mother in church, and was by all accounts a childhood friend of Rosetta Tharpe. After working in domestic service, she married Frederick Washington in 1934, and moved to New Jersey where Frederick founded the Trinity Temple, later moving to Brooklyn, where he established the Washington Temple Church of God in Christ.  Madame, later Sister, Ernestine was soloist in those churches and did most of her recording under the auspices of her husband’s churches. Gospel commentator Tony Heilbut said that “Her singular achievement was to wed sanctified bravura to the legato soul of her Baptist inspiration Roberta Martin”. As she became better known, she started to be called “The Songbird Of The East”.  This 46-track 2-CD collection comprises A and B sides of her releases on the Regis, Jubilee, Manor and Groove labels from this era, including recordings with The Dixie Hummingbirds and Bunk Johnson’s jazz band, through to 1954, plus titles from her 1959 albums on Westminster “Gospel Singing In Washington Temple” and the Delden album “Showers Of Blessings”.  Although she did not tour widely as a result of her church commitments, she was a popular and influential performer, and this is an enlightening showcase for her distinctive style of gospel.