I got this record in a box of about 50 blues and gospel records that I traded a a few vinyl records for. They all looked beat and scratched up but I was pleasantly surprised that they played just fine.
From the second I put it on the turntable, this record by Reverend Maceo Woods from Chicago reached out and spoke to me. While it’s an inside joke among many 78 collectors that organ records are among the least desirable records to find when you go on a dig – this was no joke.
A massive Hammond B-3 sound that was in no hurry to get anywhere = yet continually reached higher and higher as though the sky had no limit. Woods was an amazing player. Every time the record would end I immediately wanted to hear it again.
I learned that Rev. Woods played and preached at the Christian Tabernacle in Chicago – and only just passed away in 2020 at the age of 87. In his obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times, it notes that British musician Brian Eno had listed one of Rev. Woods’ albums in a list of his 13 favorite records.
This record was recorded in1955 but not released until 1958 – right at the tail end of the 78 rpm era in the United States – as 7-inch 45 rpm singles began to phase out these older 10-inch records.
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on August 21, 1955.
Released as Vee-Jay VJ-865.
Credits:
Reverend Maceo Woods – Organ
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