Sister Wynona Carr

Biography

Wynona Merceris Carr, born on August 23, 1923, in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents Beulah and Jesse Carr, showed early musical talent encouraged by her mother and stepfather Arthur Summers. She began private piano lessons at age eight and entered the Cleveland Music College at 13 to study piano, voice, harmony, and arranging. By her teens in the 1930s, she was a leading gospel singer in Cleveland, performing with Rev. Lucas' radio choir, the Turner Singers, and forming her own family group, the Carr Sisters. Around 1945, she created the five-piece Carr Singers, touring the Midwest and South, and worked with groups like the Wings Over Jordan Choir satellite, Wilson Jubilee Singers, and Pilgrim Travelers, which led to her signing with Specialty Records in 1949, billed as Sister Wynona Carr.

Fun Facts

• Her 1952 gospel hit 'The Ball Game' used baseball metaphors to describe the gospel experience, becoming one of Specialty's best-selling gospel records and later featured in the movie '42'.
• She transformed secular songs into gospel, such as 'St James Infirmary' into 'I'm A Pilgrim Traveler' and 'Good Rockin' Tonight' into 'I Heard The News (Jesus Is Coming Again)'.
• Carr wrote songs inspired by newspaper headlines and napkins in restaurants, including quirky themes like boxing in '15 Rounds For Jesus' and the TV show 'Dragnet' in 'Dragnet For Jesus'.
• She drove a '48 Kaiser to perform gospel programs and contracted tuberculosis around 1957, halting her touring for two years.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Sister Rosetta Tharpe - stylistic influence on gospel recordings incorporating blues and jazz (general gospel style and covers like 'I Heard The News (Jesus Is Coming Again)') [1940s-1950s]

Key Collaborators

• Brother Joe May - duet partner on Specialty Records (multiple duets including powerful gospel pairings) [1949-1950s]
• Rosetta Tharpe - trio touring partner with Marie Knight, performing in nightclubs (club dates blending gospel and R&B)
• Marie Knight - trio touring partner with Rosetta Tharpe (club dates blending gospel and R&B)
• Rev. C. L. Franklin - organist and choir director at New Bethel Baptist Church (recording of 'Our Father' with the choir)
• Sally Martin Singers - hits recorded with them and Brother Joe May (various gospel hits) [1949-1950s]

Artists Influenced

• Manhattan Transfer - used her composition in performances ('Operator' as closing song on CBS TV show)
• Aretha Franklin - performed at church where young Aretha was in audience (New Bethel Baptist Church appearance) [late 1940s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia