Tag Archives: Bible & Tire

Various Artists – The Last Shall Be First: The JCR Records Story

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Title: The Last Shall Be First: the JCR Records Story, Volume 1
Artist: Various
Label: Bible & Tire
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: September 18, 2020

 

Rev. Juan D. Shipp was the force behind many Black gospel recordings emanating from Memphis, Tennessee in the 1970s. A pastor at the Greater Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church, Shipp also had a gospel radio show on K-WAM, where he spun gospel quartet records as “Juan D.” Believing that “local artists deserve a better sound,” he formed a relationship with Clyde Leoppard, a former Sun Studio drummer who owned Tempo Recording Studio in downtown Memphis. Shipp began recording and releasing professional quality singles for many local and regional gospel groups on his own small boutique label, D-Vine Spirituals. Soon business was booming, and he spun off a secondary label, JCR, for up-and-coming artists who wanted to press a record but didn’t make the D-Vine cut. Seventeen of these tracks are featured in The Last Shall Be First: the JCR Records Story, Volume 1, which was produced by Rev. Shipp.

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The Sensational Barnes Brothers – Nobody’s Fault But My Own

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Title: Nobody’s Fault But My Own
Artist: The Sensational Barnes Brothers
Label: Bible & Tire/Big Legal Mess
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: September 20, 2019

 

Memphis natives Chris and Courtney Barnes grew up in a musical family steeped in gospel and soul music. Their mother Deborah was a former Raelette (Ray Charles’ background singers) and their father, Calvin “Duke” Barnes, was a local church musician. Together with their four children, the Barnes formed the musical group Joy, and more recently recorded and performed together as the Barnes Family. With this background the Barnes brothers were a perfect fit for producer Bruce Watson, of the newly launched Bible and Tire Recording Co., whose vision is to present contemporary artists performing in “the spirit and sound of the past.” After scouring the catalog of Designer Records, a Memphis-based gospel label now owned by parent company Big Legal Mess, they selected eleven songs from the early 1970s for the Sensational Barnes Brothers’ debut, Nobody’s Fault But My Own. Continue reading →