I'll Fly Away

I'll Fly Away

2013 collection containing 20 recordings from one of the greatest of all Gospel quartets. One of the top Gospel quartets of the post-war era, the Harmonizing Four were also a relative anomaly of the period; as their contemporaries raced to modernize their sound, rejecting the traditional jubilee style in favor of the intensity of the burgeoning "hard Gospel" movement, the Four remained true to their roots, focusing instead on the spirituals and hymns of a time gone by. The Harmonizing Four began as an unaccompanied group but soon enlisted guitarist Lonnie Smith father of Jazz-Funk legend Lonnie Liston Smith. Smith's searing guitar work is featured on most of the tracks. Includes a detailed history of the group by Bill Dahl.