Maryland traditions

The New Gospelites started their vocal harmony group in the 1970s, but they’ve been singing the old hymns since they were kids at Wharton Point’s Saint George Methodist United Church on The Eastern Shore.  They’ve absorbed the musical style of their elders, they’ve made it their own, and today, they’re keepers of a rare and powerful repertoire of songs in praise of The Almighty.

Imagine you’re keeper of a family tradition that goes back 800 years.  You and your kin are tellers of history, spiritual counselors, and you do your work through the medium of music.  You’ve learned your art from your father – your father from his father before him.  You’re respected.  You’re venerated.  You’re essential.

Half a century ago in Taneytown, Maryland, a young couple – Dotty and Leroy Eyeler - started a bluegrass band together. Little did they know they’d become the matriarch and patriarch of a musical legacy:  The Carroll County Ramblers.  

Two centuries ago, in the tidewater regions of Maryland, traditional African worship practices merged with the beckoning Christianity of the Methodist Church.  Born of that cultural intersection was a new hybrid of spiritual and musical devotion, a movement that came to be known as The Singing and Praying Bands.

In about a week, a group of doctors from the Baltimore region will return to Honduras for the 15th straight year. Today, emergency physician John Wogan will tell us about the desperately needed medical care and public health advances he and his colleagues will bring to the rural village of Atima.

June 8th & 9th, 2012, on The Signal:  

Two centuries ago, in the tidewater regions of Maryland, traditional African worship practices merged with the beckoning Christianity of the Methodist Church.  Born of that cultural intersection was a new hybrid of spiritual and musical devotion, a movement that came to be known as The Singing and Praying Bands.

June 1st & 2nd, 2012, on The Signal:  

PHOTO CREDIT:  SHANE CARPENTER