One of the first
gospel groups signed to the legendary Specialty label, the Los Angeles-based
Golden Echoes were led by brothers William "Big Axe" and
Willmer "Little Axe" Broadnax, Houston natives who after relocating to the West Coast during the mid-1940s joined the ranks of the Southern Gospel Singers, an act led by onetime
Soul Stirrers member
A.L. Johnson. The group was primarily a weekends-only concern, however, and soon the Broadnax brothers' restlessness prompted them to form their own full-time vehicle,
the Golden Echoes; a series of lineup changes followed as the decade drew to a close, and eventually
William exited to settle in Atlanta, where he joined
the Five Trumpets. At the time of the group's one and only Specialty session, recorded in Hollywood on April 5, 1949, their roster included co-leads
Wilmer Broadnax and
Paul Foster, tenor Eldridge Bostic, baritone
Jimmy Copeland, and bass
James Ricks, a longtime veteran of the
gospel circuit whose career included tenures with the Birmingham Jubilees,
the Famous Blue Jays and
the Flying Clouds of Detroit. The session yielded
the Golden Echoes' lone Specialty single, "When the Saints Go Marching In"; for reasons unknown, label chief
Art Rupe dropped the group soon after, and despite a growing reputation on the live circuit they disbanded a few months later. While
Foster went on to join
the Soul Stirrers,
Broadnax later signed on with the likes of
the Spirit of Memphis,
the Fairfield Four and
the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi; during the mid-1960s, he also led a short-lived new group dubbed Little Ax and the Golden Echoes. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Green links represent an available CD.
Red links represent a CD that is not currently available.
Walk Around Heaven