Flip sides of 45s had a civil rights message

A researcher at Baylor University has discovered that many "B" sides of old 45s had gospel songs that deal with civil rights. Robert Darden, an associate professor of journalism at Baylor and a former gospel editor for "Billboard" magazine, is working to collect and preserve as many early recordings of gospel music as possible. "The reason we haven't realized this before is that when we've known about a song, it is almost always the hit or ‘A’ side," Darden said in information released from Baylor. (Photo, "O Mary, Don't you Weep," 1954, Baylor University. Click to listen to excerpt)

Darden began the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project because he was concerned that early gospel by lesser known artists might be lost. Since 2005,  Darden has gathered for the collection more than 2,000 loaned or donated LPs, 78s, 45s and tapes. The recent discovery "tells us that the gospel community was much more involved in the civil rights movement than we previously thought," said Darden. (Read more)