Clara Ward's voice carried the fervor of the Black church into the mainstream, leading The Famous Ward Singers through the 1940s and '50s with a virtuosic, lead-switching style that turned gospel performance into spectacle. Songs like 'Surely God Is Able' and 'How I Got Over' became million-selling gospel hits, and her flamboyant staging helped pave the way for soul music's theatrical stagecraft. She died in 1973, having proven that gospel could fill concert halls and nightclubs as readily as pews.

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1951

How I Got OverClara Ward