Performance

Monthly Listeners

Current

Followers

Current

Streams

Current

Tracks

Current

Global Rank

Current

Top Releases

View All

Greatest Hits

344.5K streams

344,474

Greatest Gospel Hits

300.2K streams

300,210

Not Until He Calls Me Home

184.2K streams

184,211

Let Us Encourage You

175.2K streams

175,178

Handwriting On the Wall

148.4K streams

148,380

"Live" In the Spirit

60.3K streams

60,251

I Surrender All

59.1K streams

59,091

The Gales

47.2K streams

47,230

Live So God Can Use You

35.2K streams

35,194

Saints Hold On

34.3K streams

34,323

Biography

The Sensational Nightingales were assembled in the '40s. In 1957 they appeared on the Gospel Train tour with The Clara Ward Singers and five other big-name gospel acts. Members included Julius Cheeks (lead), Carl Coates (bass), JoJo Wallace (tenor), Howard Carroll (baritone), and Paul Gwens (tenor). Their noted hit was "See How They Done My Lord." One of the earliest gospel quintets, they recorded and toured throughout the 1990s. Many of their '50s and '60s sides (found on MCA reissues) feature the stunning vocals of Rev. Julius Cheeks. As with Archie Brownlee, Cheeks reaches an intensity that distorts the actual recordings, and his style has been heavily "borrowed" by Bobby Bland, Wilson Pickett, and others. The later recordings by Charles Johnson are smoother and slicker, but still top-notch. ~ Bil Carpenter & Billy C. Wirtz, Rovi