Edna Gallmon Cooke

about

Edna Gallmon Cooke (1918 - September 4, 1967) was a renowned gospel singer and recording artist from 1949 until her death in 1967. Personal information about Ms. Cooke is scarce and most of her biographical details have been gleaned from the liner notes of her various albums. Ms. Gallmon Cooke is best known for her recordings of "Stop Gambler" and "Heavy Load". Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1918, the daughter of a Baptist preacher, Reverend Eddie J. Gallmon, Edna Gallmon Cooke was more formally educated and musically trained than most of her gospel peers. As a young adult, she lived and studied in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, attending Temple University and briefly teaching elementary school. She had contemplated a career in semi-classics and show tunes when she underwent a musical conversion of sorts after hearing gospel singer, Willie Mae Ford Smith in the late 1930s. "I was shocked. The woman sang with such finesse ... I knew I had to be a gospel singer." Shortly after, Ms. Gallmon Cooke joined the Holiness Church and became preeminently consecrated—with the Holiness Church bestowing the honorific ‘Madame’ to her name to announce her devotion. During the 1940s, Madame Gallmon Cooke toured the Southeast, billed as the "Sweetheart of the Potomac". She performed hymns and gospel songs in the manner of Willie Mae Ford Smith, but her mezzo-soprano could not duplicate Smith’s contralto blasts. Elaborating on that style, Gallmon Cooke returned to familiar sources, popu

top songs

albums

Jubilation! Great Gospel Performances, Vol. 1: Black Gospel

I Heard the Angels Singing: Electrifying Black Gospel from the Nashboro Label, 1951 - 1983

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Jubilation! Great Gospel Performances: Vol. I: Black Gospel

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When Gospel Was Gospel

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The Best of Tennessee & Republic Records Vol. II - Gospel Legends

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How Sweet it Was

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The History of Black Gospel Volume 5

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I Heard The Angels Singing : Electrifying Black Gospel From The Nashboro Label 1951-1983

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100 Greatest Gospel Classics

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I Heard The Angels Singing : Electrifying Black Gospel From the Nashboro Label 1951-1983 [Disc 3]

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Gospel Grooves, Vol. 1

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Black Gospel Rarities, Vol. 1

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