The Legendary Ingramettes are one of the few remaining all-female gospel bands whose style is based on the old quintet style of singing. Their new record 'Take a Look in the Book' is proof that even after some sixty-five years in the business they aren’t showing any sign of slowing down.
The band’s history has close links with the American Civil Rights movement. Former bandleader, Maggie Ingram – who passed away in 2015 – worked as a housekeeper for Oliver Hill, the prominent Civil Rights lawyer who helped bring about an end to segregation and, through that connection, she met Martin Luther King Jr. Now led by Maggie’s daughter Almeta Ingram Miller, the band has put together a record that features an Appalachian influence and old spiritual tunes.
Recorded over three days, most of the songs were laid down in one take allowing the raw energy and power of a live performance to be captured during the process.
The evangelical spiritual classics ‘The Family Prayer’, ‘When Jesus Comes’ and ‘Time Is Winding Up’ are delivered with soaring passionate vocal harmonies that wash over the listener.
While in Galax, VA, Almeta heard the classic ‘I’ve Endured’ performed by The Whitetop Mountain Band – originally written by Ola Belle Reed. Almeta, who went on to transform the Appalachian classic into a nearly eight-minute spiritual masterpiece, says:
The story of that song so parallels my mom’s life.
The Bill Withers’ classic ‘Grandma’s Hands’ takes on new meaning for Almeta. Inspired, she wrote a new final verse to the song about her own grandmother and her experience picking cotton until her fingers bled.
You take all of that, and you put it in the music.
‘Take a Look in the Book’, with its modern take on the classic old-time gospel genre is a record that’s full of passion, soul, and fire; a truly inspirational work that would melt the heart of even the hardest cynic.