July 26th, 2012 
AT2W Staff 
Clara Ward Singers: Gospel Music Wasn’t Always Anointed [VIDEOS]
Originally posted: June 26, 2011
We were browsing through some YouTube videos trying to get some anointing from what many call traditional or old school gospel music. We ran up on some Clara Ward Singers and thought about how some of our mothers used to love them some Clara Ward Singers! So we were persuaded to take a look back to how things used to be.
Well to our surprise, we saw some things that shocked us. Many of us remember gospel quartet singing or female groups as filled with the anointing of God. This is the case in many of the groups back in the mid 1900′s but maybe some of the groups, like Clara Ward Singers sang for the paychecks and not always necessarily for God. We are sorry if some people get offended but we are only revealing what may be the cause of the carnality in gospel music today.
Here’s the video of the Clara Ward Singers singing “We’ll Soon Be Done” they appear to be really traditional until you see the lead singer Clara Ward walk down from the platform to the audience. She actually makes her way over to a woman seated upfront and shakes her hand repeatedly then surprisingly she takes a seat on the woman’s lap and bounces up and down.
Here’s another video of the Clara Ward Singers singing and another group member is leading the song. As the group is beating their tambourines, the lead singer seems very hyper and starts doing some dance like the funky chicken while shaking her hips which seems totally inappropriate. Again, it looks more like for show and entertainment as the audience is mostly white. It kind of reminds us of the old days when blacks would perform for white audiences and clown around in their buffoonery acts to get paid.
If you forward the video to 2:25 you will see what we just mentioned.
This is what many of the gospel artists are doing today… just for show without the anointing. History surely repeats itself though we did not know it then.
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As a young child, I would hear my grandparents and other family members talk about Clara Ward’s reputation of entertaining for money. I beleive that she and her singers performed on the strip in Las Vegas and on the Johnny Carson show. She was definitely a trend setter in the worst way, for today’s gospel performers.
Response to Clara Ward singers: this post made me research her and boy what did I find?! You were so right about her sitting on that lady’s lap and how strange it was. Just Google her and her lifestyle. She lived a short, tragic life but the research has really opened my eyes to the real problems with a lot of these so-called “gospel” groups and what they are really selling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRsWZMTGrGc
Check out above. So singing in front of a black crowd makes her more anointed. Yeah right!
Lorraine, we saw the video you provided and we must say- you’re right. Its funny how they were conformed to ‘just performing’ for what appeared to be white audiences but knew that could ‘be themselves’ or perform how with black audiences expected. We even saw a video of Marion Williams go out into a audience of whites and sat on their laps! Was it for acceptance or what?
Yes, we did research her and didn’t write about it as of yet. Not sure if we will because its a bit disheartening. Sometimes it makes you think what were some of the gospel singers really singing for.
We did not know this until now but it is so true, Martha. It was so obvious that they performed just for the money. Reports have stated Clara Ward was pushed by her mother Gertrude to go out on the road and sing to support the family. So, there’s no surprise this was her reputation and sadly others even today. We may touch on her story later.
Excuse me but Clara sitting on the woman’s lap that is her mother Madame Gertrude Ward and The Clara Ward Singers made a exotic way for Gospel music
JP, thank you for letting us know that it was her mother. We saw a picture online and it is her. But excuse us, though we now know who it is, we still stand on the fact that it does not look right. We are not sure why a grown woman would bounce on her mother’s lap and they did not seem very anointed in their performances.
I just stumbled on this website on accident, and I am almost without words. Everything that I have read is very negative. I am so glad that I am saved by God’s grace, and not man’s. Music has evolved over time. Every time a gospel musician open his or her mouth they not feel the anointing, just a a secular musician may not feel the “anointing” (for the lack of a better word) every time they open their mouth. As for Clara sitting on her mother’s lap, how does that not look right? It is her mother. I think today’s Christians spend a lot of time pointing fingers and criticizing instead of sharing their testimony with others.
We are so sorry you don’t see what we are speaking of here. For those who can see what we are exposing about the gospel music industry and how they are negative in the ways they have changed in order to make money, then you’d understand. Since you are a new visitor, our website just may shock you because we deal with the truth. Not everyone can accept it nor comprehend it. Thanks for visiting.
New to the website, but not new to this type of rhetoric. I grew up in a church where people were always pointing out others perceived faults. What I know now is that anointment comes when you have a personal relationship with God. So, who’s to say they were not singing with the anointment at that time. Maybe it just manifested in a different way on that day and time. I work in a public school, and I feel that I was anointed to work in that environment. I know my praise is different because of where I am. I cannot go running up and down the hallway shouting…so my praise is subtle, and I feel just as anointed as if I were in a church or my house.
I apologize for my mistakes in my previous post. It just hard to change this when the insert function does not work on my end and I do not want to erase a whole line just to correct.
Thanks for replying. We are here to point out some opinions that we and many of our readers like to discuss. We surely welcome yours as well. One thing is for sure, while speaking of gospel artists/music and where it all derived and where it is now: We all must search our hearts for true worship. God truly knows the difference in authentic and fake worship. We are referring to those who do it for the money and status in the world. Thanks again for commenting and come again! We appreciate it.