Search - Kneelin' Down Inside The Gate: The Great Rhyming Singers of the Bahamas :: Kneelin' Down Inside The Gate: The Great Rhyming Singers of the Bahamas

When these recording were made in 1965 in Nassau, the Bahamas, these singers -- including Joseph Spence, the Pinder Family and Frederick McQueen -- were at the height of their powers. Coming from Nassau and the Andros, Abaco and Mores Islands, most of these singers were already over sixty years old when they recorded the lovely spirituals, anthems, rhyming songs and ballads heard here. Today, this powerful and complex music has virtually disappeared, making the release of these recordings all the more invaluable and historically important. Kneelin' Down Inside the Gate was recorded by Peter K. Siegel and Jody Stecher, the team responsible for the Elektra/Nonesuch label's two volume series titled The Real Bahamas. The first volume, issued in 1966, is a beloved and influential album, cherished and absorbed by countless musicians -- such as Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal -- and was the source for the Incredible String Band's "I Bid You Goodnight," a song that was the heartbreaking, joyous finale of live shows throughout their career. Except for three tracks recorded in 1965, the tracks recorded here come from the same legendary field trip that produced The Real Bahamas, and have never been issued before.