LA089 Interview: Walter Green (LA089Abbott_Side1)
Description
Side 1 and 2: Interview with Walter Green on 1983-07-27. Abstract for Green: [00:00–31:25] In this July 27, 1983 interview, Walter Green discusses the many quartets that he was involved in, both in the South and San Francisco, and the interconnectedness of their members and singing styles. He describes learning shape note singing as a child in rural Louisiana – 01:40, and shares how seeing Robinson Humming Four, the Duncan Brothers, the Gibbs Singers, and the Four Great Wonders in New Orleans inspired him to start his own quartet, the New Orleans Hummingbees, noting their training from Paul Exkano – 02:15. He and Abbott go on to discuss Exkano's hard gospel style, with Green mentioning how he modeled his own quartet after those techniques. Green goes on to describe the first time he saw the Golden Gate quartet – 08:30, and then explains his trajectory through different quartets both in the South and San Francisco, including the Gospel Bells – 10:25, the Southern Gospel Singers – 13:42, and the Suwannee River quartet – 18:02, among others. The interview concludes with further discussion about the origins of the Hummingbees – 26:14, and the organization of the Southern Travelers, a female quartet – 28:15. [00:00–15:22] On LA089Abbott_Side2, Green continues discussing other female quartets he trained in Paul Exkano's style, including the Zion Spiritual Singers. He ends by explaining how changes in the church have affected gospel singing styles – 07:00, noting that he doesn't expect a future revival of four-part quartets.