"Faith and Fame" Dottie Rambo

Part 1



Part 2



Part 4



Part 5



Dottie Rambo "I Will Lift You There"



Dottie Rambo "I Must Tell Jesus" (w/the Imperials 1965)



Dottie Rambo "Pass Me Not"



Dottie Rambo "The Artist"



Dottie Rambo was a legendary songwriter in the 20th century.  She wrote at least 2500 songs throughout her lifetime.  She was born on March 2, 1934 in Madisonville, Kentucky.  She was born with the name Joyce Reba Lutrell.  Her parents were Vernon and Elizabeth Lutrell.  She was nicknamed "Little Dottie" but she was very tiny when she was young.  She first discovered her gift when she wrote her very first song at the age of eight years at the creek. The words to that song came bubbling forth within her.   She told her mother about the song she wrote and her mother asked her did she copy that out of a songbook.  Dottie told her mother that she didn't copy the song.  Her mother replied, "You'll pay a dear price for this gift."  Those words rang true over the years because Dottie did pay a dear price for her gift.  She learned to play the guitar by listening to the Grand Ole Opry on radio.  She learned to sing country by listening to the Grand Ole Opry.  When she was 12 years old she was saved.  As a result, she decided to sing only gospel; no longer country.  Her father was very displeased over that.  He wasn't a Christian at that time so he gave her an ultimatum: Either she sing country music and stay at home or sing gospel and leave home.  She chose the latter.  So at the age of 12 she boarded a bus and started singing in churches across the country. 

To make a long story short Dottie Rambo received a huge break in the 1960's when then Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana went to a concert in which the Happy Goodmans were singing one of Dottie's songs entitled, "There's Nothing That My God Can't Do."  Gov. Davis asked who wrote the song and the Goodman's replied, Dottie Rambo, who at that time was either living in Madisonville or Dawson Springs, Kentucky.  Governor Davis arranged for Buck, Dottie, and Reba to fly to Louisiana.  Governor Davis paid Dottie three thousand dollars to publish her songs, which was more money than the Rambos had ever seen in their lives.  At that time Buck was working at a grocery and Dottie was working at a hosiery mill to earn a living.  Around 1964, the Rambo's signed a deal with Warner Brothers on a two-record deal.  They didn't stay with Warner Brothers very long because Warner Brothers didn't know what to do with Christian music and they wanted the Rambos to sing folk or some other kind of other music, which Dottie wouldn't consent to.  Later, the Rambos signed with Benson to record their albums. 

Buck, Dottie, and Reba all sang in the group called the Singing Rambos (later the Rambos) starting around 1964.  Prior to Reba's joining the group at the age of 12, it was called the Gospel Echoes when former singers Judy Russell and Shirley Bivins sang with the group.  The Rambos performed all over the country together for several years until Reba was 23 years old.  They performed at the National Quartet Convention, Vietnam, and in other countries around the world.  In 1968 Dottie recorded her first black spirituals album entitled, "It's the Soul of Me."  She recorded the album with a group of black singers. 

I've just given you the introduction of Dottie Rambo's life with the brief summary above.  I have posted a five-part "Faith and Fame" series of the life of Dottie Rambo.  It will go into detail about the life, the musical and songwriting career of Dottie Rambo.  You'll learn more about Dottie by listening to all five parts of the YouTube clips. 

Dottie Rambo died on May 11, 2008 when the bus she was traveling on slid off an embankment in Missouri.  She was headed to a church in Texas for Mother's Day to sing with Naomi Sego and Lulu Roman.