Dottie Rambo: The Gifted Songwriter of the Twentieth Century (Part 8)

Until He Comes



Who's Gonna Teach My Children's Children



Is There Anything I Can Do For You?



Don't Take My Cross Away



The Formation of the Singing Rambos

Back in the 1950's Buck and Dottie Rambo formed a singing trio called the Gospel Echoes.  The Gospel Echoes featured Buck, Dottie and different singers throughout the years such as Judy Russell, "Little Joe Hatfield", and Shirley Bivins to name a few.  The group eventually recorded a couple of albums for Warner Bros.  However, Warner Bros. never was involved in recording gospel but they did like Dottie.  They asked her would she be willing to sing folk music or rhythm and blues.  She declined because her heart was in singing gospel music.  Therefore, the contract with Warner Bros. ended.  In 1963 Shirley Bivins had decided to leave the Gospel Echoes because she was getting married.  Her new husband was an evangelist and he naturally didn't want her to continue traveling with the Gospel Echoes.  As a result of Bivins' departure, there was a void in the group.  Buck and Dottie finally tapped in Pat "Jones" Green to sing for the group.  She could play the accordion and the piano.  However, there was one problem: Pat Jones couldn't sing the high parts.  Buck and Dottie had been practicing extensively for weeks with Pat Jones, but she couldn't sing the high parts.  There was an upcoming concert with the Happy Goodmans and the Statesman Quartet.  One day Reba, Buck and Dottie's daughter, told her mother and father she knew how to sing every one of those songs.  She asked could she demonstrate before Pat.  They consented and Reba sang the part.  Buck and Dottie were thoroughly amazed how well their daughter could sing.  How come Buck and Dottie didn't know that Reba had a talent for singing?  Reba said in an interview entitled, "Dottie Rambo: Behind the Music" that she tried to hide it from her parents that she could sing.  When she started public school she wouldn't sing very much before her parents.  She feared if her parents knew that she could sing, then they would put her on the road with them.

At the time Reba had decided in her heart that she was going to be a surgeon one day.  She liked music but she had no intention of making a career out of singing.  So Buck and Dottie decided if that's what she desires to do with her life they wouldn't try to change her mind.  Nevertheless when Buck and Dottie discovered that Reba had a wonderful singing voice, Buck asked her if she would consider singing with their mother and father for a little while until they found a replacement.  They consented and Reba sang with them on a consistent basis until Reba married around 1975.  Reba was a perfect fit for the group.  She sang soprano.  She could pick up on parts of the song which was too high for Dottie.  They sang what was called inverted or a three-part harmony.  Whenever the lead was too high for Dottie, Reba was able to take over.  Sometimes they would flip and switch parts sometimes as well.   At the time inverted harmony was not considered proper or popular in southern gospel music because southern gospel was known for using a bass singer.  The Rambos didn't have a bass singer.  Even though there was no bass singer for the Rambos, all three harmonized very well.  Pat Jones played the accordion for the group for three years.  She recorded three albums with the Rambos until she left the group in 1967. 

I going to continue the thought of the formation of the Singing Rambos next week.  I'm going to end this post by posting pictures of the different albums they recorded as the Singing Rambos and then eventually the Rambos.


Those Singing Rambos  The Soul Singing Rambos

Gospel Ballads Gospel Ballads

Come Spring  The Real Thing  The Singing Rambos Soul in the Family  Sonshine Alive and Alive in Soul's Harbor There Has to Be a Song An Evening With the Singing Rambos

 Songs of Love and Hope

 The Best of the Rambos  The Good Ole Days Volume 5

Spotlighting the Rambos