Dottie Rambo: The Gifted Songwriter of the Twentieth Century (Part 12)

It's the Soul of Me



Just Enough Heaven



The Healer's Comin' Down the Road



Reach Out for the Life Line



He Ain't Never Done Me Nothing But Good



His Steps Didn't Stop at Calvary



I've Been Talkin' to the Lord About You



I Don't Want to Do Anything (To Bring Reproach to My Father's Name)



Dottie Rambo has a knack for doing unusual things in gospel music.  Janet Paschal, who appears with the Gaither Homecoming Friends quite repeatedly, made the statement one time that Dottie Rambo was an edgy songwriter because she would go beyond the boundaries other songwriters had established at that time.  In other words, Dottie Rambo was her own person when it came to music and songwriting.  She wasn't afraid to try new things.  This was definitely the case in 1968 when she did something she had never done before: record a gospel album with an all-black choir as a backup.  Buck Rambo said in the book, The Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo that Dottie placed so much soul into her singing that she sounded as if she were black.  It was probably as a result of that statement that Buck decided to record Dottie on a solo album using an all-black backup choir. 

The Rambos chose twenty members of the Rev. Jonathon Greer's choir from Nashville to record the album.  It took a while for Bro. Greer to consent to it becaue he wasn't familiar with the Rambos music.  The choir came to the RCA studios in Nashville and joined Dottie to record the album.  The name of the album was "The Soul of Me."  This album was recorded during the days that Martin Luther King Jr. was alive and all types of protesting, riots, and marches were taking place for the cause of civil rights for the black people.  Dottie Rambo won the first Grammy ever given to a white singer singing soul music.  No white person had ever recorded a black gospel album before.  Bob McKenzie produced it and did a fantastic job.  Some folks were unhappy with Dottie recording for this album for no other reason than the fact that a black choir was used to record the album. 

The tragedy of this whole ordeal was when the Rambos had received a death threat from the Ku Klux Klan.  The Rambos were scheduled to sing a concert in Jackson, Mississippi and the concert had been advertised in "The Singing News" and other places.  They received a letter from the KKK stating if they showed up for the concert, they (KKK) would kill the Rambos.  On Sunday afternoon, they walked into the Jackson City Auditorium with an escort of four agents from the FBI.  They were hiding behind the curtain in case the KKK tried to shoot at Dottie.  Dottie had walked up to the stage and told them she had received a letter from the KKK.  The letter stated that the KKK were going to kill Dottie and her family if they performed at Jackson, Mississippi.  She invited the KKK to come forward so they could pray for the KKK.  She told them if they want to kill her for singing with 20 black people who know God, then go ahead.  The response from the audience was overwhelming when they cupped their hands together and said, "Forgive our city, we're sorry, we're sorry."   How wonderful and great the Lord is.  The Lord knows how to turn the hearts of people.

This will be the last post of Dottie Rambo until the month of January.