The Ward Singers began touring nationally in 1943, after making a memorable appearance at the National Baptist Convention held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that year. She had a marked influence on later singers, such as her protegee Aretha Franklin, who adopted her moan for secular songs and who saluted Ward in Amazing Grace, the gospel album she made with James Cleveland in the early 1970s.Ĭlara Ward's mother, Gertrude Ward (1901 - 1981), founded the Ward Singers in 1931 as a family group, then called variously "The Consecrated Gospel Singers" or "The Ward Trio", consisting of herself, her youngest daughter Clara, and her elder daughter Willa.Ĭlara Ward made her first solo recording in 1940 and continued accompanying the Ward Gospel Trio. Her beautiful alto (with a somewhat nasal tone) in gospel songs and the Methodist hymns of the eighteenth century continues to delight music lovers. Ward ranks among the greatest of gospel singers only Mahalia Jackson is more exalted. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward took the lead-switching style used by male gospel quartets to new heights, leaving room for spontaneous improvisation and vamping by each member of the group while giving virtuouso singers such as Marion Williams the opportunity to step forward in songs such as "Surely, God Is Able" (the first million-selling gospel hit), "How I Got Over" (which Clara wrote, one of the most famous songs in the Black gospel repertoire), and "Packin' Up". Clara Ward (ApJanuary 16, 1973) was a gospel artist who achieved great success, both artistic and commercial, in the 1940s and 1950s as leader of The Famous Ward Singers.
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