S1 Ep 12: Reba Rambo

There's a lot to be said about Reba Rambo. From 1976-1982, she was one of contemporary Christian music's mavericks, the first to receive crossover buzz from mainstream publications like Billboard and Cash Box. She had the lyrical prowess of Laura Nyro, the vocal power akin to Streisand, and the glamour of Diana Ross. Her 1976 album Lady came from out of nowhere, establishing this member of southern gospel's Singing Rambos as a solo artist in her own right. Lady's lead single, "The Land of Oohs and Ahs," took The Wizard of Oz's concepts and likened them to the salvation experience, an unconventional approach to talking about one's faith that caught on with listeners world round. Fans called her "Reba Lady" and her whimsical and ethereal lyricism served as theological springboards from which listeners broadened their ideas of what being a contemporary Christian could mean. For years, Reba's important contributions to contemporary Christian music went unnoticed. But in 2019, Sony's Legacy Recordings and MNRK began reissuing her long out-of-print solo albums. Lady, Confessions and Lady Live were digitally reissued.  Then, this past week, her 1980 album Dreamin' was reissued and quickly hit the #8 position on iTunes. I've been documenting the career of this important artist since 1993, and after many years and many conversations, I am still learning the whole story.  We sat down last week to discuss her career, beginning with Lady, her time with Andrae Crouch & the Disciples, and the massive work that she did in 1980 which began with Dreamin', now available on all digital music outlets!