Albertina Walker August 29, 1929 – October 8, 2010
Albertina Walker was a beloved Gospel singer who has been rightfully called the “Queen of Gospel.” Walker began singing while still a child in Chicago, Illinois, driven by the influence of future friend and mentor, the great Mahalia Jackson. It was during the early ’50s that she formed her first group, the Caravans, which counted such greats as Shirley Caesar, James Cleveland, and Loleatta Holloway as members. By the ’70s, Walker was working as a solo act, recording for such respected labels as Savoy and A&M Records. Over the course of her career, she has won three Dove awards and one Grammy, sold over 500,000 of five separate albums, and sang for two U.S. Presidents as well as Nelson Mandela. Albertina Walker was 81 when she passed away on October 8, 2010.
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Garry Shider is best remembered as a founding guitarist for trailblazing funk collective, Parliament-Funkadelic. Formed by George Clinton in 1968, Parliament and its sister act, Funkadelic, quickly became one of the premier funk bands in the world. Performing since the age of ten, Shider spent his early years singing gospel with his brothers backing the likes of The Five Blind Boys and Shirley Caesar when they’d come through town. It was also around this time when Shider would drop by the local barbershop which happened to be owned by Clinton to play guitar and sing for the customers. By the time he was in his late teens, Shider had moved to Canada where he co-founded a funk group, United Soul. Clinton, who had also moved to Canada, got wind of the band and began mentoring them. He eventually formed Parliament and brought Shider into the fold. The group went on to record some of the most influential albums in popular music. Such LPs as Chocolate City and Mothership Connection gave us hits like “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk)” “Doctor Funkenstein” and “Mothership Connection (Star Child).” The bands’ legendary live show were cosmic marriages of space and funk with Shider often wearing nothing but a diaper on stage, leading to his nickname of “Diaper Man”. After Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic in the mid ’80s, Shider continued on in his P-Funk All Stars and of course, collaborated with countless other artists. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Parliament-Funkadelic. Gary Shider was 56 when he died of cancer on June 16, 2010.
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Albertina Walker was a beloved Gospel singer who has been rightfully called the “Queen of Gospel.” Walker began singing while still a child in Chicago, Illinois, driven by the influence of future friend and mentor, the great Mahalia Jackson. It was during the early ’50s that she formed her first group, the Caravans, which counted such greats as Shirley Caesar, James Cleveland, and Loleatta Holloway as members. By the ’70s, Walker was working as a solo act, recording for such respected labels as Savoy and A&M Records. Over the course of her career, she has won three Dove awards and one Grammy, sold over 500,000 of five separate albums, and sang for two U.S. Presidents as well as Nelson Mandela. Albertina Walker was 81 when she passed away on October 8, 2010.
