Margaret Allison

The co-founder and lead vocalist of the legendary Angelic Gospel Singers, Margaret Allison was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she first surfaced as a member of a chorus named the Spiritual Echoes. Inspired by the events of a dream, she formed the Angelics in 1944 with her sister Josephine McDowell and fellow Echoes Ella Mae Morris and Lucille Shird; after playing to receptive audiences in the Philadelphia area, the group performed in Shird's hometown of to Asheville, NC, followed by an equally well-received appearance in Morris' native Greenville, SC. Emboldened by their success, the Angelics began touring more and more extensively, and in 1947 they were signed to Gotham Records; their debut single "Touch Me Lord Jesus" remains a gospel classic. In the face of numerous lineup changes throughout the years which followed, Allison remained the heart and soul of the group, steering them through subsequent tenures on the Nashboro and Malaco labels; in 1994, the Angelics celebrated their golden anniversary. ~ Jason Ankeny