Bman's Blues Report

Highly regarded by Thomas A. Dorsey, Clara Ward, and Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer Georgia Peach was born Clara Hudman in Atlanta on October 10, 1899 to Esther Hudman, a devoutly religious woman who raised three children by herself. While they were quite young, Clara and her brothers Ralph and Luther formed a trio and sang for the congregation at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. Clara became well known throughout Atlanta's African-American religious community as a talented, impromptu vocalist who specialized in "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Daniel in the Lion's Den." Among her friends at that time was a boy nearly ten years her junior who would eventually sermonize and make records as Rev. C.J. Johnson. At the age of 16, Clara quit school and, with permission from the deacons of Mt. Moriah, moved in with the family of Rev. T.T. Gholston, serving as a nurse for Mrs. Gholston, who eventually succumbed to an incurable disease. Only six months after losing...