Translate

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Videos Of Gene Martin & Rev. A. A. Allen's Miracle Valley Ministries Choirs

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases four 1960s videos of Gene Martin and two choirs that were part of Pentacostal Evangelist Rev. A. A. Allen's ministry. A more recent video of Gene Martin is also included in this post. Selected comments from these video's viewer comment threads are also included in these posts.

The Addendum to this post includes information about Gene Martin and about Rev. A. A. Allen and the Miracle Valley ministry.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic reasons.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Rev. Gene Martin, Rev. A. A. Allen and all other people featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
FEATURED EXAMPLES (filmed in the 1960s)
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest dated example given first.

My apologies for the relatively poor visual quality of most of these videos, but the audio quality makes up for it.

Example #1: Gene Martin - God Specializes



drrusa, Uploaded on Aug 5, 2006

Rev. Gene Martin sings in the 60's at the integrated services of Rev. A. A. Allen in Miracle Valley, Arizona.
_snip-
Selected comments:
crjetpilot, 2007
"WOW! These videos are great! I really miss ole time church, where the emphasis was real worship instead of putting on a show. What a difference!"
**
Bell Head, 2007
"This quite moving and I'm so happy it's been posted. I'm a Baptist and we still sing like this in church. You're right this music is rarely heard now days"
**
antnee30, 2007
"Im baptist and a piano player too.. We still sing this..Im in ALabama.... You are right.... alot of the "newer" churches dont sing this...."
**
Diane Smith , 2007
"i grew up with AA Alan and used to go to the tent meeting when they came to miami,, martin was always an inspiration. its because of the meetings and the sound of the hammond organ that i became an organist, today with all the state of the art equiptment i play on, the hammond b3 still remains my favorite instument"

****
Example #2: God's Not Dead - Gene Martin & Rev. A. A. Allen



drrusa Uploaded on Aug 30, 2006

Rev. A. A. Allen exhorts on music, and Gene Martin & Choir sing "God's Not Dead" & "He's Alright".
-snip-
Selected comments:
J'Monte Byrd, 2006
"This is what I call having good old fashioned church. We need to get back to having church like this."
**
dallaskenn, 2009
"Let's not forget the late, great David K. Davis at the Hammond organ during those years (1961-1970)"
ElderTAW, 2013
"the Church of God and looks like the Assembly of God had church like this back in the day, the AG was birthed out of Church of God in Christ, but you go to many AG and COG churches now they don't have church like this, but they still do in COGIC - I like having church this way..... The people had it real, you don't find many of them with it like this now, but I'm glad my church is one in the number where we praise in the old time way!"
-snip-
COGIC= Church of God In Christ
**
Noblesamlbs, 2014
"I remember when I was a kid we use to go see this minister at the fair grounds. It was so pack they had the police to direct traffic. He had two services a day. His services was so powerful. He would come every two year to Birmingham AL"

****
Example #3: Peter(Walk Out On The Water) - Gene Martin



drrusa, Uploaded on Oct 27, 2006

Gene Martin & The Miracle Valley Choir sing "Peter (Walk Out On The Water)"
-snip-
Selected comments about whether Rev. A. A. Allen's Miracle Valley Ministries was "color blind" are included in my comment below.

****
Example #4: Glory Glory / Fly Away - Gene Martin & Philadelphia Choir



drrusa, Uploaded on Nov 1, 2006

Gene Martin & Philadelphia Choir sing Glory Glory & Fly Away as the congregation praise God.
-snip-
Selected comments:
jerni2786, 2007
"I'm only 21 years of age and this is the type of church I grew up in. This old penticostal church nowadays is hard to find anymore. The churches today are preaching like they used to and the parrishoner involvement isn't there. We need to go back down old school blvd and tell em' like it is!"
-snip-
"The churches today are preaching like they used to" probably was meant to read "aren't preaching like they used to".
**

Percy Spencer, 2007
"This is an intregal part of American Religious history and should be viewed by those who can remember when and our young people to see how it was done."
**
drrusa, 2007
"Gene Martin is sitll around. David Mangum, just a boy at the time, is playing the drums. Richard Page is on the Steinway Piano, and David Davis is on the Hammond Organ."

*****
Example #5: Gene Martin singing Anybody Here? [filmed around 2000 & 2001]



Dennis Martin, Uploaded on Jul 27, 2008

Gene Martin @ Temple of Deliverance COGIC with Bishop G. E. Patterson
-snip-
The second song in this video is "Walk Around Heaven All Day"
-snip-
Selected comments:
mcmiraclevalley, 2008
Rev. Gene Martin has always since his youth lived for God. As a young man he was asked to join Rev. A.A.Allen as his minister of music and also choir leader. I song under his leadership in the Miracle Valley Assembly Choir for years in Miracle Valley, AZ. Even to this day Rev. Martin is singing people happy: Rev. Michael Capps, Ph.D Miracle Valley, AZ.
-snip-
"Singing people happy" is probably another way of saying helping to bring down the Holy Spirit in the church service. That's what "getting happy" meant/means.
**
Dennis Martin, 2008
"Yes this is the same Gene Martin. This was recorded about 7 or 8 years ago."
**
ripdsawyer, 2006
"This man still has the same anointing he had when I first met him back when he was with Bro. Allen.I could listen to him sing all day. Keep up the good work Bro. Gene. I love these Videos Keep them coming..."
**
Rowoches, 2009 years ago
"This is an arrangement by Eddie Williams. When he and his group, the Gospel Crusaders, recorded it in the late 60's or early 70's, they made reference to Roberta Martin, Ruth Davis, Archie Brownlee. I really like this!! Go'head!"

**
Amy Jackson, 2009
My sons are in their twenties and they Love all the old time black Gospel singing. but their hard to find nowdays in stores, please put up more .

****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT REV. A. A. ALLEN
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._A._Allen
Asa A. Allen (March 27, 1911, in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas – June 11, 1970, in San Francisco), better known as A. A. Allen, was a controversial evangelist with a Pentecostal healing and deliverance ministry. He was, for a time, associated with the "Voice of Healing" movement founded by Gordon Lindsay. He died at the age of 59 in San Francisco. Allen was buried at his ministry headquarters in Miracle Valley, Arizona.[1]

...In his television programs, Allen or his ministry associates made frequent mention of the fact that his meetings were racially integrated. African-Americans sat alongside whites in the choir, the ministers' section, and the congregation. African-American musical talent was frequently highlighted in Allen's television programs, especially in the 1960s. This racial attitude also found its expression in Allen's sermon record album titled Did God Call the Apostle Paul to Preach the Gospel to the Black Man? The album cover refers to Allen as "no doubt the first evangelist on a great national or international scale to preach integration to huge crowds in the North and the South . . . ."[16] This was something of an exaggeration, though perhaps in keeping with Allen's personality. The far more mainstream revivalist Billy Graham, while not always consistent, had desegregated many of his revivals as early as 1953 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and integrated all his revivals following the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.[17]

Another major theme in Allen's ministry was his unrelenting attacks on what he characterized as dead, formal, denominational religion. This was a theme of a number of his televised messages and of such Miracle Valley publications as Allen's book titled Let My People Go"....

****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT ABOUT GENE MARTIN
From http://www.miraclevalley.org/java/biographies/genemartin
"Gene was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1939, into a family of 12. At the early age of 12 he found Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour at an old fashioned altar in the 'Pleasant Grove Baptist Church' in Altanta. At 15 he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Soon after joining the church Gene began singing with the junior choir. It was there he fell in love with Gospel singing and determined in his heart to make it his life's ministry.

As the years passed, Gene began singing with Gospel groups around Atlanta, taking occasional trips out of town for conventions and other church meetings. In doing this, he was preparing himself for a greater ministry in the Lord's service which he knew the Lord had for him.

In May of 1960 his dream came true, for that year Gene first sang under the A.A.Allen Revival 'Big Top' tent. Soon thereafter he left his home, family, friends and his job and began travelling full-time with the Allen Evangelistic party to sing the Gospel of Jesus Christ."...

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

3 comments:

  1. Here are three comments about being "color blind" from the viewer comment thread of the video given above as Example #3: Peter(Walk Out On The Water) - Gene Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzr3Bxt_r2o

    42j, 2008
    "this looks like its in the 60s by the hair styles and dress. I'm sure that many people then were color blind and came together to serve and praise GOD rather than sell out ot satan. Racism exists in all races out of plain ignorance. I'm glad GOD or those that truly serve him can't be like that."

    **
    oldschoolsituationz, 2009
    in reply to 42j
    "friend i was there, and i can assure you that miracle valley and a.a.allen revivals were only a few places other than a few hippie communes where racism was somewhate abated. even in the allen camp there were few blacks that served on his board in administration positions i remember at least 3 over timethey were there but few. allen took a personal stand on civil rights and integration. of all the former voice of healing prreachers he was alone in this"...

    Coolie Gee, 2011
    in reply to 42j
    @42j I refuse to think people in A.A. Allen's congregation were "colorblind" as you presume. Fredrick Douglass, MLK and others before them did not want people to be blind to African Americans color but to recognize & respect us as equal human beings. God created all people with different color's of skin and that is beautiful and should be recognized.
    -snip-
    That exchange continued with other bloggers adding comments. For what it's worth, I strongly agree with Coolie Gee's comments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In addition to the points about being colorblind that were made by the Coolie Gee, if people are "colorblind" to race and ethnicity (such as Latino/Hispanic), then that means that they are refusing to recognize the existence of and consequences of institutional racism in the education system, housing system, criminal justice system, child welfare system etc. Furthermore, people who "don't see any color" may not be counted on to join the struggle to eradicate institutional racism. And those who say that they are colorblind may be personally racist.

      Perhaps those who say that they are colorblind mean that they believe that a person's race, color, or ethnicity shouldn't matter. However, if they are honest, they would admit that in the past and in the present race, color, and ethnicity have mattered and continue to matter. The way to change that is not by ignoring that all to easy to prove fact.

      Delete
    2. That said, here's another comment about race and Rev. A. A. Allen's ministry [This comment is from that same viewer comment thread whose link is given in my first comment.]

      oldschoolsituationz, 2008
      "sadly the degree of love shown for black people during that era by a. a. allen wasnt shown by the others. oral roberts, had many black followers but never went out of his way for them nore took a definite stance on the institutional racism that existed during his time. if the rope that separated the people came down so beit but oral never refused to take it down. allen was a unique man in many ways i was blessed in my youth to have grown up in the presence of his ministry and i have some tales!"

      Delete