Meditation Singers

It's befitting, perhaps, that Della Reese now appears weekly as an angel (see: Touched by an Angel), considering her beginnings with this group as a singer in the service of the Lord; furthermore, Laura Lee's success as a feminist soul-stirrer can also trace its roots to the Meditation Singers. The most popular female Gospel group to emerge from Detroit in the 1950s, the Meditation Singers roused spirits with vocals that could blow the roof -- complete with steeple -- right off the church, blissful organs, and soulful rhythms that are the missing link between Gospel and Aretha Franklin. With their voices merging into angelic choruses, even those residing in a heavenly realm beyond our own can't help but take notice.