Willa Ward | Gospel singer, 91

Willa Ward, 91, who lent her pure, note-bending voice to the Ward Singers, one of the most famous and influential groups of what is considered the golden age of gospel singing, died in Philadelphia on Aug. 12.

Her daughter Rita Scarlet confirmed her death.

The Ward Singers' 1950 hit "Surely God Is Able" was one of nearly 90 songs that the group recorded in its heyday, from the mid-1940s to the late '50s.

"I think they were the best gospel group in the golden era," Tony Heilbut, a gospel historian, record producer, and author of The Gospel Sound (1971), said in an interview. "And if it's understood that gospel music provides the origins of modern rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll, the Ward Singers would have to be counted as the most influential gospel group."

Willa Ward was the last of the original Ward Singers, the most renowned of whom was her younger sister, Clara. The group was formed by their mother, Gertrude, who was singing at a church in Philadelphia when she brought her daughters to the pulpit in 1934. Both girls had mellifluous voices and piano training. First known as the Consecrated Gospel Singers, the group was soon singing in churches all along the East Coast.

Willa left the Ward Singers in 1958 and formed a pop group, the Gay Charmers Trio, and later a duo with Toni Rose, both of which performed in nightclubs. She also sang backup for stars such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Chubby Checker, and Patti LaBelle.

Willarene Ward was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 1920, soon after her parents moved there from South Carolina.

Besides her daughter Rita, Ms. Ward is survived by another daughter, Charlotte Sims, and two grandchildren. Her first husband, John Moultrie, died in 1966, and her second husband, Harry Royster, died in 1993. - N.Y. Times News Service