IMHO, you can’t possibly have a serious discussion of gospel groups that stood the test of time without mentioning the Couriers, whose career has spanned six decades.

They were major figures in the industry from the mid 1960s throught the 1970s, earning a stellar reputation not only musically, but they also were the major influence behind the shift to a more ministry oriented approach to gospel music presentation that still exists today.

With albums such as “Nothing…But The Gospel Truth”(1963), “The Sensational Sounding Couriers Quartet”(1965), “Coming And Going”(1968), “Sweet And Shotuing Spirituals”(1970), and songs /like “Statue of Liberty”(1974), and “He’s More Than Just A Swear Word”(1972), and their outstanding reputations among their peers, there can be no doubt that their force and influence on the gospel music industry was emphatic and considerable.

To say nothing of their tireless inspiration and encouragement to many young, up and coming performers(including the Cathedrals), and they certainly deserve inclusion in this discussion and on this list.

The Couriers go back to the glory days of the Blackwoods and Statesmen, and they were a pervasive industry force from those days up to the time when the Cathedrals, Gold City, and the Kingsmen began to pace the industry in the 1980s.

As for what I own by them in the 1960s, I have their 13 albums that decade they released as a quartet on CD(7 of those on vinyl), and all six of the albums they recorded as a trio on CD as well.

Downings (3 Recordings)
Happy Goodmans (9 recordings)
Hopper Brothers & Connie (7 Recordings)
Oak Ridge Boys (6 Recordings + their first album from 1958)
Rambos (8 Recordings)

*I also have recordings from this decade by Blackwood Brothers, Dixie Echoes, Florida Boys, Hemphills, Inspirations, Kingsmen, Plainsmen, Rebels, Sego Brothers & Naomi, Speer Family, Stamps Qt, Wendy Bagwell & Sunliters.