Sony Legacy will be releasing Grammy and Dove Award-winning recording artist Reba Rambo’s 1968 debut album, On the Folk Side of Gospel, to digital outlets. Remastered by Greg Hand, the album will be available for download and streaming on June 5.

In 1968, folk artists like Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Odetta were injecting social and political consciousness into the world of rock and roll. Taking note, some churches began to curate folk and rock masses, utilizing popular songs that carried strong underlying spiritual messages. This premise was controversial within Christian circles, but young people were searching for new ways to marry their faith with the music that was impacting their peers, laying the groundwork for what would become known as contemporary Christian music. Reba Rambo, then fifteen years old and a member of the Grammy-nominated Southern gospel trio The Singing Rambos, stepped to the forefront of this uncharted territory with her debut solo album, On the Folk Side of Gospel.

Released on The Benson Company’s flagship label, Heart Warming Records, On the Folk Side of Gospel was the brainchild of maverick industry executives Bob Benson and Bob MacKenzie, who took note of Rambo’s love of the modern folk movement and her first compositions, penned on the heels of The Singing Rambos’ United Service Organizations-sponsored performances for the soldiers in Vietnam. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B, On the Folk Side of Gospel features songs by Reba, her mother Dottie Rambo, Glen Campbell, Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary, and Duane Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys, among others. Those songs are augmented by the musicianship of country music legend Jerry Reed, legendary studio musician and songwriter John Hartford (whose credits included The Byrds, James Taylor, and Delaney & Bonnie), and first-call background vocalists, the Marijohn Singers.

When it hit record store shelves in the summer of 1968, On the Folk Side of Gospel shocked the core of The Singing Rambos’ fan base. Some Southern gospel disc jockeys and churches hosted “Reba Record Burning” parties, outraged at what was perceived as an embrace of “the devil’s music.” Critics, however, recognized the emergence of a formidable new talent. “Rambo encroaches deeply into the folk field, yet keeps close-to-the-spirit in this excellent selection of tunes,” praised Billboard. Months after the album’s release, the magazine wrote, “She held the belief that gospel music could be presented in a folk manner, and then she proved it.”

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Reba was part of a contingent of faith-based musicians who changed the face of Christian music. She performed at the famed Explo ’72, deemed the Woodstock of the Jesus Movement, and toured as part of Andraé Crouch & The Disciples. She has been nominated for ten Grammy Awards and won in 1981 for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational, for The Lord’s Prayer. Her songs have been recorded by artists including Amy Grant, Donna Summer, Natalie Cole, Debby Boone, Sandi Patty, Shirley Caesar, and the Gaither Vocal Band.

On the Folk Side of Gospel is currently included in the Fresh Faces exhibit at the Museum of Christian and Gospel Music in Nashville, Tennessee. It serves as the first release in a timeline of debut albums by generations of iconic women in Christian music such as Nancy Honeytree, Stacie Orrico, Kierra Sheard, and Lauren Daigle.

Reba is currently completing Mama Always Had a Song, a book about the stories behind the songs written by her mother, Dottie Rambo, with gospel music historian Tim Dillinger. She is also preparing for the Fall 2026 release of Rambo Women, an album recorded in collaboration with her daughter, Destiny Rambo Khouri.

 

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