Clara Ward

Artist: Clara Ward

LP: Hang Your Tears Out to Dry

Song: "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"

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Gospel singer Clara Ward began performing at an early age with The Ward Singers, which initially included Clara, her older sister Willa, and their mother, Gertrude. Other singers also joined up with the group for a time, like Marion Williams, but they didn't stay long since Clara and Gertrude were evidently pretty stingy about sharing the money the group took in. Though much beloved by audiences around the world and by Carol Channing and other famous people, Clara Ward did not have an easy life, as you can read for yourself here. Sadly, Clara suffered a series of strokes and passed away in 1973 when she was just 48 years old. Notes, photos, and celebrity cheers from the back of Clara Ward's 1966 "Hang Your Tears Out to Dry" LP are included below.

 [ Clara Ward: April 21, 1924 — January 16, 1973 ]