Six decades of music, sixty-five years of song, generations tied together through the force of will of a matriarchy of powerful women. This is the story of African-American gospel quintet The Legendary Ingramettes, founded in Richmond, Virginia, by Maggie Ingram (who passed away in 2015) as a way to keep her family together through hardship. Inspired by the Black gospel quartets of the 1940s and 50s, Ingram’s “First Family of Gospel” featured herself backed by her five children, with powerful vocals and roof-raising harmonies. Now led by her daughter Almeta Ingram-Miller, Maggie’s legacy lives on in their performance. Their latest work Take a Look in the Book—their first recording since the matriarch’s passing in 2015—draws songs from Appalachian sources like Ola Belle Reed and Bill Withers and reworking family favorites that date back to old spirituals.
