Gwendolyn Lee Mitchell is the youngest sister of Arva Campbell and one of the youngest members of The Northern California State Youth Choir, at the age of 14. Gwen talks about growing up in The Bay Area surrounded by the youth of Ephesians Church of God In Christ. She describes being on tour as a family affair, the many siblings who were part of the choir, and the parents who chaperoned when they toured. She shares her favorite songs on the album and how this music became an important part of who she is today.

Highlights:

• A shy Gwen is invited into what would become The Edwin Hawkins Singers, after simply singing the scales;
• Ed’s arrangements of gospel music really spoke to her as a singer;
• Gwen performs at the choir’s first big concert at the University of California Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, with Cannonball Adderley and Nina Simone;
• Gwen performs at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Gardens, flying in an airplane for the first time, and meeting celebrities like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and José Feliciano; and
• Gwen stops touring with the choir to turn her focus back to finishing high school.

In the next episode, meet Pastor Ronald Thompson, a classmate of Edwin Hawkins and another voice in the choir.