Pastor T.L. Barrett’s final, long-out-of-print song, “In the Old Time Way” b/w “My Country Tis of Thee,” has been released by Numero Group.
P.S. Records International, based in Chicago, released the single in 1985, right before the label closed down. Barrett continued to preach, but the single “In the Old Time Way” b/w “My Country Tis of Thee” was his final piece of physical music.
Both tracks will appear on Numero Group’s next Barrett box collection, “I Shall Wear a Crown, which will be released on September 24th. Four of his 1970s albums, including his 1971 masterpiece Like a Ship… (Without a Sail), and also a dozen tracks and sermons written, produced, and performed during the 1960s and 1980s, will be featured in the retrospective.
Prior to the release of “In the Old Time Way” b/w “My Country Tis of Thee,” Numero Group released another Barrett rare, his long-out-of-print 1979 track “Lord’s Prayer,” which was backed by “Said It Long Time Ago.”
Barrett’s albums have long been popular among crate diggers and producers: Kanye West famously sampled 1976’s “Father Stretch My Hands” for his single of the same name, and T.I., DJ Khaled, and Vic Mensa have also sampled Barrett’s music.