PHOTO: Full Circle - The members of Ranky Tanky—(from left) Charlton Singleton, Kevin Hamilton, Quiana Parler, Quentin Baxter, and Clay Ross—on the steps of the circa-1917 John’s Island praise house where the Moving Star Hall Singers recorded the spirituals that helped inspire the band and their music
While Charlton Singleton’s mother isn’t generally outspoken, she couldn’t hide her first impression of her son’s new project. “I like that song,” she told him, “but y’all did it wrong.”
The song was “That’s Alright,” the opening track from Ranky Tanky’s eponymous debut album. This band of four Lowcountry jazz stalwarts—Charleston Jazz Orchestra conductor and artistic director Singleton, Grammy-nominated percussionist Quentin Baxter, guitarist Clay Ross, and bassist Kevin Hamilton—and celebrated vocalist Quiana Parler is hardly the first to perform it. Walk into any traditionally African-American church in the region, and even if the congregation has never heard of the two-year-old band, they’ll know that song. But each church will have a slightly different arrangement, or even a variation in lyrics.