Walter Ponder (January 14, 1942 – June 30, 2010) – If And When (1962)
The unsung R&B and gospel singer recorded this soul gem as Billy Bishop, the B-side answer song to his "Cancel The Reservation" about a jilted groom.
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Walter Ponder was a soul and gospel singer who initially recorded under the name Billy Baldwin.
Born in Tennille, Georgia, Walter Ponder Jr. graduated from high school in 1959 and went on to study business administration at Fort Valley State College. Using the stage name Billy Bishop, he released his first single in 1962 on United Artists subsidiary ASCOT Records, “I'll Always Forgive You” b/w “What Is Life.” His second single for the label came out later the same year, produced by Joe Medlin. The heartfelt “Cancel The Reservation” was about a jilted groom, with the superb answer song “If And When” on the flip, declaring “If and when your new love proves untrue, I’ll be waiting right here for you.” It was co-written by Bobbie Dunn, Gwynn Elias, and Ira Kosloff.
Two years later in 1964, Bishop released his final single as a secular R&B artist. The swinging jam “Honey Man” was on the A-side, co-written by Chip Taylor and Wes Farrell, b/w the message song “Birmingham Jail.” It was issued on TCF Records (Twentieth Century Fox).
During the seventies, Ponder settled in Jacksonville, Florida, and turned to gospel music. In 1977 he recorded his first full-length album Jesus Touched Me, which came out on the Gospel Roots label, a subsidiary of Henry Stone’s TK Records run by Timmy Thomas. He was billed as Brother Walter Ponder, the Thunderbolt of the South. Its opening cut “Redeemed” was an upbeat, R&B-flavored jam that became a regional gospel hit.
In 1979 his second album came out on Gospel Roots, Ira Tucker Presents Walter Ponder Thunderbolt of the South. One of its standout cuts was the upbeat, stirring “Something Got a Hold on Me.”
Rest in Peace, Walter Ponder.
Further info:
“Walter Ponder Jr.,” obituary, Florida Times-Union, July 8, 2010.
#soul #gospel #BillyBishop #TimmyThomas #WalterPonder