The Joubert Singers

Formed in 1982 as the Celestial Choir in Crown Heights, New York, the Joubert Singers is a gospel group formed by Phyliss McKoy Joubert, the Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church. Joubert had written a song called “Stand on the Word” and gathered a group of musicians together to record the song with vocals provided by a choir of children. The song was featured on a compilation album entitled Somebody Prayed for This, an independently released album of gospel songs recordings by various choirs from the Crown Heights district. The song was discovered by two DJs - George Rodriguez and Tony Humphries – who mixed new versions of “Stand on the Word”. Released on Next Plateau and credited to the Joubert Singers, the song became a disco dance-floor hit. DJ Larry Levan’s name became heavily associated with the remix, although it has never been proven that he was actually involved with any of the remixes. While the song wasn’t a mainstream hit, it became an underground classic. “Stand on the Word” received a new lease on life in 2011 when it was covered by French group Keedz, who took it all the way to Number 12 on the charts. Five years later, “Stand on the Word” was remixed by Dimitri from Pars, Patchworks, and Walter Mecca.