Ms Anderson said the friends had been brought up "in the church" in Birmingham and it was "the norm" to be in a choir.
Their parents had come from the Caribbean but "did not get a warm welcome" and went on to contribute to the growth of Pentecostal churches in the UK, she said.
"So it all built out of that. We used to sing, that's what brought us together, but also helped us through hard times."
Angela Brown-Johnson, the youngest in the choir, said she was a big fan when she first joined at 15.
"The volume and the dynamics... I couldn't hear myself sing in the first rehearsal at all. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it," she said.