SG History 101
SG History 101 - Prominent Women
To finally conclude this series of the outstanding performers in southern gospel history by part, we have focused on people in male quartets. And perhaps fittingly so, for it has been the male quartet which has been the most prominent musical unit in the history of the genre.
But I don’t want to infer that the only contributions to southern gospel music have been made by males, for that is not the case. I intend this month’s article to show that women have made important contributions to the genre’s history, despite their relatively late start and minor early role in.
In fact, the early days of gospel music were comprised almost exclusively of male quartets, not until the 1920s did a couple of family groups emerge that featured women prominently.
One of those groups came from Georgia, Alphus and Urias LeFevre started a trio first with their sister Maude, who was replaced by their sister Peggy when she married and settled down. Eventually, Urias met and married Eva Mae Whittington, who happened to be not only a fine singer but an excellent piano player.
Eva Mae LeFevre
And for the next 50 years or so, Eva Mae LeFevre was one of the most acclaimed and beloved personalities in gospel music history. Although Alphus may have been the group’s musical mainstay, Eva Mae was the face and voice of the famous LeFevre family group, and her singing and piano playing was admired and loved by all gospel music fans, and the LeFevres would be among the major groups in gospel music for over a half century.
The other group to come to prominence in the 1920s was another family group, this time out of Alabama, G.T. “Tom” Speer and his wife Lena were in a quartet with his sister Pearl Claborn and Pearl’s husband Logan. They were originally known as the Speer Quartet, and they sang locally sponsored by the Vaughan Music Company. When Tom Speer opted to make his living at singing, the Claborns dropped out, and Speer taught his children to sing and play musical instruments.
Lena Speer
In time, the Speer Family would not only feature Tom Speer (known as “Dad” Speer to fans of gospel music) , and his sons Brock and Ben, but Lena (on piano as well as singing) , and their daughters Rosa Nell and Mary Tom. In time Rosa Nell replaced her mother on the piano, and became known as one of the best pianists on the circuit. Her mother continued for many more years singing with the group, while Mary Tom sang and played the mandolin as well, and Rosa Nell played piano for the group for a couple of decades. By the 1950s, both Mary Tom and Rosa Nell had left the group to marry and start families of their own.
But the Speer Family continued to feature women prominently as they maintained their status at the top of the gospel music world. Brock married the former Faye Ihrig in 1948, and Faye would sing with the group for the better part of the following 50 years. And keeping with the tradition of having a female pianist, Joyce Black became the first “adopted” Speer in 1955, to in turn be followed on the ivories by Ginger Smith in the 1960s.
Another new female singer and (of course) pianist came along in 1963, when Mississippian Ann Sanders would join. Ann was extremely popular with fans and continued to be when she left the group in 1968 to join her husband Paul Downing to form another family quartet. Ann is still active today, combining solo appearances with appearances with the Bill Gaither Homceoming Troupe.
The Speers would continue to bring in fine female talent, such as Jeanne Johnson, Linda Robinson, Brock’s daughter Susan, Diane Mays, and Karen Apple. Women made great strides in gospel music as a result of the many stars the Speers featured and sired.
The LeFevres also would bring in other female talent as well. Eva Mae’s daughter Andrea was with the group for awhile (playing instruments alongside her brothers) , and like the Speers, the LeFevres eagerly “adopted” family members along the way. Female singers in the group included Barbara Daily, Sharon and Teresa McNeill, then as the 1970s waned, youngsters like Janet Psschal and bass singer Rex Nelon’s daughter Kelly were brought in.
When Eva Mae finally retired from the LeFevres in 1978, the remnants of the LeFevres became known as the Rex Nelon Singers, and even more fine female talent graced their roster. Such names as Karen Peck and Charlotte Penhollow became favorites of gospel music fans, and in the current group (now known as simply the Nelons) , Kelly’s daughter Amber has taken her place in that select group of outstanding female contributors to gospel music history.
One group that HAS to be mentioned in an article like this brought us two of the very best female singers in the genre’s history.
In the 1930s, a family quartet from Texas became one of the most distinctive and famous gospel quartets ever. Dave Carter’s well known Chuck Wagon Gang was defined in part by the fine voices of two of Dave’s daughters, Effie (who became known as Anna) and Rosa Lola (who became known as Rose) . Their simple yet heartfelt style of singing helped make them one of Columbia Records’ biggest selling artists ever, and until recently, the Chuck Wagon Gang had sold more recordings than ANY gospel group, period.
And the Gang continues today, with the same style and dedication to tradition that will ensure they remain a beloved American institution.
Lily Fern Weatherford
With the baby boom brought on by the end of World War II, many more female gospel singers began to emerge. By the late 1940s, in Southern California of all places, a quartet led by Earl Weatherford began to feature Earl’s wife in the traditional male first tenor part, mostly at her constant urging. Thanks to Earl’s tutelage, Lily Fern Weatherford learned how to blend with men in a quartet, to the degree that it was difficult to distinguish the Weatherford Quartet from a regular male quartet. With Lily, the Weatherford Quartet became known as one of the smoothest sounding quartets ever, and they influenced many subsequent quartets, especially the Cathedral Quartet and Legacy Five today, growing as they did from the Weatherford Quartet legacy.
Lily also continues to sing today, in a group with her son Steve, continuing to pay tribute to that Weatherford legacy.
Other groups featuring female vocalists came to prominence during the 1950s and 1960s.
Down in Alabama, Howard Goodman led a group consisting of he and his brothers and sisters, and his wife Vestal, who was the sister of noted tenor singer Cat Freeman. When Howard reorganized his family group in the early 1960s, his sisters were no longer a part of the group, but his brothers and Vestal were.
Vestal Goodman
And in large part due to Vestal’s powerful voice and personality, the Happy Goodman Family became one of the most popular gospel groups of all-time. Vestal got a lot of recognition among gospel music fans including “Queen of Gospel Music” honors, and even after Howard and Vestal broke from the family group, they were still beloved due to their regular appearances on the Gaither Homecoming Series. Vestal remains one of the most beloved and fondly remembered gospel singers, even after her passing in 2003.
Some of the other noteworthy female gospel singers during the 1960s include Sue Chenault Dodge, Joy McGuire (both featured with the Downings) , Connie Hopper (with the Hopper Brothers and Connie, later the Hoppers) , LaBreeska Hemphill (related to the Goodmans) , and her daughter Candy.
And perhaps one of the most noteworthy and memorable example of what talented females could bring to gospel music, there were the “sweethearts of gospel music”, the wonderfully harmonious Johnson Sisters, who came out of Alabama in the 1950s and were featured on the Gospel Singing Caravan for a time. All-female groups were especially rare, but the Johnson Sisters were good enough to earn their place alongside the best male quartets of the 1950s and 1960s.
Other notable all-female gospel groups include the White Sisters in the 1950s, West Virginia’s Perry Sisters of the 1960s and 1970s, and that combination of female country singers in the 1980s, Heirloom.
I readily admit to the possibility of giving some other awfully fine female gospel singers a historical “short shrift” here, but to keep this all-too-brief reminiscence here manageable, I had to do some telescoping.
As always, your comments and observations are most welcome, particularly if I made any major omissions. Your help helps to make these articles far more informative than they might otherwise be.
Thus ends this series of looking at the best and most noteworthy of gospel artists in the southern genre, by part. It was fun for me to reminisce from my memories, and I hope it was fun for you to do the same as well.
See you back here next month.
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Written: 03/01/2010
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Category: SG History 101
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. First time I heard "He Hideth My Soul"...and I love it to this day!!!
