SG History 101
The original Blackwood Brothers of 1934
SG History 101 - Tough Times in Gospel Music
Ever since I began writing these history articles for Southern Gospel News nearly five years ago, I have not only tried to spotlight people who have contributed immeasurably to the music most of us love so much today, but I’ve also tried to illustrate how the glorious past of this great music can be used to teach us new lessons today.
With that in mind, and also considering the state of our economy in this day and age, I thought it might be instructive to examine how artists and fans alike dealt with tough times in order to spread gospel music far and wide.
One thing’s for sure from the outset…gospel music was BORN in hard times, and its’ development has been the direct result of how artist and fan alike has coped with the circumstances of the times.
As most people know, southern style gospel singing began during the latter half of the 19th century. The Southeast United States, having rejoined the nation following its’ loss in the Civil War, was going through the period known as Reconstruction, when it was literally being rebuilt…certainly hard times by any standards. The one stable part of the region’s social life centered on the churches…and that period of history coincided with numerous church revivals, a common occurrence during times of struggle. Times may have been tough, but people’s faith in God and the ability to sing testimony to Him in song gave the people of that time hope to overcome.
In time, the South began to slowly rebuild. And during that time, a number of very talented people would write even more songs of praise to God, and some of them would publish them in songbook form, so people far and wide could enjoy them. Some groups of people even formed singing groups(primarily male quartets)and what would later become known as the southern gospel industry was born.
In those early days, the “industry” was composed of the major songbook companies, who would hire and pay groups to perform their songs publicly for people. This, along with the already established singing conventions, which were initially formed to give nonprofessionals a chance to sing their favorite songs. This, in the years long before the “baby boom”, gave people a sense of hope, entertainment, and community…which certainly helped them during the transition from being poor materially to a new, more advanced age.
By the 1920s, professional gospel groups began to form, and travel through the region to sing to others in personal appearances. Now much is made today of gospel music being a ministry, and while it certainly can be a powerful ministerial tool in the right hands, it was from the outset entertainment…a way for these talented and gifted people to make a living doing what they loved to do most…sing gospel songs.
And the first two groups that would achieve recognition for singing gospel songs professionally were family groups…the Speer family…and the LeFevre family. But trying to make it as professional singers was just as tough for them as it was for the people who wanted to see them to do that. The first form of transportation for the Speers was a two-horse wagon(a car was still a major luxury then in the South)! And at one point the LeFevres had to sell their furniture to be able to afford to keep singing and traveling. Such were the struggles of a LOT of people during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and the 1930s. But these two groups would persevere longer than almost any artist of ANY musical genre, well into the 1980s and 90s. Clearly, the desire to sing gospel music was a factor in them getting through those rough beginnings.
The early Chuck Wagon Gang
And clearly others had that same hope and perseverance, because some of gospel music’s most accomplished artists began their careers during the depression. One of these was the Chuck Wagon Gang, another family group that sang to overcome their economic plight as well in rural Texas. They were weary of the constant work in the cotton fields for little or no pay, and they sang a combination of Western songs with good messages and gospel songs until they got their big break by landing a radio show on a major Fort Worth radio station(WBAP). From there, it was on to Dallas’ KRLD, and to Columbia Records, where they became one of that label’s top record sellers. And that great group is still with us today, with different people, to be sure…but with the same hope, perseverance, and dedication that marked the original group, proving those things could help anyone endure and overcome their circumstances.
The Blackwood Brothers as well knew all about hard times. They were the children of Mississippi sharecroppers who didn’t have a lot materially, but they had a love for God and each other, and for singing that would take them out of those humble beginnings into the homes of millions via radio and records, and give people hope through an authentic tesimony and marvelous singing talent.
But that all didn’t happen overnight. When the quartet finally got a job singing on a powerful Mississippi radio station, they were barely able to afford to rent a couple of upstairs rooms in a Jackson hotel, across from a hamburger shop. All the group had to spend per person after performances was just a nickel per man…just enough to afford the shop’s hamburgers.
James Blackwood recalled a time when he hadn’t enough money for one of those nickel hamburgers and he used the small kitchen in his room to prepare himself some “…cornbread and buttermilk.” Even by the late 1930s, it was hard to make a living either singing gospel music or going to see people sing gospel music…but the Blackwoods persevered…and didn’t let their circumstances get to them.
A couple of years later, the car the quartet traveled in needed to be replaced. The group had their eyes on one in particular, but of course couldn’t afford the price unless they were able to get a loan. Credit was tight in those immediate post-Depression days, but they got some seemingly divine help from an engineer at the radio station they sang at, and they were able to buy the car. This engineer wasn’t even a Christian, but was impressed enough with the Blackwoods’ talent to help them out. Perhaps we can add good timing to the list of factors that help us overcome as well. James Blackwood would say in later years that had that man not co-signed for that car loan, the Blackwood Brothers’ career would have ended right there…and there would have been no Talent Scouts, no NQC, no Singing Time In Dixie, and arguably no quartet boom of the post-war period.
Even into the 40s, singers struggled. The Melody Masters were one of the most successful quartets of their era, but before they landed at Lincoln, NE’s KFAB radio and earned a decent living, Jake Hess and Jim Wetherington(before he became the “Big Chief”)stole peaches from trees in order to eat between singing dates.
JD Sumner
And one of the most successful gospel singers of all time, JD Sumner, struggled with his first quartets. He recalls in his autobiography that he and his young wife Mary routinely had meals consisting of only beans and water without ice, and all they had for furniture was an old couch his mother had given them. It was tough. One day Mary had had enough, and told JD before he went out for another singing engagement:
“If you don’t think any more of me and the kids(they had two small daughters) than to let us live like this when you could be out working…if you go sing tonight, when you get back home I won’t be here.”
Most men would probably be frozen in thought upon hearing that sort of thing, but JD was determined to make his living singing gospel music…and he WAS determined, so he told Mary…
“You can learn a lesson of a lifetime if you just watch me…as long as my legs point to the ground, I’m going to sing.”
When JD got home that night, Mary was still home…crying softly. JD went to her, put his arm around her and said, “Now Mary, I’m going to sing as long as I live. I want you to know that I love you very much, but don’t ever ask me not to sing again.”
And JD never did stop singing. His career picked up tremendously when he joined the Sunshine Boys in 1945, and hit an apex when he joined the Blackwood Brothers in 1954. From there, he was able to help start the National Quartet Convention, introduce bus travel to gospel music(a BIG improvement on a horse-drawn wagon or a 1935 Ford car), take over the Stamps Quartet and make them one of gospel music’s most famous groups, and work with Elvis Presley during that superstar’s final years. And best of all, he and Mary stayed married for 51 years until her untimely passing in 1993. JD would sing gospel music all the way up to the end of his life in 1998.
Along the way, the people I described as well as others(the Statesmen, the John Daniel Quartet, the Rangers, the Rebels, and the Oak Ridge Boys)all went through hard times initially, but through the factors I mentioned(perseverance, faith, talent, hope, and good timing)were all able to live fulfilling lives as well as have a decent standard of living.
And of course the fans of this music were always able(through many of the same factors)to travel long distances to see their favorite singers. Of course the greater affluence we obtained in the post World War II era helped in that as well, but even in the “baby boom” years, a lot of gospel music fans still came from the lower portions of the economic spectrum.
So what does that tell us today, in these hard times, when people are losing their jobs, unable to obtain credit, and their banks and the places they shop are closing all over the place?
I’m not entirely sure, but if the history of the southern gospel music genre is any barometer, by persevering, being faithful, having hope, and maybe even being in the right place at the right time as well, we ALL(singers and fans alike)can continue to enjoy our favorite type of music to give us much needed entertainment(as well as strength and hope)for many more years to come.
Let’s learn the lessons of those stalwart gospel pioneers who came before us and not allow circumstances to take away that which is truly meaningful to us.
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Written: 05/06/2009
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Category: SG History 101
Comments: 4
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WOW! That is all I can say very well written and a good reminder that the Lord is our strength in adversity.
Praise the Lord for SGM! Our hope in hard times.
