Black Vocal Groups

- The Highway Q. Cs (Johnnie Taylor) sings I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This. - Written and Composed by Johnnie Taylor, Spencer Taylor (no relation). - Recorded in 1956.

- The Spirit of Memphis Quartet sings I'll Tell It. - Lead by Silas Steele. - Written by Thomas A. Dorsey. (no idea why it show Kenneth Morris, but Dorsey wrote the song.) - Recorded in 1955.

Thomas A. Dorsey with R.H. Harris - Thy Servant's Prayer Amen. Part of the 1973 album "Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey". Written by Thomas A. Dorsey. Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precious_Lord:_New_Recordings_of_the_Great_Songs_of_Thomas_A._Dorsey Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey is a 1973 album by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey. The recording features Dorsey's account of his life, as well as contemporary performances of his greatest works. Composer of many enduring gospel classics, Dorsey is considered to be the Father of Gospel Music. In 2002, the Library of Congress honored the album by adding it to the United States National Recording Registry.

- Alternate take of By and By from the complication "Shine On Me". - Arranged by S. R. Crain and R. H. Harris - By and By (We'll Understand It Better By and By) - Written By Charles A. Tindley - My YT channels: -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7j8mxn3tCW_fBtiSy9TNuw -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7dITDOBcndLthsuKLGrCJA

- The Soul Stirrers sings Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone, featuring Sam Cooke and Paul Foster. - Traditional (Composer). - Arranged by Sam Cooke.

The Soul Stirrers (With Sam Cooke) sings Let Me Go Home. Composer - Traditional. Arranged by S. R. Crain (Roy Crain, Sr).

The Spirit of Memphis Quartet sings "That Awful Day" Written by Issac Watts, arranged by Earl Malone. Recorded in 1951.

The Pilgrim Travelers' "Lord Hold My Hand". Written by Dolly Parton and Ginny Dean  As you listen, the sounds are influences from The Golden Gate Quartet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willmer_%22Little_Ax%22_Broadnax Willmer "Little Ax" M. Broadnax, (December 28, 1916[1] – 1994) also known as "Little Axe," "Wilbur," "Willie," and "Wilmer," was an African-American hard gospel quartet singer. A tiny man with glasses and a high, powerful tenor voice, he worked and recorded with many of the most famous and influential groups of his day. Broadnax was born in Houston in 1916. After moving to Southern California in the mid-40s, he and his brother, William, joined the Southern Gospel Singers, a group which performed primarily on weekends. The Broadnax brothers soon formed their own quartet, the Golden Echoes. William eventually left for Atlanta, where he joined the Five Trumpets, but Willmer stayed on as lead singer. In 1949 the group, augmented by future Soul Stirrer Paul Foster, recorded a single of "When the Saints Go Marching In" for Specialty Records. Label chief Art Rupe d...

The Soul Stirrers sings the famous Thomas Dorsey's "Precious Lord (Take My Hand) featuring R. H. Harris and James H. Medlock on lead. Harris holds a note at the 1:55 mark like a true soul singer. R. H. Harris at his best of the invention of soul!!!!

blacksolosingers.blogspot.com   I have another blog called Black Solo Artists (blacksolosingers.blogspot.com), which is a blog sharing solo artists from the 1920s to the late 1990s and sometimes 2000s. I also have 200 views on the Black Vocal Groups (blackvocalgroups.blogspot.com) which I will keep that online, also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_Travelers http://www.allmusic.com/artist/pilgrim-travelers-mn0000483554/biography There are links to the biographies of the Pilgrim Travelers, who was also a Texas-based gospel group, like The Soul Stirrers. Under the influences of The Golden Gospel Quartet and The Soul Stirrers, J. W. Alexander helped create the style of the hard gospel quartet style.  Want to know more? Check out the videos and links on their biography and "The Life You Save Might Just Be Your Own" and "The Old Rugged Cross" are two of their songs I like the most. If you like this post and previous posts, you can donate by PayPal on the right side!!!!

After Rebert H. Harris quit the Soul Stirrers, he signed up with Sam Cooke's SAR label and with a group called "R. H. Harris and His Gospel Paraders". They recorded songs such as "Sometimes" and "Somebody". The songs were both written by Harris, but arranged by Sam Cooke. Both songs with be in the description,  You would believe these 2-minute songs when you hear it. Comment and share with your friends!!!

This is a live version of The Golden Gospel Quartet's "You Better Run". This was in Europe in 1967. This performance is not that well known because people are not sharing this. This was a remarkable performance and I dount if anyone can do this performance!!!

This a song by The Pilgrim Travelers called "The Old Rugged Cross". This song includes Kylo Turner as the lead, but he sounds like Low Rawls. I couldn't tell who was singing, but that doesn't stop me from like the song. Comment on this song!!!

Passionate gospel singer  R.H. Harris  is best known as the lead vocalist of the pre- Sam Cooke   Soul Stirrers , one of the most influential vocal groups in gospel history. While a member of the  Soul Stirrers  from the late '30s through 1950,  Harris  pushed his voice to new limits of powerful, throaty intensity. His delivery was filled with an urgency that couldn't help but affect anyone within earshot; quite a switch from the seamless, smoother deliveries popular with gospel vocal groups up to this point. By the time  Harris  left the group, "hard gospel" had taken hold. Robert H. Harris  joined up with  Soul Stirrers  in the late '30s in the Houston, TX area. Group founder  Roy Crain  brought in a few other singers into the fold, including James Medlock, who served as second lead vocalist. A group with two lead vocalists was a new thing at the time, but it was the voices of  the Soul Stirrers  that c...

The Great Lost Blind Boys Album This is another song I like called "I'm A Rolling" by The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi featuring Archie Brownlee. The song is featured on a album called The Great Lost Blind Boys Album . The album features previously unreleased songs- Somebody's Mother, I'm Willing To Run, and more. Enjoy this piece while you can!!!!!!!!!

The Golden Gate Quartet (1937) The Golden Gate Quartet were one of the most successful quartets singing the jubilee quartet style. Here are links of songs that you will probably enjoy like their first recording "Golden Gate Gospel Train", which is one of my favorite songs. There is also other songs such as "You Better Run", "Anyhow", By and By (Little Children), etc, etc.  

- Here is another gospel quartet that I love, The Chosen Gospel Singers that featured Lou Rawls before being with The Pilgrim Travelers and being a solo artist. These guys are singing an second take of "Prayer of the Doomed." Hopefully you like and comment on this song!!!

This Specialty compilation features The Soul Stirrers with R.H.Harris and 26 recordings, 15 are previously unreleased and 11 that were released. They were more famous with the Charles A. Tindley's  We'll Understand It Better By and By , but was released as "By and By". Besides that particular song, there were other songs that really spread its message across the gospel community from a notorious, but great gospel quartet of all time. Songs like I'm Still Living On Mother's Prayer and In That Awful Hour , both composed by Reuben L.C. Henry, arranged by Kenneth S. Morris, shows it great spiritual voices from the Father of Hard Gospel Quartet to a powerful tenor Paul Foster shows that they sung their butts off this song. Here are two links for this collection of songs: - http://www.allmusic.com/album/shine-on-me-mw0000078420 -  http://www.discogs.com/Soul-StirrersFeaturing-RH-Harris-Shine-On-Me/release/3844312 -Amazon and Ebay links      -...

This is a picture of Archie Brownlee (1935-1960), the original lead singer of The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. He was known for his eccentric screams and yells that influenced lots of famous black singers such as Ray Charles and Jackie Wilson (forefathers of soul  music). Also, he is also heard from the hymn "Our Father", which became the first gospel song to hit the Billboard charts at #10. However, he died at age 35 of pneumonia on February 8, 1960 that replaced lots of other hard gospel quartet singers such as Wilmer M. "Little Axe" Broadnax.  His influences continued to spread for artists that have real talent. RIP Archie Brownlee!!!!!! There will be links with this description of him with The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi singing songs such as the famous "Our Father", "In The Wilderness", and "Someone Watches". In my opinion, it is a challenging thing that a man that was blind would sing from a soft sweet voice (under t...

The Persuasions are an a capella group from New York that formed in the late 1960s that sung lots of musical genres such as soul, rock and roll, gospel, R&B, etc. They are known for covering artists  such as Frank Zappa, Jerry Butler, and Sam Cooke. They also have done tribute albums such as  The Persuasions sing the Beatles   and  Frankly A Capella   for The Beatles and F rank Zappa. I have links down at the bottom singing melodies of doo-wop songs and a gospel melody that might blow your mind!!! And guess what, their influences are my favorite gospel groups- The Dixie Hummingbirds  and  The Soul Stirrers ! I like looking up different styles of music and how music like this can be hereditary!!! Here are the links and enjoy these melodies!!!! 

The Soul Stirrers' By and By Part 1 and 2. I will also put 3 links with these 2 pictures, 2 of the links will be the two parts of Charles A. Tindley's By and By, and a alternate take of By and By, which is one of the most emotional takes of this song. Rebert H. Harris and Paul Foster led this song so well that no one could try to cover this song. There has been other cover before this one, but in my opinion, this cover show a soulful, unique, talent that R H Harris arranged with S. R. Crain. Enjoy this song while you can.

The Spirit of Memphis Quartet featuring Wilmer M. "Little Axe" Broadnax sing Calvary.