The Fairfield Four
| The Fairfield Four | |
|---|---|
| Music genre: | Gospel |
| Founding year: | 1921 |
| Members | |
| Founding members: |
Harold Carrether |
| Active members: |
Walter Settles |
The Fairfield Four are an American gospel group with a career spanning more than 80 years. The name is misleading, however, as the Fairfield Four are not always four singers. The name refers to the four voices in which they sing: alto, tenor, baritone and bass.
history
Beginnings
The Fairfield Four was founded in 1921 in Nashville , Tennessee . The local pastor offered his sons Rufus and Harold to sing in church services and at church events. Together with John Battle they also sang with other amateur singers such as James Dotson, Lattimer Green and William Malone.
When Samuel McCrary joined the Fairfield Four in 1935 , the group was complete. With his clear, full voice, McCrary was able to interpret the songs they were singing, which led to a higher audience attention.
Career
In 1937 they first appeared on the WSIX radio station . In 1941 John Work took the first two recordings of the Fairfield Four during a service on behalf of the Liberty Of Congress. The record Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around on the A-side and Standing In The Safety Zone on the B-side her first success. In 1942, the Fairfield Four took part in a talent competition in which they won the main prize. From now on they could be heard from a quarter to seven to seven in the morning on the Nashville radio station WLAC and thus also nationally as part of the CBS .
The Fairfield Four grew in popularity. The morning appearances on the radio generated tremendous demand for appearances. Her tours took her across America. They also sang in gospel shows at the Ryman Auditorium in their hometown of Nashville. Before disappearing from the music business in the early 1960s, they recorded over 100 different tracks.
descent
In the early 1950s it became increasingly difficult for the quartet to get well-paid gigs. Racist statements and threats forced them to appear mostly only in the northern states. They often had to sleep in their car because they couldn't get a hotel room. They even received death threats when they stopped at a gas station one night. The owner threatened to shoot them if they didn't drive on.
In the mid-1950s, the Farfield Four separated. James Hill, Willie Frank Lewis and Isaac Freeman then founded the Skylarks . McCrary stuck to the formation and brought in two new singers, Willie Love and Willie Broadnax . However, the album they recorded for RCA did not sell well. Musical changes in gospel music caused sales to decline. The result was that the Fairfield Four separated again.
comeback
After the former members went their own way for twenty years. Doug Seroff offered them to perform with guitarist Joe Withaker in Birmingham, Alabama . The concert was a huge success for the Fairfield Four. The albums they recorded sold themselves. They also sang with guest vocalists such as Charlie Daniels or the humorist Garrison Keiller.
In 1989 they were awarded the “National Endowment for the Arts”, the most important prize they had received up to then. But then Samuel McCrary, who held the group together for almost fifty years, died. However, Walter Settles , WL Richardson and Wilson Waters came as replacements. With them, the remaining members signed in 1990 with Warner Brothers Records . In 1995 they were the first to win the Annual Nashville Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her 1997 album I Could't Hear Nobody Pray won a Grammy . In the following years the quartet celebrated further great successes and released new albums, including a live album. In 1999 they were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame . On July 6, 2000, James Hill, who belonged to the Fairfield Four from 1946, died.
The Fairfield Four are still releasing new CDs, such as the 2001 album Road To Glory, and still performing. In 2004 the quartet had a guest appearance in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? , in which they performed the traditional ballad Lonesome Valley . In 2005, her title, Standing In The Safety Zone, was used in the film Norbit . On October 16, 2012, bass singer Isaac "Dickie" Freeman, who was highly regarded in music circles, died.
Discography
Singles
- Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around / Standing in The Safety Zone (1947-1948)
- When I Get up in Heaven / Amazing Grace (1947-1948)
- Tree of Level / Jesus Met the Woman at the Well (1949)
- Dear Lord, Look Down Upon Me / Savior Don't Pass Me By (1949)
- In The Wilderness / Let Me Tell You About Jesus (1949)
- In The Upper Room / I'll Tell The World (1950)
- I Don't Know Why I Have to Cry / When I Move in the Room (1950)
- Don't Drive Your Children Away / Does Jesus Care (1950)
- Nobody To Depend on / Old Time Religion (1950)
- No Room at the Inn / Talking About Jesus (1950)
- I Love The Name Jesus / Leave Them There (1950)
- On My Journey Now / Love Like a River (1950)
- Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow / Don't Drive Her Away (1950)
- Packing Every Burden / Don't Leave Me (1951)
- My Prayer / Come on to This Altar (1951)
- Waiting for Me / Angels Watching (1951)
- I'm in Your Care / I Can Tell You the Time (1951)
- When We Bow / Let's Go (1951)
- Hope To Shout in Glory / All the Way (1951)
- I'll Be Satisfied / I've Got Good Religion (1951)
- Come Over Here / Who Is That Knocking (1953)
- His Eye Is on the Sparrow / Every Day (1953)
- How I Got Over / This Evening Our Father (1953)
- Stand by Me / Hear Me When I Pray (1953)
- When The Battle Is Over / Standing on the Rock (1953)
- Somebody Touched Me / Mother Don't Worry (1953)
- We Never Grow Old / Jesus in Heaven (1954)
- God Knows I'm a Pilgrim / Heaven in My View (1954)
Albums
- Standing in the Safety Zone (1992)
- I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (1997)
- Wreckin 'the House, Dead Reckoning (1998)
- Fairfield Four and Friends Live from Mountain Stage (2000)
- The Bells Are Tolling (2001)
- Road to Glory (2001)
Awards
- National Endowment for the Arts, National Heritage Award, 1989
- Tennessee Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994
- Nashville Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995
- James Cleveland Stellar Award, 1996
- Grammy Award, Best Traditional Gospel Recording, for I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray , 1997
- Induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999