The Soul Stirrers

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Soul Stirrers
Founding: 1927
Resolution: -
Genre: Gospel , rhythm and blues
First known occupation (1936)
Lead vocals : RH Harris (until 1950)
Lead vocals : James Medlock (until 194?)
Baritone singing : Senior Roy Crain
Baritone singing : TL Bruster (until 195?)
Bass vocals : Jesse Farley
Other former members
Lead vocals : Sam Cooke (1950 to 1956)
Singing : Julius Cheeks (1954)
1956 occupation
Lead vocals : Johnnie Taylor (from 1956)
Lead vocals : Paul Foster (from 194?)
Baritone singing : Senior Roy Crain
Baritone singing / guitar : Bob King (from 195?)
Bass vocals : Jesse Farley

The Soul Stirrers were a gospel band that had a number of hits, especially in the 1950s.

The band's roots can be found in Trinity (Texas) in 1927 , when senior Roy Crain founded a vocal quartet with three other teenagers. Once after an early appearance by the band, one of the listeners came to Crain and told him how the performance had stirred his soul . The band then called themselves The Soul Stirrers.

But the Soul Stirrers separated only a little later and Crain moved to Houston in the early 30s , where he joined the New Pleasant Green Singers ... on condition that they were renamed Soul Stirrers. In 1936 the band made a first recording for Alan Lomax . After a few line-up changes, the Soul Stirrers included Crain and Rebert H. Harris, James Medlock, TL Bruster and Jesse Farley and the band moved to Chicago .

In the 1940s the band grew in popularity and was now on tour, releasing recordings on Aladdin Records by the end of the decade . Medlock left the band at some point during the decade and was replaced by Paul Foster. In early 1950, the Soul Stirrers were signed by Specialty Records , where they sequentially released the singles By and By , I'm Still Living on Mother's Prayer and In That Awful Hour . But at the end of the year Harris left the band and a then unknown young singer named Sam Cooke was supposed to take over the lead vocals.

Jesus Gave Me Water became a huge hit for the band in 1951, whose popularity only grew with Cooke's new lead vocals. Bruster later dropped out, replacing Bob King, the group's first instrumentalist. In 1954 Julius Cheeks joined the band for a short time, but he left the same year.

In 1956 Cooke left the band and started a successful solo career. Johnnie Taylor came as a replacement. In the following years there were various line-up changes, with younger and younger members of the band joining. For this reason the Soul Stirrers are still active today. In 1989 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influences category. "Jesus Gave Me Water" was added to The Wire's "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" list.

literature

  • Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 57f

Web links