GMF was saddened to receive news of the passing of Cleave Graham of the Pilgrim Jubilees. Cleave passed June 11, at age 96. Born January 8, 1928, Cleave was a cherished member of a family of singers who went on to significantly impact the quartet music scene.
The Pilgrim Jubilee Singers started in Mississippi with Cleave’s brothers Theophilus “Hoppy” Graham and Elgie C.B. Graham alongside their cousin Monroe Hatchett and cousins-in-law Alfred Brownlee and Willis Johnson. After a brief disbandment in the late 1940s, the group regrouped in Chicago in the early 1950s, with Cleave, Hoppy, Elgie, and Monroe. Major Roberson was also added to the roster and later on, Cleave’s younger brother Clay.
Throughout their career, the Pilgrim Jubilees, as they came to be called, recorded for several labels, including Nashboro, Peacock, Savoy, and Malaco, and traveled extensively on the quartet circuit. They won the admiration of audiences not only with their charisma but also with Cleave’s rollicking drives like “Wonderful,” “Don’t Let Him Down,” and “Safety of Your Soul,” and Clay’s compelling sermonettes as heard in “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Barnyard.”
The Pilgrim Jubilees, a biography written by Alan Young and published in 2001, documents the group’s rich history and offers fans and new enthusiasts deeper insight into the Jubes’ musical legacy.
Cleave was the group’s longest active member. Clay passed away in 2018. Major died eight years prior, in 2010. Ben Chandler, another longtime member, transitioned in 2012.
Funeral arrangements have been announced by the family as follows:
Visitation Thursday, June 20, 2024 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Maggie’s Bereavement Services South Chicago Chapel Funeral Home 2939 East 95th Street Chicago, IL 60617
Musical Tribute Thursday, June 20, 2024 7:30 p.m. Prayer Center Baptist Church 1432 West 79th Street Chicago, IL 60620
Homegoing Celebration Friday, June 21, 2024 Wake: 10:00 a.m. Funeral: 11:00 a.m. Saint John Church of God in Christ 7527 South Cottage Grove Chicago, IL 60619
GMF extends condolences to the Graham family and the Pilgrim Jubilees. Another soldier is at rest.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
Bernie McLean, a retired music executive who was pivotal in the careers of numerous gospel and urban artists, has died at 80. Known for his work with Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, and the platinum-selling Shekinah Glory Ministry, McLean made significant contributions to the music industry. His promotional efforts helped Shekinah Glory Ministry achieve hits like “Praise Is What I Do,” “Yes,” and “Jesus.”
A Celebration of Life service takes place June 14, 2024, at 11 AM at Valley Kingdom Ministries, Oak Forest, IL.
Born June 6, 1943, in New York City, McLean excelled in basketball at Aviation High School and the New York Institute of Technology. He obtained an engineering degree from the latter and a second one from Adelphi University before beginning a 30-year tenure at General Electric.
McLean transitioned into music promotions and artist management in the 1990s and worked with a number of urban artists such as Yvonne Gage, Too $hort, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and RUSSOUL. In 2001, he became the first promotions manager at Kingdom Records, founded by his friend Apostle H. Daniel Wilson, who had formed an aggregation of singers that became Shekinah Glory Ministry worship ensemble. McLean helped Shekinah Glory Ministry achieve gold status for “Praise Is What I Do” as well as four gold and platinum certifications for other projects. In 2003, he was promoted to Vice President and A&R Director, working with The Whispers, Phil Tarver, and The Brown Sisters of Chicago, among others. McLean retired in 2016.
He is survived by his wife Linda, his daughter Tiffany, sons Phil and Ashaunte, grandchildren, and extended family.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
Sandra Crouch, Grammy® Award winning twin sister of gospel legend Andraé Crouch, and an artist in her own right, passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at 12 PM PST at Northridge Hospital in Northridge, CA. She was 81. She died of complications from radiation for a non-cancerous brain lesion.
Crouch was an integral partner in her brother’s trailblazing career as the most popular crossover gospel artist of the 1970s and co-wrote one of his biggest hits, “Jesus is the Answer.” She was also a percussionist and/or vocal conductor on recordings by artists such as The Jackson 5, Madonna, Neil Diamond, and Janis Joplin. In the 1980s, Crouch stepped into the spotlight on her own with a trio of Grammy® Award-nominated albums that produced modern church standards such as “He’s Worthy,” “Completely Yes,” and “We Need To Hear From You.” Since 2015, she’s been the Senior Pastor of New Christ Memorial Church in San Fernando, CA.
Sandra Elaine Crouch and her twin brother, Andraé Edward Crouch, were born on July 1, 1942, in Los Angeles, CA. Their parents, Benjamin E. and Catherine Crouch, owned two dry cleaning operations and a restaurant in Los Angeles. In the late 1940s, their parents sold their businesses to go into ministry. They packed up their eldest son, Benjamin Jr., and the twins, and moved to Verde, CA, where they eventually founded Christ Memorial Church C.O.G.I.C. out of a garage in 1951.
While the twins were students at San Fernando Valley High School, they formed The COGICS circa 1960 with friends who were active in the Church of God in Christ C.O.G.I.C. denomination. Billy Preston, Gloria Jones, Blinky Sondra Williams, Frankie, and Edna Wright would all go on to have successful careers in the music industry. Their first recording was “It Will Never Lose Its Power” which was distributed by Vee Jay Records. After Preston left to tour with Ray Charles, the group disbanded. Andraé then formed Andraé Crouch & the Disciples while Sandra worked as a percussionist in Hollywood. Among the notable recordings she played on were The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Neil Diamond’s Tap Root Manuscript LP which featured “Cracklin’ Rosie,” and Janis Joplin’s Pearl LP which featured “Me and Bobby McGee.” She also played on projects by Gabor Szabo, Mongo Santamaria, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and various Motown acts.
By the 1970s, Sandra Crouch had rejoined her brother as a key member of Andraé Crouch and the Disciples. Aside from singing and playing with the group, she co-wrote songs with her brother. Among the biggest was “Jesus is the Answer,” which was a huge crossover hit on both white and black gospel radio stations. Over the years, it’s been covered by over 75 artists including Paul Simon, and Michael W. Smith. The group dominated the airwaves during the period with hits such as “Take Me Back,” “Soon and Very Soon,” “Through It All,” and “My Tribute (To God Be the Glory).” They performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Saturday Night Live, and at The White House during the Carter Administration.
In 1983, Sandra Crouch bankrolled, composed, and produced her first solo LP, WeSingPraises. It won a Grammy® Award and birthed the radio hits “He’s Worthy,” “There is Power in the Blood,” and “We Need to Hear From You.” Its unexpected success helped save Light Records from financial bankruptcy. Her next set, We’reWaiting, appeared in 1985 and included the massive hit “Completely Yes” which was sung by church choirs nationwide. It earned three Grammy® Award nominations in 1989. Her final solo album, With All of My Heart, was released on Sparrow Records in the autumn of 1992. To promote the project, Crouch went on a concert tour, “Gospel: Good for the Soul,” with Daryl Coley and the Richard Smallwood Singers.
Over the years, Andraé Crouch began to work on film soundtracks and always included Sandra. Quincy Jones tapped them to work on The Color Purple. They wrote “Heaven Belongs to You” for it and they sang “Maybe God Is Trying to Tell You Something” on the soundtrack. That led to other scores for the films The Lion King and Free Willy. In addition, the twins assembled choirs that backed artists such as Madonna on “Like A Prayer” and Diana Ross on “Force Behind the Power.” They backed Michael Jackson on “You Are Not Alone” and many of the songs on his History – Past, Present and Future Book 1 album. They also backed him on “Man in the Mirror” on the studio recording and when he performed it live at the 1988 Grammy® Awards.
The Sandra Crouch Singers backed Beyoncé, Common, and John Legend on the closing segment of the 57th annual Grammy® Awards in 2015 with a riveting medley of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” and “Glory” from the Selmamotion picture soundtrack. She also produced one of the few televised Grammy® gospel performances ever with Al Green as the star of the segment. It’s just one of innumerable achievements from Sandra Crouch’s illustrious career.
Sandra Crouch testifies at New Christ Memorial Church, San Fernando, CA circa 2005. (Photo by Robert Shanklin for Capital Entertainment)
In 1998, Andraé Crouch, who assumed leadership of his parents’ church when his brother, Pastor Benjamin Crouch Jr. passed, defied the COGIC denomination’s policy against female preachers and ordained Sandra as a co-pastor. They renamed Christ Memorial COGIC as New Christ Memorial Church to signify a new era. Andraé Crouch passed away on January 8, 2015. Upon his death, Sandra Crouch assumed the role of senior pastor and had been active up until recently.
Updated April 3, 2024: A viewing for Pastor Sandra is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, from 4 to 6 PM, with a musical tribute service to follow at 7 PM. The homegoing service takes place Wednesday, April 17, at 11 AM. Please note the venue has changed and all services will be held at Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, CA. The services will be streamed live:
Celebration of Life Homegoing Service – click here
El DeBarge, Donnie McClurkin, David and Nicole Binion, and Erica and Tina Campbell (Mary Mary) are among the confirmed artists and friends who will perform at Tuesday’s musical tribute.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
GMF extends its sincerest condolences to Pastor John P. Kee and the entire Kee family on the passing of Mother Lizzie Shannon Kee. The matriarch passed January 2, at the age of 97.
“Her hearts [sic] desire was for all of you to remember her for her beauty, her zest for learning and living life to the fullest. Always remember her voice, her smile, and the joys you brought to her life,” the Kee family shared in a statement.
A celebration of life service for Mother Kee took place Sunday, January 7, at New Life Fellowship in Charlotte, where her son pastors. A memorial service followed on Wednesday, January 10, at Durham’s Union Baptist Church.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
(November 19, 2023) Bishop Carlton D’Metrius Pearson, one of the most popular and influential preachers in America and around the world, who sacrificed everything for a message of unconditional love and acceptance by God, died peacefully the night of November 19, 2023, at the age of 70, after a brief battle with cancer that had returned after first defeating it 20 years ago. He was surrounded by his family.
Moving to Tulsa in 1971, to become a student at Oral Roberts University, Pearson was invited by Oral Roberts himself to join the World Action Singers on his nationally-aired TV specials, eventually becoming an associate evangelist with the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association in 1975.
In 1977, Pearson launched his own ministry, Higher Dimensions, Inc., traveling the country with a small ministry team. In 1981, with the help of his college roommate, Gary McIntosh, Carlton started Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center, with 75 people attending its first service in Jenks, Oklahoma. Quickly outgrowing the small, storefront location in Jenks, Higher Dimensions eventually settled at 8621 South Memorial Drive in Tulsa, becoming an integrated, multi-ethnic, cross-cultural congregation of more than 5,000 members.
A national television program launched in the mid-1980s, “Everything’s Gonna Be All Right,” expanded Pearson’s outreach to a national and international audience, becoming at that time one of only two African American preachers with a nationwide television ministry.
His annual AZUSA Conference, started in 1988, became an international movement, giving national exposure to a number of preachers and gospel singers, bringing together believers of all denominations, cultures, races and walks of life. The annual conference attracted as many as 70,000 people to Tulsa each year, generating tens of millions of dollars to the Tulsa economy during the week-long conference, as well as smaller weekend conferences held across the country each year, such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Jose, Tacoma, Buffalo and even Durban, South Africa.
His Live at AZUSA albums were nominated for multiple Dove and Stellar Awards, winning three Stellar Awards for Carlton Pearson Live at AZUSA 2: Precious Memories.
On the opening night of AZUSA ‘96, a group of pastors and bishops recognized his leadership by declaring him “a bishop in the Lord’s church.” The opening night of the following year’s conference, Bishop Pearson was officially consecrated in an ecclesiastical ceremony as the Presiding Bishop of the AZUSA Interdenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and Ministries, establishing oversight of thousands of churches and ministries all over the world.
He gave counsel to multiple U.S. Presidents, as well as a number of international presidents, kings and other leaders, who were won over by his intelligence, charm, humor and kindness.
At the height of his popularity, Bishop Pearson had a shift in his theological beliefs, and began to preach that Jesus did not just die for and save Christians, but for all mankind, and that no one goes to hell as we’ve known it. This became known as “The Gospel of Inclusion,” a form of Christian theology known as universalism. This shift in belief caused churches, upon whose stages he once frequented, to close their doors to him, shut down his annual conference and caused his church to dwindle from thousands to only dozens.
His theological shift was dramatized in a major motion picture, Netflix’s Come Sunday, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon), LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah, Atlanta) and Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, The West Wing).
Pearson’s message and example of unconditional love, though it gained him the moniker of “heretic” by some in the Christian church, had a whole new world opened to him as a result. Non-Christians, as well as Christians who had left the church as a result of church hurts, abuse, hypocrisy, etc., loved the new message of love, healing and restoration. He leaves a legacy of love through the multiplied thousands of lives he touched during his time on earth and the impartation of grace and mercy he preached and exhibited to everyone he encountered.
Public viewings begin Wednesday, November 29th, followed by celebration of life services in Tulsa on Thursday, November 30th and Friday, December 1st. An AZUSA Life Celebration service is set for December 18th in Atlanta. (The Atlanta service is free, but registration at www.azusacelebrationoflife.com is required for all in attendance.)
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
Homegoing celebrations start today for beloved gospel great, Vernon Oliver Price. Mother Price died on October 5, 2023. She was 93.
In Price’s hometown of Chicago, a musical salute will be held this evening at the Greater Tabernacle Cathedral COGIC, with Pastor Angela Spivey as the host. Among those scheduled to pay tribute at the 7 p.m. service are Lemmie Battles, Pastor Derail Smith and the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Warriors, Dexter Walker and Zion Movement, LeAnne Faine, and Price’s sister and frequent singing partner, Mother Loretta Oliver. There will also be a public viewing from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.
The final service takes place tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Abounding Life COGIC in Posen, IL, with a public viewing beginning at 9 a.m.
I met Mother Price several years ago in Chicago. She was just as delightful as I imagined. My experience was equally as memorable the last time we had an in-person conversation. I am one of many who will miss her, and I extend my prayers to her children, grandchildren, siblings, and the entire family.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
The life of L. Stanley Davis will be celebrated this Sunday, August 20, 2023, with a musical homegoing service at Chicago’s First Church of Deliverance. The service begins at 4 pm, with family hour and visitation one hour prior. Davis, 71, died on August 2, 2023.
I have traveled to Chicago on multiple occasions. Never have I visited without being in the presence of Professor Davis. He was a lover of gospel music and its history with the gift of gab and ability to recall historical information in acute detail. He is already greatly missed.
Here is an excerpt of the obituary from Cannon Funeral Services:
Lurell Stanley Davis was born April 4, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryland—the only child—born to the late William Lurell Davis and Annie Laura Winston Davis. Mrs. Davis helped to raise and nurture her late brother’s two children—Stanley’s first cousins Mena Suzette Winston and Reginald O. Winston of Washington, DC. Stanley was a bright, inquisitive, music-savvy boy who thrived in school and in his home church, the historic Morning Star Baptist Church. By age 7, Stanley’s love of being front-and-center in church sparked his budding musical talent on the piano, singing and directing. That early spotlight earned him local fame as the “church boy who does it all.
Stanley was also a standout student academically, earning a scholarship to attend the private and prestigious Friends School of Baltimore. Up late every Sunday evening, Stanley often recalled how he ended his busy Sundays by staying up till midnight east coast time to listen to the live 11 pm radio broadcast of First Church of Deliverance. He matriculated at Northwestern University in Evanston in the fall of 1969. Bingo, that set the stage for Stanley’s love affair with everything Chicago! As a college first-year student, Stanley frequently took CTA trains and buses all over Chicago to learn and experience the city’s rich variety of different Black worship experiences and their unique musical styles. Already a gospel music savant from Baltimore, Stanley used Chicago as a living classroom. The excited, musically gifted teenager continued growing his encyclopedic knowledge and talent as a gospel performer, musician, director, teacher, historian and eventually a renowned expert—affectionately known as Professor L. Stanley Davis. Stanley used his trademark “bigger-than-life” personality, his broad easy smile, and his genuine nature to listen and learn from others while using his compassion to uplift and motivate just about anyone who ever crossed his path in this lifetime. Stanley proudly proclaimed, “I march to a different drummer’s beat.” In the process, Stanley became lifelong personal friends with Chicago’s gospel royalty—Julia Mae Kennedy, Ralph Goodpasture, the “Father of Gospel” Thomas A. Dorsey, the Barrett Sisters, Rev. Milton Brunson, Audrea Lenox, Albertina Walker, Sallie Martin, and Vernon Oliver Price. The teenage devotee’s most defining move was joining the nation’s oldest, premiere community choir, the fabled Wooten Choral Ensemble (WCE).
By the end of his sophomore year in college, Stanley’s Chicago discovery slowed down. Dr. Eileen Cherry-Chandler and Clifton Gerring, III, then both fellow Northwestern University upper-class students, finally convinced Stanley to become the founding artistic director of the Northwestern Community Ensemble (NCE) on May 8, 1971. Stanley proudly credited his musical blueprint for NCE directly from his firsthand experience with the WCE playbook. Stanley insisted NCE perform more than just gospel music—just like his beloved time in the Wootens. He demanded a repertoire of mastering, without sheet music in hand, anthems, Negro spirituals, and classic church hymns. After 53 years, Stanley’s musical dream continues to fill a spiritual void on Northwestern’s predominately white campus and throughout the Chicago community. NCE celebrated 52 years in May 2023, and is moving forward to celebrate “55 years of Stanley’s dream and legacy” in May 2026.
After graduating from Northwestern in 1974 with a degree in Sociology with a focus on Urban Affairs, Stanley excelled in two high-tech corporate gigs with the old Illinois Bell Telephone Company and Montgomery Wards Signature Group. But by the late ‘70s, Stanley refocused his professional career on Black sacred music and teaching. Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne recruited noted Chicago Tribune music and arts critic and lecturer of music at Northwestern, Thomas Willis, to draft a plan for an International Music Festival. Willis tapped young Stanley to help him develop the plan. Tom and Stanley by this time were old music colleagues. When Willis taught Stanley in his music appreciation class in 1972, he turned a 15-minute presentation assignment on gospel music into a fact-filled, interactive hour. A stickler for details, Stanley concluded his presentation over three more entire class sessions later. Still as a Northwestern undergraduate student, Willis offered Stanley to teach six for-credit courses on the gospel music tradition, which included mandatory field trips to Chicago church services! From that humble teaching start, the Professor shared his ever-growing wealth of gospel, ethnic music knowledge, and performance studies as an adjunct instructor at Chicago’s Loyola University, University of Chicago, and DePaul University.
In the early ’90s, Northwestern invited Stanley back as a graduate student with a joint appointment to teach history and music in the African American Studies Department (now known as the Global Black Studies Department) and in the Bienen School of Music. While present on campus he became a faculty advisor/voice coach to his baby, NCE. In June 1997, Stanley earned his Master of Arts degree.
Over the years Stanley has achieved several firsts under the broad musical umbrella organization he created, Gospel Arts Workshop (GAW).
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
A homegoing service took place Wednesday (Aug. 15) in Roxboro, NC for Jack Dempsey “Demp” Winstead, 75, who passed August 11.
Winstead was remembered as a loving family member and friend as well as a singer and guitar player who shared his talent with several North Carolina-based groups including the Silver Stars of Blanch, Souls of Calvary from Franklinton, and for a time, the Brooklyn Allstars (whose founding member Rev. Thomas Spann transitioned last week, one day before Winstead).
Artis Swann, formerly of the Brower Brothers, was among those who comforted the family in song at the homegoing celebration.
GMF extends deep condolences to the Winstead family during this emotional time.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
GMF extends sympathy to the Barnes family in the passing of Mr. Haywood Barnes on August 14, 2023, at the age of 82.
Haywood was a longtime member of the Sunset Jubilaires, organized by his brother, the late Bishop F.C. Barnes. According to Bishop Barnes in a bio on the Red Budd Holy Church website, “After I was called into the ministry and began pastoring, it took me away from the group, so my brother Haywood took over as lead singer.”
Haywood Barnes leads “I’m Going On” with the Sunset Jubilaireswhile other quartet greats look on.
Haywood’s nephew, Rev. Luther Barnes, eventually became the Jubilaires’ primary lead singer with Haywood continuing to share both lead and background chores. Other Barnes family members also rounded out the lineup.
A public viewing is scheduled for Saturday, August 19, at 10 am at Red Budd Holy Church in Rocky Mount, NC. The celebration of life service follows at 11.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
Homegoing services have been announced for Rev. Thomas Spann, founding member of the Brooklyn Allstars. Rev. Spann transitioned on August 10, 2023. He was 98.
A musical celebration takes place Friday, August 18. The celebration of life service follows on Saturday, August 19, with viewing prior to the service. Both services will be held at New Light Missionary Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, and streamed live on the Serenity Funeral Home Cremation Live YouTube page. Further details are available on the Serenity Funeral Home and Cremations website.
GMF joins the gospel community in extending condolences to his wife Donna, the entire Spann family, and the Brooklyn Allstars.
In June 2013, I interviewed Rev. Spann prior to a concert featuring the Brooklyn Allstars in Roxboro, NC. In his memory, a portion of the interview is reprinted below.
Brooklyn Allstars’ Thomas Spann reflects on “signature sound that I didn’t realize I had”
A fan approaches Rev. Thomas Spann sporting a wide grin and extending a slightly trembling hand, hailing, “The Legend! The Legend!” Rev. Spann graciously returns the gesture, “My man! Good to see you,” making apparent that he appreciates his supporters as much as they appreciate him. Admiration for the quartet veteran is immediately perceivable by the number of fan interruptions that continue throughout our early evening interview just prior to one of the Brooklyn Allstars’ concerts.
Rev. Spann tells me he organized the Brooklyn Allstars in 1948. Since then, he has worked the gospel circuit with his group’s instantaneously recognizable styling, which is directly attributed to his own bass vocals. Along the way, they’ve racked up a couple of gold records (“They say they were gold; I just say they were good,” Rev. Spann interjects) and toured extensively. Now, at 88 years old, Rev. Spann is assisted by a cane and sits onstage with mic in hand during some of the group’s mild numbers such as “No Cross, No Crown.” But you can rest assured that his voice still booms and when the Spirit moves him on tunes like “Stood on the Banks of Jordan,” he springs from his chair to join in with group member Sonny McClary, with whom he now shares lead tasks. Theirs is a sound that stands apart in traditional quartet music.
“I guess that’s what I say the longevity or success of the group is attributed to—the signature sound that I didn’t realize I had for a lot of years until I got a chance to compare it to a lot of other artists; then I realized it was so different that I decided to change it one time,” reflects Spann. He admits that the group almost lost its following when he tried to alter it.
“I was rejected; I had no idea I had that many fans, and I didn’t know that that many people cared one way or another, you know, about what we were doing.”
They still care. As a matter of fact, their loyal fan base is what keeps them going more than six decades later.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.
