The Soul Stirrers were one of the most popular and influential gospel groups of the 20th century. The group was formed by countertenor/falsetto Silas Roy Crain, baritone Reubert H. Harris, baritone Thomas L. Brewster, tenor Edward Allen Rundless, Jr., and bass O.W. Thomas on September … Read MoreThe Soul Stirrers (1926-1990)
In 1939 during the Jim Crow era, baritone Clarence Fountain, bass Johnny Fields, baritone and guitarist George Scott, baritone Ollice Thomas, and tenor Velma Trayler, all elementary school students attending the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind and singing in its glee club, formed an … Read MoreThe Blind Boys of Alabama (1939 – )
In 1967, Edwin Reuben Hawkins—who was born on August 19, 1943, in Oakland, California and had been playing the piano at the age of five and accompanying the Hawkins family gospel group since he was seven—joined his church pianist and soprano Betty Watson of the … Read MoreEdwin Hawkins Singers (1967 – 2018)
Raised with strong southern gospel influences, piano prodigy Michael D’Angelo Archer spent his music career restoring R&B music to its former glory. His creative blend of funk and jazz music incorporated the popular hip-hop styles of the late 1990s and early 2000s while earning him … Read MoreD’Angelo (1974- )
The Isley Brothers were a band on the Billboard Top 40 charts for fifty years. Their ability to synthesize R&B, soul, funk, disco, and rock & roll elements into their discography made the group electrifying and interesting. The band was important to the creation of the soul … Read MoreThe Isley Brothers (1957-1984)
Lou Rawls was an award-winning singer and songwriter famous for his luxurious baritone singing voice and four-octave vocal range. He is most well-known for his hit song “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” and experienced the height of his musical career throughout the 1960s … Read MoreLou Rawls (1933-2006)
Al Green, born on April 13, 1948 in Forrest City, Arkansas, is known as one of the great rhythm and blues singers of the 1970s. He was born Albert Greene to Cora and Robert Greene who were sharecroppers and parents of ten other children. Greene and some of his … Read MoreAl Green (1948- )
Della Reese, born Delloresse Patricia Early on July 6, 1931 in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, is best known for her work as a blues and gospel singer, minister, and later as an actress. Reese was born to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African American steelworker, and Nellie Mitchelle Early, a Cherokee cook. … Read MoreDella Reese (1931-2017)
Margaret Tynes is an African American opera, concert, and oratorio soprano and singing actress. Tynes was born on September 11, 1919 to parents Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Tynes, in Saluda, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1939. While there she … Read MoreMargaret Tynes (1919-2024)
Arthur Lee Conley was born on January 4, 1946 in McIntosh County, Georgia but grew up in Atlanta. At the age of 12 he was part of a gospel group that appeared frequently on the local radio station, WAOK. By 1963 at the age of 17, he led the R&B group … Read MoreArthur Conley (1946-1988)
