The Rise of Chicago’s Highway Q.C.s During Gospel’s Golden Era (1947-1964) by Opal Louis Nations When the Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham, Alabama and Soul Stirrers of Houston came to Chicago during and after World War II, both the dynamic, hard-singing Silas Steele of the Jays and the yodeling, melismatic Rebert H. Harris of the Stirrers changed the course of church-going gospel quartet in ways that helped transform the Windy City into a principal hub of gospel activity. As Horace Clarence Boyer put it, Chicago became the center for the development of gospel. Many a young, aspiring quartet singer ...

Various Artists An Evening with the Legends of Quartet Live Malaco/4 Winds www.malaco.com By Bob Marovich Malaco Records and its 4 Winds subsidiary are the main standard bearers for gospel quartet singing, a style that once dominated the gospel charts but has since fallen behind mass choirs and small choirs in radio play and album sales. But unlike their secular peers in vocal harmony who retired and only gather for PBS retrospectives, many gospel quartet singers from the golden age are still working the road, albeit with groups comprised of new personnel. Some of the lead singers from quartet’s golden age gathered ...