RIP: Rev. Thomas Spann, 98, Longtime Singer with the Brooklyn All Stars

By Robert M. Marovich

JGM was saddened to learn from Darrell Luster of Malaco Music Group that Thomas Spann, the longtime bass singer with the Brooklyn All Stars, passed away today at the age of 98.

Here is a brief bio on Spann and the Brooklyn All Stars.

The Brooklyn All Stars story begins with Brooklyn-based singer and furniture entrepreneur Charley Storey, who formed a group called the All Stars. A relationship with New York gospel promoter Joe Bostic helped Storey land the All Stars a regular spot on Bostic’s weekly radio broadcast over WLIB. The quartet also appeared on gospel music programs hosted by Thurman Ruth and Professor Alfred Miller. Thomas Spann joined the All Stars in the late 1940s, singing with the group for about four years. Renowned for his resonant bass voice, Spann initially sang baritone with the All Stars until Storey persuaded him to try the bass part. During this time, Spann learned the ins and outs of managing a gospel quartet.

By 1950, Storey found it difficult to manage the All Stars and his furniture business at the same time. He turned the rights of the All Stars over to Spann, but suggested they change their name to the Brooklyn All Stars. Spann repopulated the quartet with three members of the Singing Stars of Louisburg, North Carolina: lead tenor Hardie Clifton and brother Maurice Clifton, and Nathaniel Cook.

The Brooklyn All Stars first recorded professionally in February 1958 for Peacock Records. By this time, the quartet was comprised of Spann, Hardie Clifton, Nathaniel Cook, Jake Holman, Herbert Robinson, and Eddie Lester on guitar. Their Peacock singles, including “Careless Soul” and “Singing for the Lord,” sold well enough to earn the quartet a national touring spot alongside gospel household names the Dixie Hummingbirds, Soul Stirrers, and Sensational Nightingales.

Sometime in the mid- to late 1950s, Harold Austin, owner of the Gospel Bookstore of Brooklyn, formed the Gospel Recording Company, under which the Brooklyn All Stars released singles and its first LPs. By this point, quartet veteran Paul Owens had joined the group, as did Sam Thomas, a former member of Charley Storey’s original All Stars.

In 1967, Sullivan Pugh of the Consolers introduced the All Stars, which now included the Reverend Sam Taylor, to Ernie Young of Nashboro Records. The group began a prodigious recording career with Nashboro. Between 1971 and 1978, while recording for Nashboro and Jewel, the All Stars were consistently voted the number one gospel group on the basis of hits such as “No Cross, No Crown,” “Brightly Beams,” “Family Prayer,” and the best-selling “When I Stood on the Banks of Jordan” and “He Touched Me and Made Me Whole.” The group earned two gold albums and numerous music awards.

The All Stars recorded for a number of labels in the 1980s, including Atlanta International Records, and took their traditional sound to ports of call throughout the world. They eventually moved their headquarters from Brooklyn to Greensboro, North Carolina, setting up shop where quartet singing is especially cherished.

For Malaco’s 4 Winds imprint, the Brooklyn All Stars released Just Look at Me Now (2011) and Live in Richmond, Virginia (2013), on which they reprise some of their most popular hits in addition to new songs, such as “I Found a Friend,” “Get in the Way to Get It,” and  “Pray Right On.” Thomas Spann continued to lead the quartet in its seventh decade of touring, recording, and ministering until recently.

Special thanks to Rev. Spann’s daughter Denise Spann Morgan, a popular singer in her own right, for her invaluable assistance with this bio. Please pray for Rev. Spann’s family, especially Spann’s wife Donna, his friends, and his many fans.