The Soul Stirrers
- Soundtrack
The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular music that owed much to gospel.
The group was formed by Roy Crain, launching his first quartet who sang in a jubilee style, in 1926 in Trinity, Texas. In the early 1930s, after Crain moved to Houston, he joined an existing group on the condition that it change its name to "the Soul Stirrers". The name "Soul Stirrers" yields from the description of one of Roy Crain's earlier quartets as "soul-stirring." Among the members of that group was R.H. Harris, who soon became its musical leader. The Soul Stirrers, formed as a jubilee quartet, transformed their sound, influenced by hard gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Rebert Harris, also from Trinity, Texas, brought several changes to the Soul Stirrers that affected gospel quartet singing generally. He used a falsetto style that had its antecedents in African music, but which was new to the popular jubilee singing style of the time. He pioneered the 'swing lead' in which two singers would share the job of leading the song, allowing virtuoso singers to increase the emotional intensity of the song as the lead passed between them without disturbing the four part harmony. That innovation led the Soul Stirrers, while still called a quartet, to acquire five members.
In 1936, Alan Lomax recorded the Soul Stirrers for the Library of Congress's American music project, and those four unissued recordings are in the American Folklife Center collection today. They later moved to Chicago, where they broadcast a weekly radio show (WIND) with other famous groups including The Golden Gate Quartette and The World Famous Blue Jays. As the gospel quartet style of singing became more popular, groups would perform in competitions called 'song battles' to further increase the genre's popularity.
The group - and all of its members - was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as one of rock's 'Early Influences', and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.
The group was formed by Roy Crain, launching his first quartet who sang in a jubilee style, in 1926 in Trinity, Texas. In the early 1930s, after Crain moved to Houston, he joined an existing group on the condition that it change its name to "the Soul Stirrers". The name "Soul Stirrers" yields from the description of one of Roy Crain's earlier quartets as "soul-stirring." Among the members of that group was R.H. Harris, who soon became its musical leader. The Soul Stirrers, formed as a jubilee quartet, transformed their sound, influenced by hard gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Rebert Harris, also from Trinity, Texas, brought several changes to the Soul Stirrers that affected gospel quartet singing generally. He used a falsetto style that had its antecedents in African music, but which was new to the popular jubilee singing style of the time. He pioneered the 'swing lead' in which two singers would share the job of leading the song, allowing virtuoso singers to increase the emotional intensity of the song as the lead passed between them without disturbing the four part harmony. That innovation led the Soul Stirrers, while still called a quartet, to acquire five members.
In 1936, Alan Lomax recorded the Soul Stirrers for the Library of Congress's American music project, and those four unissued recordings are in the American Folklife Center collection today. They later moved to Chicago, where they broadcast a weekly radio show (WIND) with other famous groups including The Golden Gate Quartette and The World Famous Blue Jays. As the gospel quartet style of singing became more popular, groups would perform in competitions called 'song battles' to further increase the genre's popularity.
The group - and all of its members - was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as one of rock's 'Early Influences', and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.
