Who was/is Spiritualaires ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
Spiritualaires
The history of the SPIRITUALAIRES starts with Carolina deejay and all-round music business promoter Charles Der-rick who in July 1954 joined WOIC in Columbia, South Caroli-na. His radio program. "Wings of Faith." showcased current gospel releases between 10 a.m. and 12 noon on Sundays. Through contacts made at the station. Derrick formed a gospel group called the Spiritualaires. Early membership was fluid. Pass-through members included baritone Milton Mack and lead singer Rev. James "Skeet" Taylor. WOIC also hosted a gospel program pre-sented by Rev. William McKinley Bowman.
In early 1955 Bowman sponsored the RECORDSSpiritualairs' first recording (on Bow-man Records). cut at the WOIC stu-dios with Derrick on drums (a beat-up trash can found on site.) The group recorded their interpretation of Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers' arrangement of the old hymn "Last Mile Of The Way," sandwiched with the fiery chant "Lay This Body Down." Membership at the time included Jimmy Foster, lead, Fred Davis, tenor. "Sonny Boy." high tenor Johnny ? from Florida, second lead, plus Sergeant Rose on guitar and Derrick on bass vocals and "drum." Rose was an outstanding guitarist. Derrick had caught Rose's concerts at Fort Jackson and immediately hired him. Sales of the Bowman release were mainly generated through plugs over WOIC by Derrick and Bowman. Encouraged by favorable results. Derrick taped more Spiritualaires demos at WOIC with (Mr.) Marion Parker on piano. Parker also played piano for the Jewel Gospel Singers.
One such tape landed on Leonard Allen's desk and although the Spiritualaires recorded for United at Univer-sal Studios in Chicago nothing was ever issued. Meanwhile, Spiritualaires personnel had changed to include lead tenor Louis Johnson from the Brown Brothers (who later went on to share lead with Claude Jeter and the Swan Silvertones). tenor Joseph Hollis, bass Charles Gav-ish (Derrick). second lead Johnny ? from Florida, baritone Bernard Caldwell with utility Norris Turner. A Mr. Kimpson sat in on guitar. Bernard Caldwell was still in school so Derrick had to solicit parental consent. Demos were sent to Vee Jay Records who issued the first of three singles releases in April 1956. A month earli-er Derrick organized a gospel extravaganza at the Coliseum Theatre in Chicago. The Spiritualaires opened for the Swan Silvertones. Soul Stirrers and Swanee Quintet. By September 1956, the Spiritualaires had made minor personnel changes. Johnson, Hollis, Derrick, Cald-well and Turner were still in place but second lead tenor Al Thompson and guitar whiz Frank "Drink" Small were added. Small went on to win Metron Magazine's best gospel guitarist award for 1957 and switching to R&B recorded for Sharp and Bishopville Records as "The Blues Doctor." John Myles, founding soldier and baritone with the Swan Silvertones, began taking a patronly interest in the Spiritualaires. Soon "The Swans" were taking the Spiritu-alaires out on the road with them.
Myles thought the group an excellent house-warming act. The two outfits played Philadelphia's Laurel Gardens then toured on a package that ended in New Orleans. The Spiritualaires were mak-ing good money. They opened for the Staple Singers at Du Sable High in Chicago which did not turn out too well. After the show. the group found their brand new Buick up on cinder blocks, tires gone. Work poured in. so both Hollis and Derrick handled managerial affairs. The Spiritualaires played the Apollo in June 1957 on Thurman Ruth's gospel extravaganza along-side the Skylights and Maceo Wood Singers. By now petty differences were keeping the Spiritualaires from making joint decisions. Things began to fall apart. Derrick quit the group in favor of building Kip Anderson's promising career, and the Spiritualaires disbanded. The Spiritu-alaires were an extremely talented group. with the neces-sary soul and sanctification to make them winning nation-al stars. The seven exquisite tracks included here are issued for the first time, as are all but eight cuts by the other three stellar aggregations. The spread of Post-war gospel quartet throughout the Great Lakes area was due in part to the widely touring Soul Stirrers who were one of the first groups to enjoy a weekly Sunday morning radio show over WIND lasting ten years. There is a little bit of "stir-ring" in most of the best Windy City groups and some of the proof is right here.
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