The Soul Stirrers

Induction Year: 1989

Induction Category: Early Influence

Had the Soul Stirrers only launched the career of , they would have earned their place in rock and roll history. Beyond that, however, they set the pace for gospel and pop vocal groups and played a role as forefathers in the development of rhythm and blues. As exponents of the modern gospel quartet sound back in the Forties and Fifties, they took gospel out of local churches and found a national audience for it. The group radically reshaped traditional gospel material and wrote many enduring songs of their own. The music of the Soul Stirrers represented a progression from jubilee singing to a more rhythmic style, and it served as the basis for doo-wop and R&B.

The Soul Stirrers formed in Texas in 1935 and were recorded by music historian Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress the next year. Their first commercial recordings, for the Alladin label, appeared in the late Forties. The group’s original lead vocalist, R.H. Harris, was a powerful vocalist who prefigured the falsetto style of soul singing popularized by , and others. The Soul Stirrers were actually a quintet, featuring two lead singers and three backup vocalists. Their use of twin frontmen - one crooning high and sweet, the other shouting hoarse and low - created stunning peaks of intensity and irresistible syncopations.

replaced Harris, who left in 1950, and the Soul Stirrers’ first sides with their charismatic new singer appeared on the Specialty label in 1951. He lent his graceful, sensuous phrasing to gospel classics such as “Peace in the Valley.” With Cooke’s irresistible voice and magnetic personality, the Soul Stirrers attained peak popularity. Cooke left to pursue a career in secular music in 1957 and was replaced by Johnnie Taylor, who sang their brilliant, Cooke-produced recording of “Stand By Me Father” (later reworked by soul singer Ben E. King into the classic “Stand By Me").

Despite numerous personnel changes the Soul Stirrers remain a viable and functioning institution to this day, and their recorded legacy continues to echo through the parallel worlds of gospel and soul music.

TIMELINE

March 23, 1916: Rebert J. Harris was born.

1939: The Soul Stirrers field is recorded by Alan Lomax.

1950: The Soul Stirrers record “By and By” on Specialty Records.

December 1, 1950: replaces gospel legend R.H. Harris in the Soul Stirrers. Previously, Cooke had sung with the Pilgrim Travelers and the Highway QC’s, both gospel groups. Cooke will sing with the Soul Stirrers for six years.

1956: leaves Soul Stirrers. He is replaced by Johnnie Taylor.

1960: Rev. James Cleveland and the Voices of the Tabernacle Choir hit with the Soul Stirrers’ “The Love of God”.

September 3, 2000: Rebert J. Harris of the Soul Stirrers dies.

Essential Songs

Jesus Gave Me Water
By and By
Any Day Now
Touch the Hem of His Garment
All Right Now
Heaven Is My Home
Peace in the Valley
Mean Old World
Nearer to Thee
Last Mile of the Way
Out on a Hill