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The Caravans

The Caravans were an American Gospel music group that was started in 1947 by Robert Anderson.  It reached its peak popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, launching the careers of a number of artists, including:  Delores Washington, Albertina Walker, Bessie Griffin, Cassietta George, Dorothy Norwood, Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar, Josephine Howard, Rev. James Cleveland, and more.  The group underwent numerous personnel changes between 1951 and 1961.  1962 to 1966 provided the Caravans with its most stable group member lineup, consisting of Washington, Walker, Caesar, George, James Herndon and Josephine Howard.  The group also made frequent TV appearances during this time on shows such as TVs Gospel Time and Jubilee Showcase.

Andrae Crouch

Andrae' Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942-January 8, 2015) was an American Gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer, and pastor.  He was known as "The Father of modern Gospel music" by contemporary Christian and Gospel music professionals.  Crouch was known for his compositions "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute (To God Be the Glory)" and "Soon and Very Soon".  He collaborated on some of his recordings with artists, such as Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, Shelia E, and vocal group Take 6.  Many recording artists covered his material, including, Bob Dylan, Barbara Mandrell, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley and Little Richard.  Crouch was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary music styles into the Gospel music he grew up with.  His efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during the 1960s and 1970s.

The Soul Stirrers

The Soul Stirrers was formed by (Silas) Roy Crain in 1926 in Trinity, Texas.  In the early 1930s, after Crain moved to Houston, he joined an existing group on the condition that it changed its name to "the Soul Stirrers".  Among the members of that group was R.H. (Rebert) Harris, who soon became its musical leader.  Harris used a falsetto style that had its antecedents in African music, but which was new to the popular jubilee singing style of the time.  The group moved to Chicago where they broadcast a weekly radio show (WIND) with other famous groups including Golden Gate Quartet and the Famous Blue Jay Singers.  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.  During the 1940s and 1950s many Gospel quartet groups were able to pursue their careers successfully.  The Soul Stirrer's nationwide touring gained them an even larger audience.  Harris quit the group in late 1950 to form a new group.  He was briefly replaced on lead by Paul Foster, then by their most famous lead singer, Sam Cooke.  Cooke joined the group had 19 and served as lead vocalist from 1950 to 1956.  Sam Cooke left the group in 1957 to pursue a career in pop music.  Cooke was replaced by Johnnie Taylor, who sustained the groups popularity for a time.  Various line-ups continued touring and recording throughout the last half of the century to a small and devoted following.  The group and all of its members were 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.