Pilgrim Travelers
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2019) |
The Pilgrim Travelers | |
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| Origin | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Gospel, Christian music |
| Years active | 1936–1956, 1956-present |
| Members | James Wafer Bill Bufkin Lawrence Hambrick Bill White Ben Peters |
| Past members | Keith Barber Kylo Turner Jesse Whitaker J.W. Alexander George McCurn Lou Rawls Raphael Taylor Willie Davis Joe Johnson Lonnie Hill Dempsey Evans Henry Bottes Ernest Booker |
The Pilgrim Travelers were an American gospel group, popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s.[1]
Musical career
[edit]Formed in 1936 in Houston, Texas, United States,[1] they were influenced by another Texas-based quartet, the Soul Stirrers.[citation needed] They achieved popularity after moving to Los Angeles in 1942, where their new manager, J. W. Alexander, helped fashion a new style that went beyond imitating the Soul Stirrers and the Golden Gate Quartet, the other reigning quartet of the era.[citation needed] The Pilgrim Travelers traded the lead between their two singers, Kylo Turner, the same facility as a note-bending falsetto as R.H. Harris of the Soul Stirrers, and Keith Barber who changed from being a sweet-voiced tenor to a hard gospel shouter.[2] They added Jesse Whitaker — whom Ray Charles credited as one of his models when he adapted hard gospel style to secular themes to create soul music in the 1950s — as a baritone in 1947.[1]
Alexander also changed the Travelers' performance style from the "flat-footed" style of early quartets to the church-wrecking style of other groups of their era. The singers would punctuate their singing by jumping off stage and running up the aisles in order, in Alexander's words, "to pull the sisters out of their seats".
After a handful of a cappella songs, the Travelers began recording their material with a microphone picking up the sound of their percussive foot-tapping; Specialty's early press for the group proclaimed "Something New — Walking Rhythm Spirituals," and the unique sound quickly caught on with consumers.[citation needed] In 1948, the group issued six singles; after just three the following year. In 1950, Specialty released ten Pilgrim Travelers sides, all of them to strong sales (particularly "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" and "Mother Bowed").[1]
The Plgrim Travelers gradually fell apart in the 1950s, however, as accidents and drinking caused both Barber and Turner to leave the group.[1] While the group continued to tour and record, adding Lou Rawls in 1950s[3], it lost its hit making power after leaving Specialty Records in 1956.[1] The group disbanded in 1956. Rawls left the group; although he returned to record another album with the group after that, it soon faded from the scene.[1] James Wafer formed new Pilgrim Travelers in 1956.[4]
Further reading
[edit]- Boyer, Horace Clarence,How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 327. ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
- ^ Pilgrim Travelers allmusic Retrieved 16 November 2024
- ^ Pilgrim Travelers tshaonline.org Retrieved 16 November 2024
- ^ Pilgrim Travelers reverbnation.com Retrieved 16 November 2024
External links
[edit]- Short profile of the Pilgrim Travelers
- Another short profile of the Pilgrim Travelers
- AllMusic resource for information on albums, songs, and other information on the Pilgrim Travelers
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