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Southernaires (1929-1952)
History
The Southernaires was headquartered in New York City beginning in 1929. The members were all trained singers. All but one was from the South. They met and began their group in Harlem. The original members were Homer Smith, first tenor; Lowell Peters, second tenor; Jay Stone Toney, baritone; and William Edmonson, bass. Homer Smith was the nephew of W. C. Handy, the composer of "The St. Louis Blues."
They caught the attention of Major Edward Bowes who put them into his programming on the National Broadcasting Company. By 1930, they were featured on a weekly program on NBC Radio's “Blue” network. They had several programs on NBC, one of which was called “Southern Sketches.” In 1932, they added Clarence Jones as their arranger and accompanist.
They were under the professional management of the Artists’ Bureau of NBC headed by Miss Frances Rockefeller King who was an executive in the NBC System. Their promotional material appears to have been of high quality with detailed descriptions of the group and their music in area newspapers for days ahead of their performances. The group members were typically dressed in tuxedoes in the provided photos.
In 1934, The Southernaires appeared in the short secular film Bubbling Over starring Ethel Waters.
Numerous newspaper articles over the years described their search for authentic Southern music. The articles said they visited old, white-haired people in the South who “remembered the days in the cotton fields, corn fields, and on the levees.” They also said that sometimes all that was obtained from a person was a single line or scrap of a lyric or melody. By 1936, they had collected more than seven hundred old tunes.
In 1940, Spencer Odom replaced Jones as arranger and pianist. That same year they also went on their first extended concert tour covering fourteen states. By 1941, their newspaper ads said their repertoire included over two thousand songs covering three centuries of spirituals, African chants, slave songs and popular songs, and gospel songs of the Old South.
In late 1942, original tenor Homer Smith was replaced by Ray Yeates who had appeared in the original production of Porgy and Bess on Broadway. In 1943, they appeared in the Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth and Birmingham City Auditorium as part of their tour of the US and parts of Canada. An article from 1943 said they had no greater admirer than Prime Minister Winston Churchill who frequently played his 10-record album.
In 1944, the US Department of Treasury designated them as “Minutemen for Defense” for their efforts in promoting the sales of War Bonds. A late 1944 newspaper article stated that near the end of their performances they usually performed “Weather-Beaten Whitewashed Church” which had become their trademark song that represented the spiritual life instilled in them from their childhood.
The NBC network that carried The Southernaires' programs (one of two radio networks owned by NBC) transitioned over to the new ABC network in the mid-1940s due to anti-trust action by the federal government.
In 1947, they had 140 concert bookings. Ray Yeates said that with all of the traveling, their most challenging thing to do was to get their shirts laundered. In 1948, their Sunday morning program was broadcast over 200 stations on the ABC Network. They also had a weekly television program on ABC.
In June of 1948, Jay Toney died following a concert appearance while the group was on tour in Iowa. He was soon replaced by William Franklin, a distinguished operatic baritone. By early 1949, Lowell Peters was also gone. The members at that point were Ray Yeates, tenor; John Taylor, second tenor; William Franklin, baritone; William Edmonson, bass; and Spencer Odom, accompanist and arranger. Edmonson was the only remaining original member.
In April of 1950, ABC cancelled The Southernaires’ program soon after tenor Ray Yeates left the group. In early 1951, they returned to the air on station WJZ (later WABC) in New York City. By mid-1951, the members were Joseph Crawford, first tenor; John Taylor, second tenor; Mulford Lee, baritone; William Edmonson, bass; and Spencer Odom, accompanist and arranger.
In February of 1952, they had a weekly program called “The Weary Traveler” on WNEW in Newark, New Jersey on Sundays at noon, but it was not broadcast over a network. The following month, CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan, in his New York Daily News column said, “Networks should grab WNEW’s 'The Weary Traveler,' best of the AM music sessions featuring an idea, a mood, and the Southernaires….” Sullivan’s suggestion was not heeded and their run of over two decades soon came to an end.
After The Southernaires disbanded, bass singer William Edmonson, who had dabbled in acting over the years, went on to make appearances in a number of television series including The Twilight Zone and Bonanza.
Other Southernaires
Other groups using the name Southernaires included the Jackson Southernaires, a black gospel group from Mississippi that originated in 1940; The SouthernAires of Dayton, Ohio that began in 1955; and the SouthernAires Quartet of Paris, Texas, which included future Prophets and long-time Oak Ridge Boys singer Duane Allen and future Prophets Quartet bass singer Dave Rogers.
Southernaires Discography
hi-res
1939 The Southernaires In A Recital Of Spirituals (Decca Records/Album No. 83)(Five 78 RPM record set 2855, 2856, 2857, 2858, and 2859 packaged as an album): Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Go Down Moses; Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray; Steal Away To Jesus; Little David Play Your Harp; Roll Jordan Roll; Ezekiel Saw De Wheel; Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho; Gonna Shout All Over God's Heaven; Nobody Knows De Trouble I've Seen (Homer Smith, Lowell Peters, Jay Stone Toney, William Edmonson, Clarence Jones).
hi-res
1941 The Southernaires In A Group Of Sermonettes (Decca Records/Album No. 247)(Five 78 RPM record set 3918, 3919, 3920, 3921, and 3922 packaged as an album):The Lord's Prayer; Holy Ghost With Light Devine; Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere; Sweet Hour Of Prayer; Rock Of Ages;Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me; Abide With Me; Yield Not To Temptation; The Old Rugged Cross; Softly And Tenderly (Homer Smith, Lowell Peters, Jay Stone Toney, William Edmonson, Spencer Odom).
hi-res
1948 Hymns from the Weather-Beaten White Washed Church (Tru-Tone Records/Album No. A-265)(Three record set A-P-1034, A-P-1035, and A-P-1036 packaged as an album): Weather-Beaten White Washed Church; Pass Me Not; My Mother's Prayers Have Followed Me; Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight; It Is Well with My Soul (Ray Yeates, Lowell Peters, JayStone Toney, William Edmonson, Spencer Odom).
1949 (Decca Records/ 14516): Swing Low Sweet Chariot; Nobody Knows De Trouble I've Seen ( 78 RPM re-release of two songs from Album 83, also released as Decca 9-12516 in 45RPM) (Homer Smith, Lowell Peters, Jay Stone Toney, William Edmonson, Clarence Jones).
(In addition to the gospel recordings, the Southernaires provided vocals on a 1950 Columbia Records No. JL 8012 recording of the children's drama, Tiger(Bring 'Em Back Alive) with the orchestra conducted by Spencer Odom.