When I was a boy in the late 60s, I just loved Gospel quartet music. I still prefer it to most contemporary praise music. For my taste, the best ever southern Gospel quartet was the early version of the Statesmen in the 1950s and 1960s. Their 2nd tenor Jake Hess was Elvis's idol. Elvis imitated his style of phrasing and later used him with the Imperials for many of his rock hits. Denver Crumpler was their lead tenor, the best ever in that role. He died at age 44 of diabetic shock misdiagnosed as a heart attack. In the 1950s, the Statesmen even had their own national TV show. On it, Denver Crumpler sings the prettiest Gospel song you've never heard of--"I'll Tell It." You can see him sing it (and participate in several other Statesmen songs) here:
youtube denver crumpler statesmen i'll tell it - Bing video
To see how good their base Big Chief Jim Wetherington was, watch him take the lead in the fun Gospel song, "Up Above My Head" here:
youtube statesmen up above my head - Bing video
Several other songs follow sung by various incarnations of thi quartet.
youtube denver crumpler statesmen i'll tell it - Bing video
To see how good their base Big Chief Jim Wetherington was, watch him take the lead in the fun Gospel song, "Up Above My Head" here:
youtube statesmen up above my head - Bing video
Several other songs follow sung by various incarnations of thi quartet.
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