Early Gospel Singers – N

Source: John Bush, AllMusicGuide

A.W. Nix was born in Harmony Hill, Texas in Rusk County in 1880, moving later to Longview, Texas in Gregg County. In 1906, Andrew was licensed as a minister, beginning at Shiloh Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. He has been described as a plainspoken speaker, but one who demonstrated his knowledge of formal study by incorporating historical figures into his sermons, most notably “The Matchless King.” In the 1920s, Nix signed with Vocalion Records, as record companies discovered the market in the black community for recordings by preachers. In Nix’s recording period, which was between 1927-1931, he completed 54 (three unissued) sermons that, for the most part, featured him as the lead vocalist. The only other preacher to best Nix’s numbers during this time was Reverend J. M. Gates of Atlanta, Georgia, who recorded over 200 sermons.

Nix’s recording techniques and sermon focal points closely resembled Gates’ approach. In 1927, Gates recorded two sermons, “Hell Bound Express Train” and “Death’s Black Train Is Coming”, which are thought to influence Reverend Nix’s best-known work, “Black Diamond Express to Hell”. Six total recordings under the same title were recorded by Nix as a continuation of the previous, and, like Gates, he begins to include congregation members who have their own speaking roles. “Black Diamond Express to Hell” chronicles various stops made by a train with “sin the engineer, pleasure the headlight, and the Devil the conductor”. In a more extensive description, writer Martha Simmons explains how “Nix names various stops that a train takes on its way to hell. Stops include Liars Avenue, Drunkardville, and Gambling Tower. Before each stop, Nix intones and thunders the phrase, ‘Next station!’. At each stop, he gives the characteristics of the types of people likely to board the Black Diamond Express – gossipers, liars, gamblers, and more”.

With the success of “Black Diamond Express to Hell”, the Reverend established the precedent for the recorded sermon series, a method which became successful for several other preachers of the era. By 1940, Nix had disappeared from public attention and he died in 1949. Several compilation albums feature his sermons, with “Black Diamond Express to Hell” being found on The Gospel Book, Gospel: Negro Spirituals, Rough Trade Shops, and Goodbye, Babylon, among others. In the mid-1990s, Document Records released an album which focuses solely on the Reverend’s work called Rev. A. W. Nix: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (1927–1928).

The Reverend’s homiletic preaching, expressive articulation, and soulful singing has continued to influence others of the practice. Thomas A. Dorsey credited Nix’s brother, William, with singing “I Do, Don’t You?” spurring his religious conversion at the National Baptist Convention in Chicago, in 1921. As Dorsey recalled: “my heart was inspired to become a great singer and worker in the Kingdom of the Lord — and impress people just as the great singer [Nix] did that Sunday morning”.

Source: Wikipedia

It took a while to find the right man to replace Butts. In April 1923, the Norfolks made their first Paramount recordings, now with Norman “Crip” Harris backing Tuston’s leading tenor. Over the next few years, the group gradually took on more sacred material and recorded as the Norfolk Jubilee while still performing in vaudeville as the Norfolk Jazz. With few exceptions, most of their studio output during the years 1926-1929 was resoundingly religious, and these constitute some of the finest early gospel recordings in existence. During the Great Depression of the early ‘30s, they retreated back to Norfolk, mainly entertaining at house parties where bootleg liquor was supplied by Delroy Hollins. In 1932, Hollins quit following a disagreement with co-founder Len Williams who would serve as the group’s no-nonsense manager for the rest of its existence.

Throughout most of the ’30s, the quartet consisted of Williams, lead tenor Crip Harris, and two younger men who had been active in a Norfolk vocal unit known as the Watermelon Four: second tenor Raymond Smith and baritone Melvin Coldten. The reconstituted Norfolks performed regularly over radio station WGH in Norfolk, and began recording for Decca under the supervision of Mayo Williams in 1937. Once again offering a balanced selection of sacred and secular songs, they soon attracted a following in Harlem, where in 1938 they engaged in a heated vocal jousting match at Salem Baptist with Thermon Ruth’s Selah Jubilees. Louis Armstrong hooked them up with his own manager, Joe Glaser, who booked them into the Jones Beach Resort with Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra.

When performing secular material, the Norfolk Jubilee Quartet was sometimes identified as the Four Alphabets, on-stage and during radio broadcasts over WGL, WMAC, and WLEW, where they appeared on the Martin Block program sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes. Although long established as an a cappella group, some of their 1937 recordings feature an unidentified tipple player, and for a while they worked with a very young aspiring jazz pianist by the name of Eddie Bonnemere. While he never recorded with them, he provided accompaniments both in church and at the clubs. He later became active as a jazz educator as well as a session pianist for Roost Records. By 1940, the Norfolks were still popular despite being eclipsed by the Golden Gates, the Ink Spots, the Deep River Boys, and the Charioteers.

The Norfolks’ last booking was at the Famous Door on Broadway, and their final Decca recording session took place on April 20, 1940, resulting in a customary blend of jazzy secular blues and passionately religious airs. Len Williams was in church when he died “of asphyxiation” on June 2, 1940. The group quickly unraveled despite Coldten’s attempts to hold them together. Coldten sang with the Selah Jubilees and with the Master Keys. Raymond Smith performed with the Cabineers and lived out his days tending bar. Crip Harris sang with the Selahs until he was slain while walking down the street in Harlem. During the ’90s, most of the works of the Norfolk Jazz and Jubilee Quartet were chronologically reissued on CD in six volumes by the Document label.

Souce: AllMusicGuide