SG History 101

Feb

2005

SG History 101

This month, I’d like to salute one of the truly great sounding quartets of all time, and whose lineage in southern gospel continues to this very day…the Weatherford Quartet!

1944 pic of Earl and Lily Fern

This famous and influential group had its’ beginnings toward the end of World War II…when Earl Weatherford, a native of Paoli, Oklahoma, was living in California and working in the shipyards near Long Beach. Young Earl was a true devotee of the male gospel quartet and the singing convention, having attended many such events in the Southwest. Since Earl loved quartet singing so much, and since so many new residents of California like himself were emigrants from other parts of the US because of the war effort, it followed that he would try to organize his own quartet.

So in 1944 he organized a group to audition for a radio show on KFOX in Long Beach…consisting of Earl on tenor, Harold Turman as lead, Grady Weston as baritone, and Bob Gillis as bass. The brand-new Weatherford Quartet not only passed the audition, but became popular quickly around Southern California.

Not only was the quartet gaining ground quickly, Earl himself was blessed in a wonderful way at one of the many afternoon singings that the quartet participated in. He met a beautiful 16-year old woman named Lily Fern Goble, the daughter of a Nazarene minister from Oklahoma who also had relocated to California. She had some training in singing schools, but this was her introduction to quartet style gospel music.

The young couple hit it off and within a year were married. Ever the teacher of proper singing, Earl taught his new wife to sing with “heavier tones” so that she could blend with men…perhaps not realizing at the time that he was preparing her for her eventual singing career. At this point, the Weatherford Quartet was still a part-time group…singing on weekends, and working regular jobs during the week.

(L-R)Front - Raye Roberson, Lily Fern Weatherford
(L-R)Rear - Les
Roberson, George Younce, and Earl Weatherford
Taken at WOWO Radio, Fort Wayne, Ind. (1952)

That was to change in just a few years…in 1949, Earl opted to make his quartet a full-time group. This caused a bit of upheaval in the group, most of the members choosing to cling to the security of their “day jobs”, which forced Earl to search for quick replacements. By this time, Lily had learned how to “blend with the men” and joined the group regularly after persuading Earl (ever the male quartet kind of guy) to stop getting replacements at tenor, which Lily had been filling in on since Turman left the group in 1945. Lily learned very well…to the point where she could sing the first tenor part quite comfortably. Audiences could scarcely discern the difference musically, and this characteristic gave the Weatherford Quartet its’ distinctive sound that it maintained through the years.

The quartet filled its’ other positions with another husband and wife couple, Les and Raye Roberson, who joined as lead and pianist respectively, and at bass they hired a 16-year old youngster from nearby South Gate, Armond Morales, who would spend the first 14 years of an illustrious career as the velvet-smooth bass singer for the Weatherford Quartet. The group was now ready to hit the road, touring the country in their 1948 Buick which pulled a one-wheel trailer!

The group opted for a new home base, to be closer to the center of the gospel music and at the same time, fulfill a new radio contract. They were blessed with a position on 50,000 watt AM powerhouse WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On good nights, the station could reach from coast-to-coast, making the Weatherford Quartet nationally popular and in demand for appearances far and wide.

But another war was on, this time in Korea, and during their stint in Fort Wayne, Armond Morales was drafted into the military. At around the same time, Raye Roberson became pregnant and decided to retire from traveling. Morales was replaced for the time being by George Younce, and Danny Koker replaced Raye.

Shortly afterward, the group was offered a position with a church in Akron, Ohio. Rex Humbard was preaching at an old, refurbished theater there, but had a desire to start a weekly TV program, and wanted a group to lead his music ministry. By 1953, WOWO decided to play records, and this left the Weatherford Quartet without a radio contract. So at that time, Earl accepted Humbard’s offer, and since he felt his music was primarily a ministry more so than mere entertainment, it seemed to fit the calling that Earl had in mind for the group.

(clockwise from top) - Henry Slaughter, Lily Fern Weatherford, Glen Payne, Armond Morales, and
Earl Weatherford(center)
(1959)

The move turned out to be fortuitous for both Humbard and the Weatherfords. The group was now singing from the stage of the beaufiful new Cathedral of Tomorrow…and was still going through the occasional personnel change. At that time, Jim Hamill joined for a while. And when Morales returned from the military, he resumed his duties as bass singer as Younce left. Les Roberson accepted an offer with the Oak Ridge Quartet, and his place was taken by a Texan who came over from the Stamps-Ozark Quartet, Glen Payne. Coker also departed during this period, and was replaced by Henry Slaughter.

The lineup now consisted of Earl, Lily, Glen Payne, Armond Morales, and Henry Slaughter. This lineup would remain intact for nearly eight years. They sang at Humbard’s church on Sunday, filmed TV on Mondays, and were left with the rest of the week to tend to their own business. As Humbard’s ministry grew, though, more demands were being placed upon the Weatherfords, who felt increasingly led to return to traveling the country.

Also during this time, the Weatherford Quartet recorded an album for RCA which is considered one of the great gospel albums of all time…”In The Garden”, which spotlighted the trademark smooth, close harmony of the group. Today, that 1958 album is still widely sought after by collectors.

Lily had taken time away from the group in the early 60s to spend time with a new son. Earl hired Bobby Clark to take her place while she was away, making the quartet the all-male group that Earl loved. But he and the fans loved Lily’s voice, too…and were quite happy when she returned by 1963.

Coker returned to the group as pianist after Slaughter resigned to lead the choir at the Cathedral of Tomorrow in early 1963…and as the year went on, the situation finally came to a head between Humbard’s increasing pressure on the Weatherfords to be on staff, and the group’s desire to travel and sing. Finally, Humbard called the group’s members into his office, and told them of his plans to have a full-time group at the church, and asked them who wanted to stay, and who wanted to go.

Glen Payne, Danny Coker, and Bobby Clark opted to stay with Humbard, and formed the Cathedral Trio…George Younce joined them shortly afterward from the Blue Ridge Quartet, and they stayed with Humbard until 1969….even keeping their name when they became a full-time traveling group. This was the now-famous Cathedral Quartet, and their subesquent sound was derived in many ways from the Weatherford Quartet.

As for Earl and Lily, they returned to the road with new lead singer Mack Evans, who had been with the Rangers Trio, and Jerry Evans, who joined on piano from the Couriers Quartet. But soon, Mack Evans would leave for the military, and Morales would accept an offer from Jake Hess to form the new Imperials Quartet. So by 1964, the Weatherford Quartet would have to retool.

More singers would come and go as the years went on, people like Ralph Drake, Bob Thacker, Fulton Nash, Roy Tremble, and many, many more. Despite all the changes, the one constant that always remained was the smooth harmony that Earl was ever the stickler for, and the marvelous alto of Lily Fern, who remains a great singer and trouper today, after all the years.

L-R: Steve, Earl, and Lily Fern Weatherford

The group continues today through Lily and her son, Steve, who joined in the 1980s in the same way his Mother did in the 1940s…by constantly haranguing Earl for the chance to sing in the family group. One day, in exasperation, Earl told Steve, “All right! Show us what you can do!” Steve did, and is keeping the Family heritage alive to this day.

Earl finally came full circle. And in the place where it all began…Long Beach, CA…Earl Weatherford answered the Lord’s final call and died on June 17. 1992. He and Lily Fern have both been enshrined in the SGMA Hall of Fame…Lily Fern in 1999, and Earl in 2000.

L-R: Lily Fern, Earl, and Steve Weatherford

And just as the Cathedral Quartet was “birthed” from the “womb” of the Weatherfords in 1963, so Legacy Five was born from the Cathedrals when that illustrious group retired in 2000. So in that sense, The Weatherfords’ musical “grandchildren” are today major forces in today’s southern gospel music, in the same manner as their “grandparents” were in the 1950s and 1960s.

Considering what Earl learned from those singing conventions of yore where he formed his own rather definite philosophies about what constituted proper quartet singing, it might be interesting if Earl could hear the southern gospel of today, and evaluate it. Regardless of what anyone feels about the state of southern gospel today, fans of the genre are pretty much in agreement that the Weatherford Quartet was among the most accomplished and influential groups in its’ history.

Reader Comments

John-

Once again, a great article. I enjoy reading your articles because I can always guarantee that I will learn something new. I'll try to remember to not get "so carried away!" Keep up the good work my friend.