The Original Five Blind Boys Of Mississippi on Marathon

The Original Five Blind Boys Of Mississippi


CP-2420 ~ A Weeping For A Mighty Long Time
(Harvey-Duckworth, Calvin Brown, BMI)

CP-2421 ~ Take Your Burdens To Jesus
(Harvey-Brown-Duckworth, Calvin Brown, BMI

Marathon 182-1

November 16, 1959 (Billboard review)

★

Writers of both songs are Dr J. Gerald Harvey and Pauline Duckworth who wrote and/or produced for Calvin Brown, the owner of Marathon Records, at least two other records : the secular Rich McQueen & his Rhythm Rockers (Marathon Records) and gospel James Anderson (Electro Records).

★

One of the few gospel groups to make the R&B charts, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi were a powerful aggregation who were known to have influenced Ray Charles, among others.


The Piney Woods School, near Jackson, Mississippi, was one of the pioneer establishments in education for blacks and it had a separate teaching for blind children. Some blind students began singing there, on of the school grounds in 1936. They were called the Cotton Blossom Singers.

In the mid-1940s, they began calling themselves the Five Blind Boys.

In the late fifties, the health of their lead singer, Archie Brownlee, deteriorating, the owner of Peacock Records, Don Robey, for whom they recorded extensively since 1950, probably had no intention of re-signing them and sent them on their way.

That's when they recorded for Calvin Brown's tiny Marathon Records, not a Checker subsidiary as I've seen written. The single was also released subsequently on Checker Records [#953, May 1960].

In 1961, they recorded a very successful album for Checker called "I'll Go". According to one source, Just Moving On, This was not to Robey's liking. While on tour in Houston, Robey paid them a visit. "Chess has a lot of money," he said, "why don't you tell them you're still under contract to me, and we'll sue them for big bucks!" ...

★

The group has seen numerous personnel changes, as it's quite normal for a such long lasting aggregation. Also, they were not always five... They were not always all blind... They were not always all from the Magnolia State... But.. boys? are you going to ask. Wait.

According to a review of E. Patrick Johnson’s “Gays and Gospel: A History
of Sacred Music ”, "One of the more interesting asides is that a member of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was found to be a “she” after his death in 1994."

It's interesting to see how some reviewers are going right to the important.

God works in mysterious ways

★

sample



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J. Mercy Baby on P&P

J. Mercy Baby and the Wonders
14333 - He She's Mine

J. Mercy Baby and Lil-Lether
14334 -The Letter

P&P 101
P&P Records Co.
314 Mobile St. Hattiesburg, Miss.

Both wr. Julius Mullins
Mercy Baby Music, BMI
1965

J. Mercy Baby

15143 - I Tried It
15144 - I Messed Up

Both wr. Julius Mullins
Mercy Baby Music, BMI

P&P Records Co. 105
314 Mobile St. Hattiesburg, Miss.

1965

P&P Records Co.

This is drummer and blues singer Julius "Jimmy" Mullins. on his own label.

Five singles were released, all in 1965. Only one is not by J. Mercy Baby : #102 Helen Williams & the Zionettes.

From JC Marion :

One of the session players on Frankie Lee Sims recordings for Ace was Jimmy Mullins. With Sims and the rest of the combo he took the lead vocals and recorded under the name Mercy Baby. In Dallas in 1957 Ace # 528 was released with the tunes "Marked Deck" and "Rock And Roll Baby". A follow up recording was released on Ace # 535 in October of the year and included the songs "Silly Dilly Woman" and "Mercy's Blues".

During early November Mercy appears with Frankie Lee Sims for Al Benson's big R & B show at Chicago's Regal Theater. Others on the bill are Big Maybelle, Screamin Jay Hawkins, The Dells, Mello-Kings, Joan Shaw, Priscilla Bowman, and Titus Turner. Late in 1957 Mercy recorded for the Ric label based in New Orleans and the tunes "Don't Lie To Me" and "Pleadin" which was issued on # 955.

The next year still located in Dallas, Texas, Mercy recorded for his own label Mercy Baby Records and released two sides. The first on # 501 issued in November was "You Ran Away" and "Love's Voodoo". The second release in June of 1959 was on Mercy Baby # 502 featured "The Rock And Stomp" and "So Lonesome".

Hear a rare Jimmy Mullins recording HERE followed by Finny Mo talkin to Mercy Baby on the phone at the end of recording - and Zuzu Bollin laughing in background (from a KCLE radio show, 1976).



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Willie Morganfield on Acquarian

Willie Morganfield
Acquarian 352-1
CP-4033 - Only The Lord Is Able To Help Us
CP-4034 - I Can't See Why

Willie Morganfield (1927- )

Pastor of Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Mississippi Delta heartland center of Clarksdale. Clarksdale has rich blues heritage. Prominent in this legacy is Willie Morgansfield’s first cousin, McKinley Morganfield –better known by his childhood nickname, Muddy Waters.

Willie Morganfield :

I was born out here at Stovall, six miles out, and I stayed here until ’45. I left here and went to Memphis and left there and went to New Orleans. I stayed in New Orleans ’46 to ’48. I was with a group there called the New Orleans Chosen Five. And we traveled. I was the old Soproce Singers. They had a contract with the Soproco Company that handled the detergent.

After the contract was over, they went back to being the New Orleans Chose Five. I was with them until ’48. Then I went with the old original Kings of Harmony, who were stationed in Baltimore and New York. They were from Bessemer, Alabama. I traveled with them until 1951. Then I moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and started work there, for a construction company. I trained a group there, the Delta Friendly Four. I had two brothers singing with them, Elvie Morganfield and Otis Howard, he’s a half-brother.

Then I came to Memphis in ’59, and I wrote « What Is This ? » in 1949, and I recorded it in November 1959, twenty-seventh of November. And the thirteenth of January 1960, it was number one across the country. It sold a million copies. I started going from there – ‘Serving the Lord’,’Lord Thank You Sir » and many others that I wrote and recorded.

In 1960 I got married. The twenty-seventh of June 1960, in Memphis. My wife [Jane] is from Metcalfe, Mississippi, twelve miles out of Greenville. In 1962, we moved back to Cleveland, Ohio, and that’s where I accepted my calling into the ministry, in 1970. I started pastoring in 1972 in Fairmont, West Virginia. Morning Star Baptist Church. And I stayed there until 1975 and I moved back here. To Bell Grove. That’s where I’ve been ever since.

I Can't See Why

On the same label, also see : The Missionary Gospel Singers of Cleveland Ohio.

Mary Jo Brown With the Palm Jubilees

Mary Jo Brown, Vocal
With the Palm Jubilees :
Lola Mae Wilson, Second lead
Emma Davis, First soprano
Willie Lee Shelton, tenor
Shirley Weathersby, pianist
Lena Weathersby, alto
Don London, organist

Central 219-5

Hattiesburg, Miss.

CP-3961 - How Long ( Rite 291 CP3961 219-5A)
CP-3962 - There's A Time, There's A Place (Rite 291 CP3962 219-5B)

A Brown & Woullards production (R.W. Woullard Sr. And R.W. Woullard Jr.)

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NOTE : Numbers 3961/3962 were also used for R&J 100 :

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Numbers also used twice were 11213/4 :

Ark 298

Co-Day

The Missionary Gospel Singers of Cleveland Ohio

The Missionary Gospel Singers of Cleveland Ohio
Acquarian 9935
Hattiesburg, Miss.

10339 - Lord You Been Good
10340 - On The Other Side

Rite account # 352

Lord You Been Good.

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Black female gospel shouter with bluesy guitar. A Calvin C. Brown production.

Possibly the only Acquarian record pressed by Rite : most all others were pressed by Southern Plastics of Nashville. The Acquarian label was just one of many labels owned by Calvin C. Brown, but it was his most prolific. Later releases on the label had addresses in Stuttgart, Arkansas, then in Memphis, Tennessee.

Earliest Calvin Brown's labels located in Hattiesburg were pressed by Rite Records :

• Marathon (The Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi), 1959
• Central (Prentis and Doris Parker, with the Zionettes, Guitar Dave), 1960
  

In 1968, he produced "Cummins Prison Farm" by Calvin Leavy for the Shelby Singleton's Blue Fox label and subsequently launched in Stuttgart, Arkansas his Riceland (1969) and Soul Beat (1970-1973) labels

The Missionary Gospel Singers

Back row center : Mrs. Elvina Finger, front row right : Mrs. Dean

Helen Williams (vocal) - The Zionettes

Helen Williams (vocal)/ The Zionettes
Label : P&P 102 (1965)
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
14397 - I Know What It Is
14398 - He's A Friend Of Mine

The label was owned by J. Mercy Baby who recorded himself at least two 45s for P&P (also pressed by Rite)
J. Mercy Baby is also know as Julius "Jimmy" Mullins , and was a session player on Frankie Lee Sims recordings for Ace.

Acknowledgments : JC Marion