https://www.thebbrm.org/files/original/203ecf24d506d7846c296f58bf0ca1fc.jpg 5cd0d8caa3314f4457ab72a8acc55aab Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Heavenly Four, 1945 https://www.thebbrm.org/files/original/05595c36c4b849c896baa68cb02c648b.jpg f255d96fa3e36d08337f7e18c5f2b52b https://www.thebbrm.org/files/original/3a2154dc2c38b0a375ee9c742a7429ef.mp3 4cf2f59cfcb503f30daeb7bb089a5b5e https://www.thebbrm.org/files/original/a8f173a4a5d4a55bbe3bbec2f39435ad.mp3 b98beeb3c00153483c5ef5c6c9ad0d19 https://www.thebbrm.org/files/original/7b0ce2bcf1dfad07700dba8b301871bb.pdf 7b52777b9e0c2cb2681bf7a89de897b0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Don Solomon Norman B. Wooding Jr. Location The location of the interview Forestdale, Alabama Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Transcript of Audio snippet 01: BF: So you said you ran into Don at – NW: Manhattan Cleaners. BF: At Manhattan Cleaners. What – how’d that happen? DS: All the groups were meeting then, and Leroy was making records. BF: Demo records and things? DS: And that’s where Blue Goose came from. BF: Where was the studio? In the basement? DS: Down under the house. NW: Right, right. DS: That’s what Leroy did. See Leroy became an engineer for WVOK. He brought the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church on every Sunday, twelve o’clock. And brought the Heavenly Four on every Sunday morning at seven. BF: So, you guys were the first group to sing on WVOK. DS: On WVOK. So when Leroy got to know Ms. Lady(?) and all about that station he became – Leroy would be sitting back behind me in that building engineering the program for Sixth Avenue Baptist Church every Sunday. He was already engineering our program, and any other..and that’s how he began engineering all the quartets. See, we were first, and the Four Eagles were the second group to sing on WVOK after us. BF: Who was in the Four Eagles back then, do you remember? NW: John Watson… DS: Yeah. NW: John Watson and Will Freeman and – DS: And that baritone singer. NW: Perry. Perry… I think Perry Gibbons. I think Perry Gibbons was the baritone then and George Watson, John's brother, was a tenor for them. What's Watson. Joe wasn’t with them then. DS: Joe... he was a baritone singer. NW: There was two groups... John was... DS: a bass singer with a bald head. NW: Yeah, right. He was with the Four Eagles, and John was with the Four Blue Eagles. There were two groups back then. John was with the Four Blue Eagles. BF: The Four Blue Eagles? Why did they name themselves the Four Blue Eagles? NW: They were two different groups, yeah. Brothers and sisters. Brothers and – Four Blue Eagles yeah. And all the fee was, Bob, to come in the church was ten cents and you couldn’t get standing room. Transcript of Audio snippet 02: BF: Now, your dad… your dad’s group, Norman – the MacMillians – were taught by one of them. NW: Charlie Bridges came to our house and taught dad an'em .. and Jimmy Ricks. BF: Charlie Bridges. Came to the house that you live in now? NW: In the home now. BF: Yeah, the home house... NW: Taught them, at different times they taught. Jimmy Ricks. Jimmy Ricks told us Eismann taught him how to sing bass. BF: Taught who? NW: Eismann (sp?) BF: Eismann? Jimmy Ricks was a teacher who was also a bass? NW: Uh-huh. Jimmy Ricks, yeah. DS: He eventually sung bass for the Blue Jays. BF: For the Blue Jays. Not to be confused with Jimmy Rick of the Ravens. NW: Lock Key (possibly meaning Leo "Lot" Key, of the early Birmingham Jubilee Singers - referenced in Doug Seroff's "To do this you must know How" P. 135) one of the tenorist man in the South in the country ...Lot Key, with them Blue Jays. He could sing some tenor...Willie James sung baritione. DS: Every now and then, a guy like Charles (Silas?) Steel. (or Charles Beal?) NW: Charlie Steele, coming with the Blue Jays, yeah. BF: Those guys ended up singing? So both Jimmy Ricks and Charlie Bridges ended up singing with groups. DS: With Blue Jays. NW: No they didn’t. They didn’t sing with the Blue Jays. BF: They didn’t? No. DS: I mean Ricks sung bass for the Blue Jays. Bridges sung baritone or lead. BF: The Birmingham Jubilees? NW: I thought Porterfield sung bass for the Blue Jays. Porterfield or Poindexter, one of'em. He was a slim, tall, dark guy. DS: When I was a little boy coming up, I can remember a program at Bethel Church. Tommy is the tenor singer. NW: Tommy Walton. DS: of the Ensley Jubilees DS: And Marshall (Marshall Johnson), the baritone, eventually of the Ensley Jubilees. I remember their faces at my – all of the Williams brothers at my church (Nar, Rufus) . Brown suits and white carnations. Up in there...I remember that. I remember that. NW: Yeah.. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full Interview: 54 minutes Audio Snippet 01: 2 minutes Audio Snippet 02: 2 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Don Solomon and Norman B. Wooding Jr., Oral History Description An account of the resource Don Solomon and Norman B Wooding, Jr, two pioneer Jefferson County gospel singers and, most recently, members of the Pillars of Birmingham, reminisce on the days of quartet concerts in Birmingham, including group members. The conversation took place at Don Solomon's Forestdale, Alabama home after a Pillars practice. Both men have separate oral histories in the BBRM as well. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 13, 2013 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Emily L. Reynolds Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Don Solomon Norman B. Wooding Jr. Bob Friedman 1940s A. G. Gaston Bessemer Don Solomon Ensley Jubilee Singers Eugene "Bull" Connor Gospel Kelley Choral Singers Music Norman B. Wooding Jr. Pillars of Birmingham The Heavenly Four WEDR WJLD WVOK