The Jubalaires

The Jubalaires were an American gospel group active between 1940 and 1950. In 1936, the group was known as the Royal Harmony Singers and under that name, they reached #10 on the R&B charts on November 14, 1942, with "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" a song adapted from the speech of a naval chaplain in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor the previous year.[1][3] They are also known for their rhythmic rhyming verses, which would later evolve into rapping.[4]

The Jubalaires
The "Original Jubalaires": from left to right Orville Brooks, Ted Brook, Caleb Ginyard and George McFadden.
Background information
OriginFlorida, United States
GenresAmerican folk, gospel, spirituals
Years active1940s–1950s
LabelsCapital, Decca, King
Associated actsGolden Gate Quartet
Past membersJ.C. "Junior" Caleb Ginyard[1]
Willie Johnson[2]

In 1946, the Jubalaires secured a spot on Arthur Godfrey's CBS radio show.[5] Willie Johnson left the Golden Gate Quartet to take the lead of the group in 1948, and in 1950 the band appeared in the musical comedy film Duchess of Idaho.[2][6]

Queen Records, a King Records subsidiary specializing in African-American music released much of the Jubalaires' music. However, later reissues of their music appear on King Records.[7] The band recorded with Andy Kirk on November 27, 1945, a session which produced the Decca Records 78rpm release "I Know/Get Together with the Lord" credited to Andy Kirk & His Orchestra with the Jubalaires. A third track recorded during the session, "Soothe Me", went unreleased.[8]

Other Jubalaires' releases included "Before This Time Another Year/Ezekiel (Saw the Wheel A Rollin')" (Decca), "God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down/Go Down Moses" (King), and "My God Called Me This Morning/Ring That Golden Bell" (King).[9]

The Jubalaires'' record "Dreaming of the Ladies in the Moon" (Crown Records) attracted the praise of Billboard magazine, which gave the record a mark of 78/100 in the April 17, 1954 issue, commenting that "The boys here come thru with a strong reading on a bright ballad with an evocative flavor." The reviewer compared the Jubalaires' treatment of the song with the style of the Mills Brothers and predicted it could become a break-out hit.[10] In the December 15, 1951 issue, Billboard praised the group's performance on the release "David and Goliath/I've Done My Work" (Capitol Records). However, in the 4 August 1951 issue, the praise provided is muted about the songs the "Rain is the Teardrops of Angels/Keep on Doin' What You're Doin."[11][12]

References
  1. Warner 2006, p. 169
  2. Warner 2006, p. 36
  3. Warner, Jay (2006a). On this day in black music history. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. p. 320. ISBN 0-634-09926-4. OCLC 62330882.
  4. "The Jubalaires Were Doing Gospel Rap Back in the 1940s". Rapzilla. 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  5. Mackenzie, Harry (1999). The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 101. ISBN 0-313-30812-8. OCLC 41612414.
  6. Hanson, Patricia King; Dunkleberger, Amy, eds. (1971). "Duchess of Idaho". The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1941-1950. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 657. ISBN 0-520-21521-4. OCLC 468239657.
  7. Ruppli, Michel; Daniels, William R., eds. (1985). The King labels : a discography. Discographies, no. 18. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 755. ISBN 0-313-25146-0. OCLC 12421822.
  8. Kirk, Andy; Lee, Amy; Rye, Howard (1989). "Discography". Twenty years on wheels. Oxford: Bayou Press. p. 141. ISBN 1-871478-20-0. OCLC 19776354.
  9. Lumpkin, Ben Gray; McNeil, Norman L. (Brownie), eds. (1950). Folksongs on records, Volume 2. Denver: Folksongs on Records and Alan Swallow. p. 30. OCLC 1395344.
  10. "Reviews of new pop records". The Billboard: 22. April 17, 1954. The boys here come thru with a strong reading here on a bright ballad with an evocative flavor. The group handle this tune in Mills Brothers style, which will help get the side some attention. Should pull many jock spins, and it has the chance to break
  11. "Rhythm & Blues record reviews". The Billboard: 33. December 15, 1951. A slick semi-religious item, Is expertly sung by the new Capitol group. Lyrics are slyly humorous, and disk should be watched.
  12. The Billboard: 29. August 4, 1951. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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