Few groups did more, for longer, in developing Christian music than the legendary BLACKWOOD BROTHERS QUARTET. Paul Davis talks to Southern gospel legend James Blackwood.

"As the nation's mid-point," James recounts, "Memphis was already known for its Christian music, located as it was in the buckle of the 'Bible Belt'. So we were guaranteed adequate pay by the radio station. Milton Buhler, of Buhler Mills that produced Dixie Lily Flour, was our sponsor throughout the early 1950s."

Frequent visitors in the Blackwood Brothers' studio audience were Tammy Wynette, a telephone company employee, and a young truck driver from Tupelo Mississippi, Elvis Presley. The knock-on impact that the boys undoubtedly would have on the future course of popular and country music is usually underrated.

Changes in personnel still persisted no matter how hard James tried to maintain the status quo. But extraordinary opportunities were opening for the group to sell gospel music records.

"I refused an exclusive contract with RCA as I wanted to retain the opportunity of marketing our own recordings. RCA surprisingly conceded accordingly. The deal was that no duplication of songs should occur on our custom label records and RCA's material. Our song repertoire was carefully segregated. That non-exclusive, initial five-year recording contract in 1951 with RCA Victor soon produced our first long-play album that was also the world's first-ever, full-length gospel album! It was a dream come true for us!"

Constant bookings meant continuous travelling. The primitive road systems of the day were yet to see the wholesale innovation of highspeed highways. Even the city-to-city and state-to-state roads often meandered slowly mile after mile.

In sombre recollection, James painfully remembers, "In 1952 we made a crucial, impactive decision that we would fly to our future engagements. Our first purchase of an aeroplane was an ageing twin Cessna that was to be the first of three planes we would buy. Our second plane was a smaller, five-seater Cessna 195. Our Quartet was the very first gospel quartet to use air travel as a means of getting to engagements. RW took flying lessons and gained his prized licence in 1952 becoming our pilot, with Bill Lyles serving as navigator and co-pilot!"

In the early '50s the most popular show on the increasingly popular medium of TV, was The Arthur Godfrey Talent Show. The BBs passed the stiff audition and finally flew to New York and made their historic appearance in early June 1954. They took the glitzy show by storm and won with "Have You Talked To The Man Upstairs?".

Despite their overnight national success, the Blackwood Brothers were determined not to 'go secular1. "We were resolved to remain true to what we saw as our gospel music calling!" James exclaims.

On 30th June 1954 the now nationally renowned group flew into Clanton, Alabama. RW the pilot, was at the controls. That fatal, summer evening the boys were booked to sing at a gospel concert held in the airport hanger. Earlier in the day, RW decided that it would be safer if he took the plane up on an afternoon test flight. It would be dark after the concert when they would eventually make the return journey back to Memphis. "As it was just a small airport and it had no runway lights, it was our custom to line up cars either side of the runway. The idea was to shine the headlights onto the runway thus floodlighting the runway for the pilot."

Concertgoers gathering for the forthcoming evening performance watched increasingly desperate attempts to land. Anxious crowd and performers alike watched open-mouthed as RW battled furiously to get the maverick plane onto the runway, but to no avail. On his final attempt the plane's engine stalled as RW fought in vain to ascend again. The plane came hurtling down and hit the runway midway with heart-stopping force.

In dramatic panic James Blackwood, Jackie Marshall and Bill Shaw immediately ran impulsively towards the crashed plane. James reached the disaster first and through the fearful flames could see RW still strapped into his pilot's seat. Desperately, he started to run into the flaming wreckage to try and free him. Out of his mind with shock his well-meaning but vain attempts at rescue, put his own life at risk. Fighting, kicking and screaming, somebody picked him up bodily and unceremoniously carried him off the field to safety. Not until years later did James find out that it was Jake Hess of the Statesmen Quartet who had pulled him out of the flames. His buddy Jake's reward, for saving the life of his friend that day, was a body bruised and sore from the struggle.

The awful disaster took its dreadful toll, those aboard perished in unspeakable circumstances. Autopsies showed that their necks had been broken immediately on impact. The bodies were burned beyond recognition. The crash became national news. Deeply affected emotionally by the crash, Elvis Presley drove Dixie Locke, whom he was dating at the time, to a nearby park where, heartbroken, he grieved and reminisced about RW and Bill.

James remembers, "Elvis' deep admiration for the Blackwood Brothers was such that when Grace, his own mother, died several years later Elvis flew the Quartet from South Carolina to sing at her funeral service. We, the Blackwood Brothers, were his mother's favourite gospel quartet."

The Statesmen put the distraught James Blackwood into their overcrowded car and took him home to Memphis. He was out of his mind in deep shock, vowing that he would never sing again. James believes, as he thoughtfully ponders that tragic episode, that the supportive prayers of many Christian people all over the country brought him tangible comfort and strength. "Renewed in hope, I was determined 'to hold on!'. I changed my mind about giving up!" With Jack and Bill, James courageously drove to Fort Worth, Texas to fulfil an engagement they had already had booked with The Statesmen. He recalls, "I do not remember if I sang a note that first time I went up on stage."