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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZBLACKWOOD BROTHERSUSA gospel quartet. Original lineup: R. W., Roy, Doyle J. (b 22 Aug. '11) and James Webre Blackwood (b 4 Aug. '19; d 3 Feb. 2002). From sharecropping family in Choctaw County MS, they were iscovered by music publisher V. O. Stamps. They began in the mid-'30s on small local radio stations, then Shreveport LA, Shenandoah IA; Memphis TN by early '50s. Doyle became a record distributor in Memphis. R. W. and bass singer Bill Lyles were killed in a Memphis plane crash 30 June '54; Lyles was replaced by the youngest brother Cecil Stamps Blackwood (b 28 Oct. '34, Ackermann MS), who had gone to Sunday school with Elvis Presley. They recorded for RCA from '54; own records included 'The Man Upstairs' '55, 'Keys To The Kingdom' '57, 'The Old Country Church' '59 etc plus sessions with Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner and Presley. Won Arthur Godfrey talent shows '54, '56, Grammys '67-8. J. W. Blackwood Jr (b 31 July '43, San Diego CA) was leader of the equally famous |