“Before there was soul music – before there was rock & roll – there was the Legendary Soul Stirrers.” Most bands could never live up to such a towering introduction, but this one’s true. And on Sunday at ACL Fest, the gospel quartet did exactly what it’s done for nearly 90 years: praise Jesus with the most heavenly harmonies imaginable.
Many, many men have cycled through the ranks of the Soul Stirrers since the group formed in the East Texas city of Trinity in the mid-Twenties. Among them were future A-listers Johnnie Taylor, Lou Rawls, and the indelible Sam Cooke, who merits a spot in any debate of the greatest singers who ever lived.
Bandleader Willie Rogers, who joined the group in the late Sixties, isn’t quite Cooke, but he made a convincing case in the ACL gospel tent on “Touch the Hem of His Garment,” “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget,” and “He’s So Wonderful.” “A Change Is Gonna Come” – the quintessential Cooke tune – proved as stirring as ever. Unlike the string-laden orchestration of the original, the group proved that with vocals this sweet, anything more than drums, bass, and guitar is gilding the lily.
Rogers led a hand-clapping parade around the perimeter of the tent during “When the Saints Go Marching In” before the Soul Stirrers closed a capella, just like it all began:
“One more river to cross, before I reach my journey’s end. One more river to cross, before I’ll be free from sin.”
This article appears in October 10 • 2014 and October 3 • 2014.
