The Introduction of The Black College Independent Conservative: Why I Like 1950s and 1960s Gospel Music?

The Five Blind Boys (with Archie Brownlee) - 45 record of "Something Within Me".
Led by Archie Brownlee and Percell Perkins.

The Spirit of Memphis Quartet - Calvary. Led, written and arranged Wilmer Broadnax (although it says William). Sermon by Silas Steele.

The Highway QC's - Done Got Over. Credited as Public Domain.
Arranged by A. Flowers and Spencer Taylor.
Led by Spencer Taylor.



The logo of Specialty Records


My musical taste is very obscured. I say this because since I am in the younger generation, also known as the millennial generation, not many younger children and teenagers listen to the musical era of the 1950s and 1960s. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley: the list can go on and on. However, there is one type of music that focuses more on a religious level, and that base on the musical history of the United States of America, this type of music would be the start of early rock and roll, soul, R&B, the doo wop sound, Motown sound, and even country.

Despite this type of music not having much radio airplay (even back then), Christian radio stations would put gospel solo singers and groups as their head start of the music industry, the gospel community and especially the black community and also have their own shows. Not only that, talent agents and A&R (artists and repertoire) scouts would recruit these artists to record labels such as Specialty, King, Peacock, and VeeJay, four of the biggest independent record labels recording for artists like The Soul Stirrers and The Pilgrim Travelers from Specialty, The Swan Silvertones (known as The Swan's Silvertone Singers) and The Spirit of Memphis Quartet from King, The Five Blind Boys (Mississippi) and The Dixie Hummingbirds from Peacock and The Highway QC's on VeeJay. All of these groups were part of the 1950s era of gospel, which was also known as the Golden Age of Gospel.

One of my favorite groups is VeeJay Records' The Highway QC's. (Picture below) This group was founded in 1945 which Sam Cooke first started as a young teenager before he joined the Soul Stirrers in 1951. They were known as the Teenage Highway QC's at Chicago Highway Baptist Church. Over the years, a change of members occurred, from Johnnie Taylor to the current lead Spencer Taylor (no relation), but it did not stop the group for having falsetto harmonies. In the leadership of Johnnie Taylor, songs such as "Somewhere To Lay My Head", "I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This", I'll Trust His Word", and "He Lifted My Burdens" are only a few to name. Like Sam Cooke, he sings in a raspy, but calm and nice voice and great yodels ( recommended to listen to "Somewhere To Lay My Head", "I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This", and "I'll Trust His Word"). However, as much as I like J. Taylor, Spencer Taylor made the group's performances way interesting, with his lead and hits of Johnny Broderick's and Barbara Ruth's "The Way Up The Hill" (picture below) and its B-side of his own composition of "There's Something On My Mind".

Spencer Taylor's vocals, in my opinion, sounds very similar to Johnnie, which is understandable to think that they were related, but Spencer was born in Alabama and Johnnie was born in Missouri. Spencer is known for his yells and his way of singing "I" in some songs like "I Don't Know Why". Other singers like James Davis (bottom right of picture) is known for leading "Nobody Knows", "My Cry", "This Is My Song", and "Speak To Me". I think he sounds like a lighter Paul Foster of the Soul Stirrers. He goes underrated, like S. Taylor, but I believe groups like this need to be talked about.

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The 78 rpm record of The Way Up The Hill by the Highway QC's. It was led by Spencer Taylor.

 



The Highway QC's with Spencer Taylor (far left) and Johnnie Taylor (center).
 




The Introduction to "The Black College Independent Conservative" - The Perspective of a Son of A Single Mother

As I spoke on the last post, I am a product of a single mother. Since then, I suffered (still am) so many negative affects and consequences due to being born of a single mother. Mostly, it was financially. You will be surprised of the friends I have that have fathers in their life, and you know what? I understand.

There has been tremendous amounts of studies showing the correlation between single motherhood and the result of children being born to single mothers. Children (mostly boys) that are born to single mothers are more prone to juvenile delinquency, having the inability to compete economically, and more likely to either drop out of school or not continuing to post-secondary education or vocational training. I completely agree with these studies. Why? When I came to Champaign in 2010, I have seen lots of children with both mothers and fathers. They loved their children so dearly, valued and cared for their education, which causes the children to do well in school. The kids with no fathers or even no father figure tend to do poorly in school, have confrontations with other students, teachers and administrators. Although I even had problems similar (mostly in middle school), I eventually grew out of the immaturity to be ready for high school and pursue post-secondary education.

On children that have parents, the children are very respectable. They didn't have nasty attitudes, they didn't show that they didn't care for education, they had a excellent grasp of standard American English. I could keep going on and on. Every day, when I walked into Central (the high school I went to in Champaign) and I see most kids that are like this, I wonder where does this come from. When I eventually meet their parents, I got my answer then. Most of these children have loving parents that love their children very much. The parents are usually nice and they most likely got married BEFORE having their children. Why does all this matter? Children need a mother and a father to nurture, protect, provide, and love them. The main important thing is that the mother and father should be MARRIED! In order to build the traditional nuclear family household, both mates need to be married. Single mothers cannot do that, especially when it comes to boys. Boys born into dominant matriarchal parent household are more likely to not be able to control their emotions, which becomes more difficult to date them, will have low-self esteem and lack of confidence, and will become more provocative (I know, I've done it) and will take things way seriously (I still do that at times) in certain situations.

That's why I believe because I was born to single motherhood, I don't think I would be the right type of guy to date and marry. I think it would be better if I just stay single. Fathers don't have worry about me dating and marrying their daughter. I think I don't have to be emotional around a girl that probably didn't me anyway, just to feel sorry for me.

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The Introduction of "The Black College Independent Conservative" - From Birth to College Student

 



This picture was taken before my senior year of high school at Champaign Central High School on August 12, 2016. I would not call this my senior year picture, but my smile really shows that I was ready for senior year. Like many students, I was ready for senior year to begin. All the things I learned from the last three years have shown what type of a great gentleman I have become. I became more conservative, I have become part of Young Life, I have made friends, and I have got awards that I will never forget. 

 

However, my life did not began in Champaign, it began on the South Side of Chicago, where I was born in 1998 on February 4th. I was a product of a single mother and statistics have shown that kids born into single parent households (mostly matriarchal) were doomed to fail socially, educationally, and worst, economically. I understood the statistics and I understood the consequences behind those statistics, but I tried to not let it bother me. I went to school first in the Chicago Public School system for 12 years at Avalon Park (which was terrible despite making decent grades, and still is today). The disadvantages of the school went from the teachers to the students. Students were overcrowded and undereducated, and teachers were underpaid and under teaching the students. There were inadequate lesson plans or the students just didn't care. I hated everything about that school system. There were times I did not want to go to school due to poor educational structures. Things were about to change.

 

It was a Tuesday, April 12th, 2010. Me, my younger sister, and my mother were on a Greyhound bus to Champaign, IL. My mother had a problem with the landlord and she just could not take it anymore. She and my uncle called my grandfather to come and live with him for a while. We stayed with him from my 5th grade year at Kenwood Elementary School to my first semester of 6th grade at Edison Middle School. After that, we moved into a shelter and stayed for three years until freshman year at Champaign Central High School. We moved to transitional housing during my sophomore year and stayed until junior year. We eventually moved into an apartment, but all of my mother's paycheck goes to the rent. It is really depressing, but she does what she can. 

 

Now, I am going to Parkland College in the fall of 2017 in the Parkland Pathway to Illinois (University of Illinois) studying Computer Science and hopefully I can minor in Mathematics. I know that I need to work a little hard that some students, but I believe that will not be much of a issue because I am a hardworking person and I believe it will pay off.

 

Note: This is the general version of my life. I will talk about this more in future posts.

 

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