The Soul Stirrers have inspired gospel and R&B audiences for more than eight decades. The vocal quartet has moved through several incarnations. At different times, the group has included singing ...

(From the liner notes of The Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers, a three box set by Specialty.) Five men in crisp white suits stand shoulder to shoulder, ready to go to work. In ...

Here’s a welcome, renewed acquaintance with two old friends and a chance meet some new ones, as this double-CD reissues the original Soul Stirrers vinyl SAR albums and includes some stray unissued ...

The following essay comes from Specialty Records’ 1991 collection, “Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers,” currently available through Concord Music Group. Sam Cooke has arguably been the most influential ...

The Soul Stirrers feature R.H. Harris on the tracks collected on Shine on Me, from the Specialty Legends of Gospel series. “Walk around, walk around, walk around, walk around,” the background singers ...

Sam Cooke was with the top gospel a cappella group The Soul Stirrers between 1950 and 1956, before leaving Specialty to join the Keen label and record his first secular hit, "You Send Me". The 84 ...

From the late ’50s until his death in 1964, the great R&B singer Sam Cooke championed other important artists on his SAR Records label. Having launched his own career in the early ’50s as a member of ...

“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 ...

These gospel stalwarts seem so weighed down by their own history – r & b greats Sam Cooke and Johnnie Taylor both fronted them – that they nearly drown their reunion in nostalgia rather than seeking ...

Soul singer James Phelps, who performed alongside Sam Cooke and had a hit on Chess in 1965 with “Love Is A Five Letter Word,” died in Los Angeles on October 26th from complications stemming from ...

The Complete Specialty Recordings (Specialty) The end felt so tragic because the beginning sounded so pure. When Sam Cooke was murdered in a Los Angeles motel in 1964 while allegedly attempting to ...

The Soul Stirrers have inspired gospel and R&B audiences for more than eight decades. After a long hiatus, they are back together with a new album, A Soul Stirring Reunion, which combines classics ...