SG History 101
01 Jul 2007
SG History 101 - Florida Boys Remembered
Normally, when I submit these articles for inclusion in SoGospelNews, one of the main criteria I hold to is that there not be a lot of material published elsewhere on the topic that month, so that I might be able to provide a service for the reader and avid fan that otherwise may not exist in a form readily available.
But this month, I’m making a slight exception to that policy, for the Florida Boys’ story has been told in many places, and quite well in the majority of those places.
But as the resident “historian” for SGN, it would not be right if I neglected to pay tribute myself on the eve of the retirement of one of gospel music’s greatest and most respected quartets.
For as of July 2007, the Florida Boys will celebrate their 60th year as a traveling quartet by retiring, with their final appearance scheduled for this year’s National Quartet Convention. So I thought I’d celebrate the occasion with a brief, affectionate look back upon a stellar gospel music career.
The Florida Boys’ beginnings took place after World War II, when Jesse Gillis Whitfield, an up-and-coming magnate in the grocery business in Florida, decided to form a quartet with some friends of his,…Roy Howard, Edward Singletary, “Tiny” Merrill, and Guy Dodd. Whitfield called this quartet the Gospel Melody Quartet.
Because of Whitfield’s success in the grocery business, the Gospel Melody Quartet was better able financially to survive in the ultra-competitive postwar gospel quartet field than many of their
competitors. The fact that the quartet had a friendly, winning appeal with audiences didn’t hurt any either.
Still, like many other quartets, there were obstacles. The death of Howard in 1950 almost brought their careers to a halt, but as he always did, Whitfield carried on…and Doyle Wiggins would take Howard’s place and keep the group going. As with other quartets, people came and went…but by 1952, the Gospel Melody Quartet had acquired the services of a talented young baritone singer and guitarist named Glen Allred, who had previously been with Wally Fowler’s Oak Ridge Quartet. When Wiggins left for the service in 1953, Les Beasley joined the group as lead singer from the McManus Trio. You can see the nucleus of the future quartet was taking shape.
By 1954, Livy Freeman had joined as pianist, and Buddy Mears as tenor…and another momentous occasion took place. The aforementioned Fowler was becoming one of the top gospel music promoters of the 1950s, and he used the Gospel Melody Quartet often, introducing them as “the boys from Florida with sand in their shoes and a song in their hearts”. Fowler eventually convinced Whitfield to change the group’s name, and the Gospel Melody Quartet became the Florida Boys.
Whitfield was becoming quite the promoter himself, and the Florida Boys’ popularity continued to grow. In 1956, a pianist with bright red socks and and a captivating personality joined the group, and Derrell Stewart would remain with the Florida Boys for more than 50 years.
Still, there were changes. In 1958, Whitfield remarried, his first wife having passed on in 1950. A family man once again, Whitfield felt the need to retire from the road. He appointed his trusty lead singer, Les Beasley, to manage the quartet in his place…which Beasley has done, and done very well, to this very day.
Whitfield’s place in the quartet was taken by Billy Todd, who would be a very popular addition for the next decade and a half, and with Coy Cook as tenor, the group’s lineup would be set for a while.
The group’s popularity was aided by the rise of television, and by 1961 the group had started doing a regional program, the Gospel Soundshop. The show was very popular with gospel music fans, and it set the stage for what was to come later in the group’s story. In 1963, the group appeared at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and recorded a live album there as well.
The popularity of the “Sound Shop” caused television syndicators to take notice, and when plans were made to start a nationally syndicated gospel TV show, the Florida Boys were chosen to host it. The Gospel Singing Jubilee became a staple for fans of gospel music for many years on Sunday morning, starting in 1964 and lasting until the early 1980s.
At about that same time, when Marvin Norcross of Word Records was charged with starting up a southern gospel label for Word, the Florida Boys were among the very first artists on the new Canaan Records, staying there for most of the latter 20th century.
The quartet slowly changed personnel during that time, with Cook leaving in 1967 for Whitfield’s new quartet, the Dixie Echoes, and he was replaced by the versatile tenor and fiddler Tommy Atwood. Todd resigned in 1972 to be replaced by Buddy Liles, who would sing for nearly 30 years with the quartet.
The group went through a bewildering number of tenors in the 1980s, with (among others) Jerry Trammell, Johnny Cook, Mark Flaker, Don Thomas, Terry Davis, Greg Cook, and Billy Hodges. It was Thomas who appeared on what is perhaps the group’s biggest hit, 1982’s “When He Was On The
Cross, I Was On His Mind”.
Allen Cox’s arrival in the 1990s stabilized the tenor position, and in 1994, Les Beasley did what no other quartet manager would consider doing. He stepped down from his lead singer position and hired a talented young man named Josh Garner to replace him. Les’ son Clark had sung occasionally prior to that, but Garner’s hiring helped push the quartet back up to a top position among the industry’s quartets.
And if that move hinted that the Florida Boys intended to remain a force in the quartet field, the arrival of Gene McDonald after Buddy Liles’ retirement in the 1990s proved that they meant business. McDonald’s extraordinary range and depth was perhaps unmatched among bass singers of the day. McDonald quickly became a major showpiece of the group.
By 1997, Beasley had been placed in the SGMA Hall Of Fame, certainly a most deserving recipient. He has been a successful televison producer, one of the industry’s most visible and respected leaders, and he also is credited with naming the Dove Awards as well when that idea was made reality. Beasley and son Clark remain among the leading power brokers in the gospel music industry.
In 2001, Allred joined Beasley in the Hall Of Fame, and the colorful Stewart came along in 2004. Not many groups could boast of having three Hall of Famers traveling and playing key roles with their group.
In addition, the Florida Boys are key figures at the annual Grand Old Gospel Reunion. Older members of the group like Atwood and Todd entertain the crowds there by singing their old songs the way they used to back in the day.
With McDonald’s resignation last year, it’s possible that the three longtime members (and owners) of the group started to consider the idea of retirement, and so the announcement was made in May that the quartet, on the verge of 60 years of continous touring across the land, would finally call it a career.
As I said, there are other published items which go far deeper into the history of the Florida Boys than I did here. This was not meant to be an exhaustive look back at one of gospel’s most renowned and revered groups, just an affectionate look back and a “thank you” to Les Beasley, Glen Allred, Derrell Stewart, Billy Todd, Tommy Atwood, and yes, Josh Garner, Gene McDonald, Buddy Liles, and the late Coy Cook and the late JG Whitfield as well.
Thanks for nearly 60 great years of devotion and service to gospel music, and for Les, Glen, and Darrell, enjoy retirement. You’ve certainly earned it.
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[14] Comments
Actually, Terry Davis recorded "When He was On The Cross, I Was On His Mind" but left the group shortly after. But Don Thomas made it popular everywhere.
Perhaps you're correct, Aaron...but you've got to admit it was tough to tell exactly WHO was singing tenor at any given moment in the early 1980s for the Florida Boys...that was as much of a "revolving door" position as was any ever in gospel music.
I wonder if Allen Cox will return to sing tenor now that the Florida Boys will only be doing a few shows?
Written: 07/01/2007 
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SG History 101
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