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This month, I want to focus again on events and people involved in the transportation aspect of the gospel music business. Last month, we looked at one of the more momentous events in gospel music history…this month, we’ll take a closer look at what that spawned.

To recapitulate a bit, the way gospel singers travelled from performance to performance in the beginning of professional gospel singing was with whatever means the artists had at their disposal…from horseback to buggies to early automobiles.

Naturally, all this was subject to the many perils that befell anyone else using those modes of travel…but because gospel singers always wanted to sing to as many people as they could, they endured whatever obstacles that came their way.

As automobiles became faster, smoother, more spacious and dependable modes of travel, traveling groups began to obtain the largest and roomiest cars they could find, and pile into them, trying as best they could to get regular sleep on long trips by taking regular shifts behind the wheel. When they weren’t driving, they tried their best to stretch out in the passenger quarters, towing their sound equipment and whatever merchandise they had to sell (songbooks or recordings) in a trailer behind the vehicle.

Naturally, there were limits as to just how comfortable and rested singers could be under such circumstances, let alone looking well-dressed and groomed as they travelled from venue to venue. Appreciative audiences were thankful for the time and effort the singers undertook to sing to them in person.

But it was only to be expected that groups who had the means would do whatever they could to improve the methods and efficiency involved in all aspects of their operation, whether it was performance, technique, marketing or travel.

1954 (L-R), RW Blackwood (holding the door), James Blackwood, Jack Marshall, Bill Shaw, and Bill Lyles

And it did all that…until the tragic plane crash of June 1954 that resulted in the tragic deaths of R. W. Blackwood and Bill Lyles. After that tragedy, the Blackwood Brothers went back to the seven-passenger limousines that were still the vogue in the business.

JD Sumner

For weeks on end, Sumner talked of almost nothing but getting a bus and how much more efficient and comfortable it would be for traveling singers. He kept pitching the idea to group manager James Blackwood, as well as the other members of the quartet. His ideas at first were met with ridicule, which made the stubborn and determined Sumner all the more intent on putting the Blackwood Brothers in a bus.

Sumner had done his homework, and investigated the possibilities. Finally he delivered the clincher to James Blackwood. He told his boss that he could sell the group’s 1954 Cadillac and trailer, and have enough left to put the group into a bus. With that, Blackwood gave Sumner the go-ahead to do what he thought he could do.

Blackwood Brothers' first bus

So by the summer of 1955, the Blackwood Brothers were the first entertainment group of any kind to travel from venue to venue in their own private, air-conditioned bus.

Most of the other touring gospel groups were skeptical that a bus would work for a group. They, like JD’s comrades in the Blackwood Brothers, poked fun at JD and the Blackwood Brothers' bus.

Sumner became more determined than ever to prove to everyone in gospel music that a bus was the way to go. He tried to sell as many of the other artists in the business that he could that his bus idea would work for them as well.

The group had hired a driver upon getting the bus, a man named Buddy Darvis. And in the first few months, the upkeep on the bus was nearly $1100 a month. It was the consensus of the group that Darvis was rough on the bus, and since the whole thing was his idea, Sumner was expected to address the situation.

So Sumner let Darvis go, and assumed the responsibility of driving, as well as taking care of the bus. This was difficult, to be sure, singing night after night, then driving the bus long distances to the next concert, and sleeping when he could. But since Sumner was determined to prove that the bus was the way to go, he did that for the next six months or so. Finally, the group members were convinced that the bus WAS the way to go. Not only were they more comfortable and rested than ever before, but the total cost of repairs during the time JD drove the bus was only $18, proof where it mattered most, that if one was conscientious about taking care of the bus, it truly did save time, energy, and money.

By this time, all of the Blackwood Brothers were convinced that the bus was the way to go. Still, there were doubters. Among the most persistent were the Blackwood Brothers’ business partners, Hovie Lister and the Statesmen. Despite Sumner’s attempts to persuade them to go the bus route as well, they resisted, opting to continue traveling in their seven-passenger limousine that they owned. En route to their mutual destinations, the Statesmen would arrive at the hotels forty-five minutes or so ahead of the Blackwoods, and make a big show of pointing at their watches when the Blackwoods would finally arrive in their bus. Finally, Sumner had enough.

1955 in the comfortable easy chairs (L-R) are Cecil Blackwood, James Blackwood, driver Buddy Darvis standing, JD Sumner, Bill Shaw, and Jack Marshall.

Initially, Hess balked at the idea, saying he didn’t want to ride in the bus, but Sumner kept persuading him that it was really important that they talk. When he was sure the other Statesmen had left, he sprang into action with his scheme. He put Hess in his easy chair on the Blackwood bus, confessed to Hess that he really didn’t have urgent business to discuss, put a pillow behind Hess’ head, and told him, “Now relax, go to sleep, and we’ll talk in Fort Worth. I want you to see how it is to ride the right way.”

So off they went, and on the way, Hess fell asleep. When Sumner finally woke him, it was right in front of the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth. The first thing Hess reportedly said when waking was, “We gotta buy us a bus!” When Hess got inside the hotel, he immediately went to the breakfast grill where Hovie Lister was eating breakfast. The two had a short conversation, then Lister came to Sumner and said, “Where can we get a bus?”

As it turned out, the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen both bought brand-new buses, had them custom made, and the Statesmen became the second group to opt for a bus as transportation. Of course, in those days, whatever the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen did, other groups would follow as best they could. Before too long, most of the top traveling groups in the industry traveled in buses. And as performers in other fields of music noticed what the gospel groups were doing, they too began to use customized buses to travel in. All this because JD Sumner had the foresight and determination to insist that the bus was the way for a traveling group to go.

Even if Sumner had not been one of the greatest gospel singers to ever grace a stage (which he was), or one of the most prolific songwriters (which he also was), or one of the true leaders of the industry, it’s conceivable that he would have made the GMA and SGMA Halls of Fame (which he did) merely for having the ingenuity and drive to pioneer the bus as the principal form of travel for professional gospel singing groups.

In a future article, I’ll salute some of the people who drove those buses and their adventures, for surely they were some of the most interesting people to ever be involved in the history of gospel music. I'll also cover some more of the stories of our favorite gospel singers on the road.

Reader Comments

Once again, John, great job. You find the most interesting aspects of the history of the industry to share with us.

Come see what’s up at Jim’s Gems

Excellent article John!

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