The Blackwood Brothers Quartet will give a free concert at the First United Methodist Church, Friday, July 19th, at 7 p.m.
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet was formed in 1934 with brothers Roy, Doyle, James and Roy’s son, RW. RW was killed in a plane crash in 1954 and Roy and Doyle retired from traveling in the late ’50s. However the quartet with James, as the quartet’s leader and spokesman, established a new group of singers who would go on to take Gospel music to new heights. They have traveled and sung in all 50 of the United States, every Canadian province as well as cities in Great Britain, Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand South Korea, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
James, the last surviving member of the original quartet, died in 2002, but his youngest son Billy continues the family tradition of great gospel singing. The group today consists of Billy Blackwood baritone, Wayne Little tenor, Butch Owens bass, and Jonathan Mattingly as lead singer.
A free-will offering will be taken at the end of the concert to help defray the quartet’s travel expenses. For more information call The First United Methodist Church at 620-223-1950 or Don Tucker at 620-223-4617.