The Fairfield Four

The Fairfield Four
Genres	A cappella, gospel
Years active	1921–present
Members
Reverend Sam McCrary James Hill (baritone) Isaac 'Dickie' Freeman (bass) Willie Richardson Robert Hamlett Ed Hall Joe Thompson Edward Thomas (tenor) Willie Frank Lewis (utility)
Past members
Harold Carrethers (baritone) Rufus Carrethers (bass) John Battle (lead) Lattimer Green (second lead) Wilson 'Lit' Waters Roscoe Shelton^[1] Bobby Hebb^[1]

The Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921.^[2] They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. As a quintet, they featured briefly in the motion picture O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

The group gained more popular recognition after appearing on John Fogerty's 1997 album Blue Moon Swamp, singing on the track "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade". They also undertook live appearances with Fogerty.

1 Awards
2 Discography
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

Awards

National Endowment for the Arts, National Heritage Award, 1989
Tennessee Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994
Nashville Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995
James Cleveland Stellar Award, 1996
Grammy Award, Best Traditional Gospel Recording, for I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, 1997
Gospel Music Hall of Fame, inducted in 1999

Discography

Singles

"Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around/Standing in The Safety Zone", Dot, 1947
"When I Get up in Heaven/Amazing Grace", Dot, 1947
"Tree of Level/Jesus Met the Woman at the Well", Dot, 1949
"Dear Lord, Look Down Upon Me/Savior Don't Pass Me By", Dot, 1949
"In The Wilderness/Let Me Tell You About Jesus", Dot, 1949
"In The Upper Room/I'll Tell The World", Dot, 1950
"I Don't Know Why I Have to Cry/When I Move in the Room", Dot, 1950
"Don't Drive Your Children Away/Does Jesus Care", Dot, 1950
"Nobody To Depend On/Old Time Religion", Dot, 1950
"No Room at the Inn/Talking About Jesus", Dot, 1950
"I Love The Name Jesus/Leave Them There", Dot, 1950
"On My Journey Now/Love Like a River", Dot, 1950
"Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow/Don't Drive Her Away", Dot, 1950
"Packing Every Burden/Don't Leave Me", Dot, 1951]
"My Prayer/Come on to This Altar", Dot, 1951
"Waiting for Me/Angels Watching", Dot, 1951
"I'm in Your Care/I Can Tell You the Time", Dot, 1951
"When We Bow/Let's Go", Dot, 1951
"Hope To Shout in Glory/All the Way", Dot, 1951
"I'll Be Satisfied/I've Got Good Religion", Dot, 1951
"Come Over Here/Who Is That Knocking", Dot, 1953
"His Eye Is on the Sparrow/Every Day", Dot, 1953
"How I Got Over/This Evening Our Father", Dot, 1953
"Stand by Me/Hear Me When I Pray", Dot, 1953
"When The Battle Is Over/Standing on the Rock", Dot, 1953
"Somebody Touched Me/Mother Don't Worry", Dot, 1953
"We Never Grow Old/Jesus in Heaven", Dot, 1954
"God Knows I'm a Pilgrim/Heaven in My View", Dot, 1954

Albums

Standing in the Safety Zone, Warner Bros. Records, 1992
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, Warner Bros. Records, 1997
Wreckin' the House, Dead Reckoning, 1998
Fairfield Four and Friends Live from Mountain Stage, Blue Plate, 2000
The Bells Are Tolling, Ace, 2001
Road to Glory, Fuel, 2001
Beautiful Stars, Isaac Freeman and the Bluebloods, Lost Highway, 2002

Other contributions

"Lonesome Valley", on O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack), 2000
Lifted: Songs of the Spirit (2002, Sony/Hear Music) - "Roll Jordan Roll"

References

^ ^a ^b "Roscoe Shelton". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p169767/biography. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
^ "The Fairfield Four"

External links

Performances on the Prairie Home Companion
Zolten, Jerry, Great God A' Mighty!:The Dixie Hummingbirds - Celebrating The Rise Of Soul Gospel Music, Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-515272-7.