The Fairfield Four

The Fairfield Four is an American gospel group that has existed for over 90 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. They also appeared on the song "There Will Be Peace in the Valley for Me" by Dolly Parton on her 2003 studio album For God and Country. They were later featured on the song "Rock of Ages" by Amy Grant & Vince Gill on Grant's 2005 studio album Rock of Ages... Hymns and Faith.

The Fairfield Four's newest album Still Rockin' My Soul! was released on March 10, 2015, and won the 58th Grammy awards.

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
• Grammy Award for Album of the Year, for contribution in O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, 2002
• Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album, for "Still Rockin' My Soul!" 2015

Discography

Singles

• "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around/Standing in The Safety Zone", Bullet 284, 1947
• "When I Get up in Heaven/Amazing Grace", Bullet 292, 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

• One World, One People, One God, One Religion, Nashboro Records, 1980^[3]
• Angels Watching Over, AVI Records, 1981^[3]
• Revival , Nixon Studio, Nashville TN, 1989
• Standing in the Safety Zone, Warner Bros. Records, 1992
• Standing on the Rock, Nashboro Records, 1995 ^[4]
• 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
• Still Rockin' My Soul, Fairfield Four Records (Distribution by Thirty Tigers, Sony Red, and Provident), March 10, 2015

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

Further reading

• "Fairfield Four" Contemporary Musicians. Ed. Angela M. Pilchak. Vol. 49. Thomson Gale, 2005. March 27, 2007
• Billboard, July 22, 2000, p. 6.
• Capital Times (Madison, WI), June 4, 2001, p. 3A.
• Denver Post, July 31, 1998, p. E7.
• Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia), July 14, 2000, p. 96.
• Independent (London, England), July 12, 2000, p. 6.
• Nashville Scene, February 26, 1998.
• Sarasota Herald Tribune, April 15, 1999, p. 5E.
• Seattle Times, July 8, 2000, p. A4
• Alabama Hall of Fame, (March 19, 2004).
• Bill Friskics-Warren Adding Notes to a Folklorist’s Tunes New York Times December 2, 2007

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.