The Lewis Family is a family of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

ians from Lincolnton,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. They are known as the "First Family of Bluegrass Gospel".

Background

The family was founded by Pop and Mom Lewis (Roy Lewis Sr. and Pauline Lewis, née Holloway), who married in 1925. In 1951 they chose the name The Lewis Family when singing at a Woodmen of the World meeting. Later that year, they did their first recording sessions, released on Sullivan Records.

Career

In 1954, they were offered a slot performing weekly on a television show in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, where they would appear until 1992. They began recording for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

in 1957 and continued recording prolifically for

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

, Riversong, Daywind, and others; they have released nearly 60 albums. The Lewis Family started touring regularly in the 1960s, continuing into the 2000s; several generations of family members have entered the group as time passed. They also held an annual festival in their hometown, the Lewis Family Homecoming & Bluegrass Festival. The Lewis Family joined producers

Randall Franks Randall Franks is an American film and television actor, author, and bluegrass singer and musician who plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and mountain dulcimer. He was inducted into the Tri-State Gospel Music Hall of Fame (Georgia, Tennessee and Al ...

and

Alan Autry Carlos Alan Autry Jr. (also known for a time as Carlos Brown; born July 31, 1952), is an American actor, politician, and former National Football League player. During his brief football career, he was known as Carlos Brown. He played the role ...

for the

In the Heat of the Night (TV Series) ''In the Heat of the Night'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series loosely based on the 1967 film and 1965 novel of the same title. It starred Emmy winner Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Emmy and Osc ...

cast CD "Christmas Time's A Comin'" performing "Christmas Time's A Comin'" with the cast on the CD released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers. Group members Travis Lewis and Lewis Phillips also assisted the cast with the song "Jingle Bells." Franks, also a bluegrass fiddler, made numerous appearances through the years with the family in concert. Due to the declining health of several members, the Lewis Family announced its retirement in May 2009; they performed their final regular concert on September 5, 2009, in Dover, Pennsylvania. On November 7, 2009, the family returned home to Lincolnton to perform a farewell concert. The Lewis Family's original home, built by Pop, is currently being restored by Jeff and Sheri Easter. Sheri is the daughter of Polly Lewis Copsey. In 2011 The Lewis Family played and sang at A Dukes Of Hazzard Festival in Sperryville VA.

Recognition

The group was inducted into the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...

in 1992 and the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

in 2006. They have also won a number of

Dove award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis Family, The American bluegrass music groups Family musical groups Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Lincolnton, Georgia Southern gospel performers Starday Records artists