Skylite Recording Company is a

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

based

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

label started by

The Statesmen Quartet The Statesmen Quartet (also known as Hovie Lister and The Statesmen Quartet) were an American southern gospel quartet founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered the ...

and

The Blackwood Brothers The Blackwood Brothers are an American southern gospel quartet. Pioneers of the Christian music industry, they are 8-time Grammy Award winners in addition to winning 7 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. They are also members of the Memphis M ...

in 1959. Along with The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen Quartet, Skylite signed, among others, The Speer Family, and the Oak Ridge Quartet (later renamed

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

). In 1966, the Statesmen-Blackwood team sold the record company to a group of investors led by Joel Gentry, with main offices on Music Row in Nashville, Tenn.

History

Amidst the popularity of

(specifically when they switched to country music and the hit

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. First recorded in medieval Spain, it is likely of Germanic (Gothic) origin. Elvira may refer to: People Nobility * Elvira Menéndez (died 921), daughter of Hermenegildo Gutiérrez and wife of Ordoño II of León ...

), many compilations were made with some of the material from their Skylite recordings. Even though Oaks baritone William Lee Golden only appeared on two Skylite recordings, and Oaks lead Duane Allen only appeared on part of one, and Oaks bass Richard Sterban and Oaks tenor Joe Bonsall appeared on none of these, these covers often showed the current group. Nonetheless, often the same songs are rehashed over several recordings while many others from this era are ignored. The Ken Gaub family recorded with Skylite in the early 1970s, and as Christian Rock began Eternity Express (one of the early groups) also made several records with this label. From the 1960s through the 1990s, Skylite was one of the pre-eminent southern gospel recording companies in the nation, having released projects by virtually every prominent group of that genre over four decades, including (in addition to those already named above) J.D. Sumner and The Stamps Quartet, Jake Hess, The Imperials, The Masters V, Florida Boys, Harmoneers, Kingsmen, Prophets, Rebels, The Weatherfords, The Martins, Blue Ridge Quartet, Gospel Harmony Boys, Swanee River Boys, The Smitty Gatlin Trio, and many, many other major groups and soloists. The company received numerous industry awards and accolades, including Grammy awards for recordings by Skylite artists, including The Blackwood Brothers. Eventually the Sing Music Company, owned by

The LeFevres The LeFevres, or The Singing LeFevres, were an American Southern gospel singing group, active for nearly 50 years in the middle of the twentieth century. The LeFevres were a family from Smithville, Tennessee, and their singing group centered on b ...

, was bought and merged with Skylite as Skylite-Sing. The original masters are rumored to have been destroyed in a fire.

History

References

See also