Dr. William Herbert Brewster, Sr. (July 2, 1897 – October 15, 1987) was an influential

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister, composer, dramatist, singer, poet and community leader.

Early life

Brewster was born in

Somerville, Tennessee Somerville is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area. The population was 3,415 at the 2020 census, up from 3,094 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fayette County. History The to ...

. A 1922 graduate of Roger Williams College in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, he settled in Memphis in the 1920s; he served as the pastor of the East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church in

South Memphis South Memphis, one of the oldest portions of Memphis, Tennessee, is a community stretching from Midtown and Downtown to the Mississippi state line. In its early days, it was primarily an agrarian community. South Memphis has many well-known neig ...

from 1930 until his death in 1987.

Gospel music compositions

His lasting fame, however, is through his musical compositions. Among his more than 200 published songs are the gospel standards "

Move on Up a Little Higher "Move On Up a Little Higher" is a gospel song written by W. Herbert Brewster, first recorded by Brother John Sellers in late 1946, but most famously recorded on September 12, 1947, by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, a version that sold eight milli ...

" (

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to t ...

's first hit in 1948) and " Surely, God Is Able" (a 1950 hit for The Ward Singers). These songs hold the distinction of being the first million-selling black gospel records. Other Brewster songs that were hits included " Lord I've Tried" (The

Soul Stirrers The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...

), "I'll Go" (Queen C. Anderson), " I'm Climbing Higher and Higher" (

Marion Williams Marion Williams (August 29, 1927 – July 2, 1994) was an American gospel singer. Early years Marion Williams was born in Miami, Florida, to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. She left school when she was nine ...

), and a favorite of African-American gospel choirs, "

Let Us Go Back to the Old Landmark "Let Us Go Back to the Old Landmark", also known as "The Old Landmark", is a gospel song. Sometimes credited as "traditional", it was written by W. Herbert Brewster and published in 1949 in an arrangement by Virginia Davis. It was recorded by Brews ...

," among many others. Though there are several available recordings of Rev. Brewster's gospel groups The Brewster Singers and The Brewsteraires, there are only two vocal recordings of Rev. Brewster himself. Both recordings credited to "Rev. W.H. Brewster And His Camp Meeting Of The Air" appeared on the Gotham single "

Give Me That Old Time Religion ("Give Me That") "Old-Time Religion" (and similar spellings) is a traditional Gospel song dating from 1873, when it was included in a list of Jubilee songs—or earlier. It has become a standard in many Protestant hymnals, though it says nothing a ...

"/"So Glad I've Got Good Religion". Each song features a narration by Rev. Brewster followed by vocals. A 45 RPM exists of two Brewster songs, "Farewell" and "Not One Word," being sung by members of the United Singing Union of Memphis, Tennessee.

Musical dramas

Brewster was also the composer of more than 15 gospel music dramas, including ''From Auction Block to Glory'' (1941) which was the first nationally staged African American religious drama that featured gospel songs written specifically for the production. He was honored by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1982 for his music when it presented his musical drama ''Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy''.

Influence on Elvis Presley

In addition to his vast legacy in the genre of black gospel music, Brewster had a formative influence on a young

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, who occasionally attended services at East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church and listened to Brewster's sermons broadcast on Sunday nights on the "Camp Meeting of the Air" over Memphis radio station WHBQ.

Dewey Phillips Dewey Phillips (May 13, 1926 – September 28, 1968) was one of rock and roll's pioneering American disc jockeys, along the lines of Cleveland's Alan Freed, before Freed came along. Early life Phillips was born in Crump, Tennessee, but spent ...

, radio host of WHBQ's ''Red, Hot and Blue'' often interviewed Dr. Brewster who invited all listeners "black and white, to Sunday night services at East Trigg." According to Presley biographer

Peter Guralnick Peter Guralnick (born December 15, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American music critic, author, and screenwriter. He specializes in the history of early rock and roll and has written on Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke. Caree ...

, "Dr. Brewster constantly preached on the theme that a better day was coming, one in which all men could walk as brothers, while across Memphis

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

listened on his radio every Sunday without fail."

Death

Dr. Brewster died, aged 90, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is buried in the New Park Cemetery.

Legacy

In February 2007, the Memphis City Schools named a new school in the Binghampton community in Brewster's honor as the Dr. William Herbert Brewster Elementary School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, W 1897 births 1987 deaths 20th-century composers Baptists from Tennessee Gospel music composers People from Somerville, Tennessee Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee 20th-century Baptists Religious leaders from Memphis, Tennessee