Live: The Statesmen Quartet - Just a Little While

Just a Little While
written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett
performed by The Statesmen Quartet featuring Hovie Lister
live on The Wally Fowler Show, circa July 1961

The only problem I have with this clip is the date. The screen boasts 1959. Rosie Rozell joined the group in 1958 and Jake Hess left, to form The Imperials, in 1963. Hovie mentioned that this song is featured on one of their RCA Victor albums. The song, indeed, appears on their "Through The States with The Statesmen and Hovie Lister" (RCA Victor LSP-2351) but, that was recorded, in live performance, on 15 November 1960!

Just about every line-up this legendary group had pre-1973 were winners. The debate will live on but, this is my second favorite group of Statesmen. The Statesmen Quartet could NEVER sound right without Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington. When he died on 3 October 1973, The Statesmen, and the Southern Gospel community, was never the same again. When it came to bass singing, Wetherington and J. D. Sumner set the mark all that followed had to toe.

The Crumpler-Hess-Ott-Wetherington group will always be "The Perfect Quartet" but, this group came mightly close! Just as there would never be another Big Chief, there would never be another tenor like Denver Dale Crumpler. Cat Freeman, who Crumpler replaced, came back for a little while but, it was a policeman from Oklahoma named Rosie Rozell became the high tenor vocie for the 1960s era Statesmen.

And, in case you did not know, from Atlanta, GA, The Statesmen Quartet in this clip are Rosie Rozell (tenor), Jake Hess (lead), Doy Ott (baritone), Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington (bass), and Hovie Lister (baritone/piano).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Statesmen
• Quartet
• Just
• Little
• While
• Wally
• Fowler
• live
• southern
• gospel

[sensibleadult]

Is it possible to purchase a video of this?

[larmoe542]

I heard this the night after it was recorded!!!

[CadillacL]

There's no other Quartet IMO, that set the standard in gospel.

[nancycarollo]

Awesome.....BEST quartet ever in my humble opinion!!!