The Sons of the Soul Revivers made their debut on July 4, 1970, at Friendship Baptist Church in South San Francisco.
Fifty years later, the acclaimed Bay Area gospel music troupe is still going strong, having just released the terrific new studio album “Songs We’ll Always Sing — A Tribute to the Pilgrim Jubilees.”
“We are very excited. And very thankful, obviously,” lead vocalist James Morgan says of the band’s milestone anniversary. “Through the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, we decided we want to keep this thing going. We are in love — we eat, drink and breathe — traditional gospel quartet (music).
“I cannot think of any other group — no matter what style of music it is — that I would want to be apart of outside of the Sons of the Soul Survivors.”
The Vallejo band — which also features Morgan’s brothers Dwayne on vocals and Walter Jr. on vocals and guitar — will celebrate the release of the new album with a live-streamed concert from San Jose at 7 p.m. July 12. Tune in to the the virtual blues/R&B/soul concert site Can’t Stop the Blues, facebook.com/CantStopTheBlues to watch the show, which also will serve as a de facto anniversary party for the Sons.
“Fifty years in the making — and, God willing, at least 20 more,” Morgan says. “That’s what I am looking for.”
The Sons of the Soul Revivers may be celebrating a half century of making music, but they are carrying on a family tradition that stretches back much further.
The Morgan siblings were raised in San Francisco by parents who were both active in gospel music groups. Their mother, Idanelle, sang with the Daughters of Triumph. And their father, Walter Sr., had worked with a number of groups since the ‘40s, including the Silver Four, the True Tones and the Soul Revivers.
It was the latter, of course, which would factor into the decision to take the name the Sons of the Soul Revivers when the band made its Independence Day debut 50 years ago.
At the time, the group consists of 9-year-old Walter Jr., brother Sydney and some cousins. A few years later, James decided he wanted to sing in the family band after attending a concert in Oakland by Detroit’s Fantastic Violinaires, featuring the charismatic lead vocalist Robert Blair.
“I thought he was larger than life,” says James Morgan, who was 7 years old when he joined the Sons of the Soul Revivers. “I knew that I wanted to be just like him.”
Since then, the band’s lineup has changed several times, with Walter Jr. being its only remaining original member. (Along with the three Morgan siblings, the current lineup consists of drummer Ronnie Smith and bassist DaQuantae Johnson, who provides the fourth voice in the Sons’ gospel quartet sound.)
After honing its sound on the live stage for years, the group recorded its first album, 1989’s “It Should Have Been Me,” at the San Francisco studio of Melvin Seals (well-known for his work with Elvin Bishop and Jerry Garcia). A second effort — “Help Me Lift His Holy Name,” recorded live at Union Baptist Church in Vallejo — landed in 1998, followed by other releases.
Along the way, the group caught the attention of Jim Pugh, who signed the Sons to a deal on his nonprofit record company, Southern California’s Little Village Foundation. The first offering from that deal was the concert outing “Live! At Rancho Nicasio,” which was recorded in Marin County. And now comes “Tribute to the Pilgrim Jubilees,” an homage to the iconic gospel outfit thayt has been around since the mid-1930s.
The idea for the project first came up about six years ago, when the Pilgrim Jubilees’ two lead vocalists — Cleve and Clay Graham — came to the Bay Area to perform. The Grahams needed a backup band for the occasion, so they brought in the Sons for a tryout and they seemingly impressed as they played the traditional gospel number “Tis the Old Ship of Zion.”
“Cleve said, ‘You know what? As long as groups like you guys are still around, the Pilgrim Jubilees will never die.’” James Morgan remembers. “And that’s when I got the idea — ‘You know what? It would be great to do a tribute album to the Pilgrim Jubilees.’”
The result is a glorious collection of harmonies and songs, which Morgan hopes will provide both comfort and joy to listeners. He believes that gospel music has an opportunity to shine during these troubled times, when our nation is so divided and outrage is everywhere to be found.
“People in this world are in disarray — and the only hope we have is Jesus Christ,” he says. “Like Jesus said to the woman at the well, there will come a time when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. And now is that time.”
The Morgan brothers’ conviction of purpose — to bring gospel music to the people and, in doing so, honor God — is quite evident. They live modest lives, with all three siblings sharing the same house in Vallejo with their father, Walter Sr. And they have all worked “day jobs” over the years to pay the bills. Yet, Morgan says that the Sons of the Soul Revivers is aiming for something that is even more important than fame and fortune.
“What our job is – what our assignment is – is we spread the Good News that Jesus Christ is alive and well and that He is available to you if you reach out,” he says.
And the true riches come when the Sons of the Soul Revivers see someone grasp hold of that message, such as one woman who approached the band right after it had finished performing at a blues festival.
“She came up to us after we sang and she told us that she had contemplated committing suicide. She was that unhappy,” Morgan says. “But she heard the message. And she found out that life is worth living. Because the reality of it is that if you are living in this world you are going to have some problems. Nobody is exempt from getting sick or losing loved ones. We just want the world to know, through our music, there is joy, there is hope. You can be happy if you choose to.
“I choose to be happy because I know in my heart that there is hope, because I believe in God and His son Jesus. And I believe that, at the end of my day, that He has used us – the Sons of the Soul Revivers – as one of His tools, one of His vessels, to spread that love throughout the world.”