Tony Cummings charts the history of seminal jubilee harmonizers THE COLEMAN BROTHERS

On 24th January 1934 Carrie, wife of Wallace Coleman (who had sung baritone in Lander's first Coleman Brothers group) gave birth to Cynthia Coleman, child prodigy. Under the stage name of Ann Cole, Cynthia became a hot R&B singer during the 1950s. Lander was immediately taken by Cynthia's singing talent and she in turn drew courage and inspiration from him. At age 12 she was singing in her grandfather's, the Rev William Coleman, church in Boxhall, New Jersey. She was often featured on Coleman Brothers concerts with stellar talent such as the Golden Gate Quartet (who had been firm friends with the Colemans since the beginning of their illustrious career) and the Southern Sons.

By 1949, when she was only 15, Cynthia had formed her own gospel group, the Colemanaires, comprised of Coleman clan members, all of whom were cousins. Rev Joe Walker sat in on piano and sang first tenor. Sam Walker was second tenor and Welsey Johnson sang baritone. Both Cynthia and Joe shared lead vocals most of the time. The group went on to become one of Newark's most exciting gospel acts. In 1953-54 they recorded a total of five records for Apollo and Timely but in 1956 Cynthia crossed into R&B.

In January 1949 Decca reissued the Coleman Brothers' "Low Down The Chariot" on their Coral subsidiary, and Manor reissued "Plenty Of Room In The Kingdom" on their Apollo imprint. By late 1949 the Colemans had appeared with virtually every major gospel performer on the circuit, including Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Regal Records' A&R man Howard Biggs was searching for background singers to support some of the label's talent. Biggs, who was a fan of the group, took the outfit to Fred Mendelsohn at Regal and the contract was signed.

The Coleman Brothers' first Regal outing was behind R&B hitmaker Paul Gayten on his vocal interpretation of Huddie Leadbetter's "Goodnight Irene". The record sold fairly well. After the Ray-O-Vacs' success, the Coleman label was picked up by one of the Mid-West's leading distributors, United in Chicago. By 1951 the Coleman Brothers' touring schedule had chalked up an annual average of 50,000 miles, spanning the years 1948-1951. Following two secular sessions for Regal, from which two single releases emerged, the group decided to come off the road. Constant travelling had taken its toll on everybody.

Lander Coleman took over ownership and management of a North Newark supper club and kept it running for many years. In November 1952 Larry Smith (formerly of Derby Records) took over general management at Coleman Records while big band arranger Benny Wells assumed control of A&R. The Coleman label folded in 1954 and the catalogue was eventually absorbed into Herman Lubinsky's Savoy in 1960, a year after Melvin's death. Finally, in 1974 Lander returned to the recording studio with a fresh set of Coleman Brothers, this time with Savoy Records calling the shots. This group consisted of Lander (first tenor), John Bryant (second tenor), Millard G Thomas (tenor), Fred Perry (baritone) and AJ Eldridge (bass). The result was the album 'Milky White Way'. The title track was given a righteous treatment as was a retread of "My Prayer" and "Gospel Train". But the Coleman Brothers were no longer the big name they once were and the album didn't sell. Lander Coleman lived on for another two decades and more before passing away in Irvington, New Jersey on 3rd May 2001.

As Opal Louis Nations (the gospel expert whose 'The Coleman Brothers' sleevenote sourced the bulk of this article) wrote, "Had the group been allowed to record acapella, we might have caught a glimpse of bygone artistry. However, they might have been able to try this had it not been for the fact that Perry and Bryant got in the way of a hail of bullets during an armed robbery in New York. Good news is they were not seriously hurt and survived the attack. But the outcome resulted in the disbandment of the group."

Today the Coleman Brothers' vast contribution to gospel music history has subsequently been largely forgotten. We can but hope that that will, one day, be rectified.