Tony Cummings chronicles the lives and music of Sullivan and Iola Pugh, better known as THE CONSOLERS

Between 1955 and 1960 Nashboro released around eight singles and all of them sold well. 1959's "Every Christian Mother" was a particular congregation pleaser. In 1964 Pugh penned another song on the theme of parenthood which proved to be The Consolers' biggest ever hit. "Waiting For My Child To Come Home" had a heartstring-pulling narrative lyric. "I was talking to a lady a few days ago/And these are the words she said/If you see my child somewhere as you travel here and there/Tell him I am waiting for my child to come home/Lord my child may be somewhere in some lonely jail/Is there someone to pay his bail?/Lord my child may be somewhere lost in sick bed/Is there someone to rub his aching head?/I am waiting and waiting for my child to come/I am waiting and waiting for my child to come/If you can't come home will you please send me a letter?/A letter would mean so much to me/If I only knew which town my child is in/I would be there on the early morning train/And no matter what the crime/Lord you know this child of mine/Lord I am waiting for my child to come home."

By the '60s gospel albums were beginning to appear and collections by The Consolers like 1961's 'Give Me My Flowers' (originally released as 'The Consolers'), 1963's 'Heart Warming Spirituals', 1964's 'Joy In The Morning', 1965's 'Sweet Memories' and 1966's 'Songs Of Inspiration' all sold well to black church goers charmed and encouraged by the Pughs' folksy songs and personas. Sherry Sherrod DuPree wrote about The Consolers' decidedly unsophisticated image. "Sister Pugh always wore a natural Afro hair style, no makeup or jewelry. The Pughs performed in robes or clothes that did not promote 'worldliness'. They were called Brother and Sister Pugh because men are brothers and women are sisters in a tradition of the Holiness church."

To the European audience The Consolers remained almost completely unknown though in the UK pop label President Records released The Consolers' 1967 album 'Soul Of The Consolers' along with some other albums from the Nashboro roster by acts like Edna Gallmon Cooke and The Brooklyn Allstars. But none of them sold very well either to Christians or in the white blues and gospel market. Back in the US in 1969 The Consolers enjoyed another success with the single "May The Work I've Done Speak For Me". But into the '70s The Consolers had lost most of their African American radio support and therefore their big sales, with the black church audience preferring more sophisticated gospel forms. But The Consolers continued to perform regularly in the Southern States.

In 1972 gospel expert, record producer and author of the seminal The Gospel Sound, Anthony Heilbut produced a gospel concert for The Newport Jazz Festival and got The Consolers on the bill. Commented Heilbut, "That may have been their only 'worldly' appearance. But they were great in church, particularly Sister Pugh, who could just sweep through a congregation."

Record-wise, things were slowly winding down for The Consolers. Commented Sullivan, "We went with Savoy Records out of New York for a couple of recordings. It didn't work out too good because when Nashboro sold out, we went with Savoy Records. Then Savoy sold out to Malaco Records. Then we went on and signed with Atlanta International Records. We stayed there for a short while, but none of those records was as successful for us as Nashboro was."

Pops Staples recorded a version of The Consolers' "Waiting For My Child" for his 1994 Grammy winning 'Father Father' CD. But also in 1994 Iola Pugh passed away. Explained Sullivan, "She suffered like most black people with sugar diabetes and high blood pressure. I guess it got the best of her.' She died on 11 October 1994. There was not a lot of family left for Pugh to lean on. They never had children of their own although they raised Iola's nephew as their own child.

Sullivan was to marry again, his second wife Margie being a teacher in the Miami-Dade public schools. Gradually, as the years rolled on The Consolers' contribution to gospel music history came to be remembered. Numerous compilations of their recordings began to appear in the CD racks. And in 2001 gospel matriarch Shirley Caesar cut a passionately bluesy version of Sullivan's "How Long Has It Been" for her 'Hymns' album. America's white folk and blues audiences were also becoming aware of The Consolers' classic recordings.

In 2002, Brother Pugh received the Florida Folk Heritage Award in Tallahassee for The Consolers' recordings and songs. In October 2003, The Consolers were inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall Of Fame and Museum in Detroit, Michigan. Master of Ceremonies Dr Bobby Jones, from Black Entertainment Television (BET) and stated that Sullivan Pugh was a pioneer who made the way for all contemporary gospel singers. The audience sang the Pugh composition "May The Work I've Done Speak For Me" and Sullivan's pastor, Bishop Watson, came to support his church member's prestigious award.

Despite ill health Sullivan continued to sing. In August 2004 Malaco Records invited a number of old traditional gospel groups to Jackson, Mississippi, to record a live video, 'Gospel Legends'. Pugh remembered, "It was a reunion of Shirley Caesar, Ira Tucker from the Dixie Hummingbirds, Dorothy Norwood, Margaret Wells Allison from the Angelic Gospel Singers, Albertina Walker from The Caravans and many others who performed for two days singing and talking about the golden era of gospel music and other historical events."

Brother Sullivan S Pugh finally went to be with the Lord on 30th December 2010, dying at his home in Miami. He continued to attend the First Born Church Of The Living God in Miami right up to the end and oversaw the Consolers Progressive Charity Club, helping the needy with food, clothes and some cash donations. He left behind a rich recorded legacy. As Tony Heilbut wrote in The Gospel Sound, "[The Consolers'] simple country approach stresses such sturdy virtues as humility ('It I'm Too High, Lord Bring Me Down'); kindliness ('Give Me My Flowers While I'm Still Living'); and mother love ('I'm Waiting For My Child To Come Home', 'Every Christian Mother Surely Prayed For Her Child'), and made them among the biggest gospel record sellers after James Cleveland."