J.J. Farley, 73, the manager of the Soul Stirrers gospel singers, helped found the group in the mid-1930s. It has since then had a major impact on rock `n` roll as well as other on gospel music.
Services for Mr. Farley, a resident of the Chatham neighborhood, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Fellowship Baptist Church, 45th Place and Princeton Avenue. He died Tuesday in South Chicago Community Hospital.
The group, with Mr. Farley singing with them, was recently part of the Broadway play ”Gospel at Colonus.” They also performed for Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter.
Mr. Farley was born in Pennington, Tex., and moved to Galveston at age 10.
”He grew up going to the country church and that was his tradition,”
said his daughter, JeTaun Jamerson. ”He thought of himself as a country boy. The other original Soul Stirrers were also from Texas, around the area of Pennington. Mr. Farley and the other members moved to Chicago in the late 1930s.”
The group, which initially sang in churches, later shared the stage with singers such as Mahalia Jackson. Its sound is choral and soft.
Sam Cooke, who died at the height of his popularity in 1964, was originally a member of the Soul Stirrers and used the group for backup.
”The Soul Stirrers` music and soft rock were so close to each other that Sam said he sometimes had to change only a word or two to convert the gospel song to rock,” Mr. Farley`s daughter said. ”You hear Sam and the Soul Stirrers as background singers of songs such as `What a Wonderful World It Would Be` in old movies on TV.”
Other famous lead singers of the group in the past have included Jimmy Outlaw, R. Harris and Johnnie Taylor.
Mr. Farley, along with the Soul Stirrers, was inducted into the American Musical and Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Survivors, besides his daughter, include his wife, Novelle; a son, Jesse R.; six grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.
