James Blackwood
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James Webre Blackwood (August 4, 1919 - February 3, 2002) was a noted American gospel music singer. Born in Choctaw County, Mississippi, James was the youngest boy in a musical family steeped in the music of the Church of God. He formed the Blackwood Brothers Quartet in the 1930s along with his two older brothers and a nephew. Their career skyrocketed in the early 1950s when they won a competition on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scout" television program and they were signed to record with RCA Victor, a large secular label. Two group members were killed in a plane crash in 1954, which devastated the quartet. J. D. Sumner and Cecil Blackwood joined the group at that time and Wally Varner soon joined the group on piano.
James Blackwood and J. D. Sumner are noted for jointly designing the first bus for group touring purposes. They also started the National Quartet Convention. Ultimately, they purchased the Stamps Quartet and Sumner left the Blackwood Brothers to manage that group.
Following the formation of the Gospel Music Association (GMA) in 1964, Blackwood served on the GMA board of directors. In 1971, Blackwood found himself at the center of an ethical scandal over methods the Blackwood Brothers used when selling GMA memberships at concerts. Ultimately, the Dove Awards were nullified for that year and Blackwood issued an apology to the industry.
In the 1980s, Blackwood joined Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, J. D. Sumner, and Rosie Rozell to form the Masters V. After that group disbanded, he started the James Blackwood Quartet along with some former Blackwood Brothers members. Blackwood was also a frequent guest on the Gaither Homecoming videos in the 1990s until his death in 2002. He was inducted into the SGMA Hall Of Fame in 1997.
