Blackwood Quartet to play free concert at First Baptist Church

Blackwood Quartet to play free concert at First Baptist Church

The community is invited to enjoy a free gospel concert by the Fabulous Blackwood Quartet at 6 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the First Baptist Church of Olney. Mark Blackwood and the Fabulous Blackwood Quartet perform around the world, and the original group’s name is legendary in gospel circles. The quartet was formed in 1934 in the hills of Choctaw County, Mississippi. They played at camp meetings and other church events throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Inthe 1940s, they moved to Iowa, where they had a live broadcast on the radio. In1954, they won first place and a recording contract on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts on CBS. The same year, the group lost two members in a plane crash near Clanton, Alabama. They were the first gospel group to sell over 1 million records. They have won eight Grammuys amd 27 Dove Awards and have been inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame.