The Fabulous Blackwood Quartet in Concert August 6

The First Baptist Church of Olney is excited to invite the community to a free gospel concert at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 6, in the FBCO Sanctuary. The concert will featuring the Fabulous Blackwood Quartet. This is the second time the Blackwood Quartet has performed in Olney.

Mark Blackwood and the Fabulous Blackwood Quartet sing gospel music around the world. They also regularly perform as the back-up quartets for many top Elvis impersonators. Last year, when the Quartet sang in Olney, they invited Brother Chad Edgington, Senior Pastor of FBCO, to join them for a few Elvis gospel numbers. Brother Chad was an Elvis impersonator and during his Law School days in Lubbock, Texas as a regular performer at the Cactus Theater. He is looking forward to singing again with the quartet.

According to the quartet's biography, the Blackwood name is legendary in the gospel music industry. The Blackwood Brothers Quartet was formed in 1934. Roy Blackwood, Doyle Blackwood, their youngest brother, James, along with Roy's oldest son, R.W. Blackwood, founded the original quartet in the hills of Choctaw County, Mississippi.

The Blackwood Brothers performed at camp meetings and other church and community events throughout the 1930's. In 1940, they moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, where they had a live broadcast on the radio.

In 1954, they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on CBS. They won first place and received a recording contract with RCA. They became the first gospel group to sell a million records. On June 30, 1954, the quartet lost two of it's own as R.W. Blackwood and Bill Lyles were killed in an airplane crash in Clanton, Alabama. Following the plane crash, the Blackwoods reformed with Cecil Blackwood singing baritone and J.D. Sumner singing bass.

Mark Blackwood now continues the legacy of the Blackwood Brothers through the Blackwood Quartet. Mark traveled with his dad, Cecil Blackwood for many years. The Blackwood Quartet does not take their heritage in music lightly, nor the responsibility of integrity that goes with it. Come join them at FBCO Olney for a fantastic night of music.