At the height of his powers, the Rev. Julius Cheeks stood as the quintessential hard gospel vocalist, his raw, commanding baritone shaping both the succeeding wave of gospel artists and secular figures such as James Brown and Wilson Pickett. He entered the world in dire poverty on August 7, 1929, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and from an early age was captivated by discs from the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Soul Stirrers, and similar acts; Cheeks started performing in the second grade yet abandoned formal education that same year to labor in the cotton fields. After linking up with a regional gospel ensemble known as the Baronets, he caught the eye in 1946 of the Rev. B.L. Parks, an ex-Dixie Hummingbird then assembling a fresh outfit called the Nightingales; once aboard, Cheeks quickly gained notoriety on the gospel circuit for his antics and for nightly driving his voice to the edge of collapse.
The Nightingales thrived on the touring circuit yet earned almost nothing; to survive, Cheeks made a short stint with the Soul Stirrers before returning to the Nightingales in the early 1950s. After inking a Peacock deal, the ensemble produced a run of successes including “Somewhere to Lay My Head” and “The Last Mile of the Way”; their popularity and frequent praise grew so great that the group eventually adopted the name the Sensational Nightingales. Cheeks was ordained a preacher in 1954, yet he continued performing and proved equally adept as a songwriter and arranger; prone to volatility, he departed the lineup repeatedly until his final exit in 1960, after which he entered semi-retirement. He later resurfaced fronting a new ensemble, the Sensational Knights. Cheeks died in Miami on January 27, 1981.
