Renowned throughout their home state of Mississippi as musical icons, the enduring gospel ensemble the Jackson Southernaires originated in 1940 when producer Frank Crisler assembled the group. Its founding members—Huey Williams, Roger Bryant, Jr., Maurice Surrell, James Burks, and Luther Jennings—initially drew inspiration from the Mississippi Blind Boys yet quickly forged a singular identity, becoming the first Mississippi ensemble to integrate guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard into its live presentations. After many years of road work, the quintet secured its first recording contract with Duke/Peacock in 1963, issuing the debut Too Late, one of the label’s strongest commercial performers. A brief early-1970s association with ABC/Dunhill generated the albums Save My Child and Look Around, after which the Southernaires moved to Malaco in 1975 and attained their greatest visibility through successive hit releases including Legendary Gentlemen in 1979, Touch of Class in 1981, and Down Home in 1982. In addition to conducting their own radio broadcast for more than four decades, the group produced the television series Gospel Unlimited and captured Traditional Male Group of the Year honors from the Gospel Music Workshop of America each year from 1987 to 1989; their 1991 album Thank You Mama for Praying for Me... also earned a Grammy nomination. The Southernaires maintained an active schedule of performances and recordings well into the 1990s, though by then Jennings was the only remaining original member.
