Biography
The Masters Family originated in 1946 and earned acclaim for their work in country and gospel music. Core members were Johnnie Masters, born John Mace Purdom on 27 May 1913 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA and deceased on 21 January 1980, who wrote songs and played guitar, mandolin, and sang; Lucille Masters, born Lucille Ferdon on 13 September 1917 in Homerville, Georgia, USA, also a songwriter and vocalist; and their son Owen, born John Owen Masters on 3 February 1935 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA and deceased in 1997, likewise a songwriter who handled guitar and vocals. Purdom assumed the surname Masters following his mother’s remarriage, acquired guitar skills in boyhood, and appeared on local radio in 1933. He met Lucille Ferdon in 1934 and married her; during the early 1940s the pair broadcast as the Dixie Sweethearts on Jacksonville stations and cut their debut sides for Rich-R-Tone in 1946. Once young Owen and, at times, daughter Deanna (born 11 April 1941) joined the performances, the act became known as the Masters Family. They recorded for Mercury Records in the late 1940s, moved to Knoxville, and became regulars on WROL. Between 1950 and 1956 they issued numerous sides for Columbia Records, most of them gospel, among them the noted “Gloryland March,” where James Roberts of James And Martha Carson sang lead on selected later tracks. After 1952 they became the first gospel ensemble to employ conventional country accompaniment instead of the piano or guitar backing then standard on gospel discs. Owen Masters suffered severe injuries in a 1955 car crash whose prolonged effects limited the group’s work. The family returned to Jacksonville and performed chiefly at churches yet resumed recording in the early 1960s for Starday and Decca Records. The Masters divorced yet later remarried. In the late 1970s Johnnie prepared several comeback shows, but his death from a heart attack in January 1980 ended the project. His widow and daughters Evelyn and Deanna relocated to Florida while Owen settled in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Every member wrote songs prolifically, and many compositions became country or gospel standards, including “Medals For Mothers,” “Cry From The Cross,” “Honeymoon On A Rocket Ship,” “That Little Country Church House,” and others.
Albums