The Spirit of Memphis Quartet

Established in 1930, the Spirit of Memphis Quartet has functioned less as a fixed ensemble than as an enduring framework, with personnel shifting repeatedly as singers entered and departed. The name itself belies the actual scale; by the mid-1980s the roster had expanded to eight members, only five of whom performed vocally. Its central figures remained lead Jethro Bledsoe, tenor Robert Reed, and bass singer Earl Malone, each of whom entered during the 1930s; although Bledsoe stepped away in 1977, Reed and Malone continued performing with the group through the following decade. Early recordings in the classic quartet manner appeared on King during the first half of the 1950s, after which the ensemble moved to Peacock and remained there for most of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1976 the members rehearsed the song “If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another” alongside Elvis Presley at Graceland and were slated to cut the track with him, yet the session was ultimately scrapped when Presley fell ill. During the mid-1980s the group also cut a soul-inflected gospel album for David Evans’ independent High Water imprint.