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Doyle Blackwood 1911 - 1974 Inducted 2011
Benefactors:
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Doyle Blackwood, born in 1911,
was captivated early on by the family’s love of music. He learned
to play guitar and mandolin and even practiced voice projection
from the top of tree stumps near the family home in rural Choctaw
County
in Northern Mississippi.
Doyle and his brother James worked
diligently at the
Clear Springs Church Singing
School near their home. Their talent was noted and they quickly
found themselves singing in a quartet with their teacher Vardaman
Ray singing lead and Gene Catledge singing bass. Soon, the
Choctaw County Jubilee Singers became quite popular in their area
of Mississippi. They sang in the area for about a year and Mr.
Ray contributed a great deal to the professionalism that the young
Blackwoods continued throughout their career. Doyle and James
ventured out locally with the Choctaw County Singers. In 1934,
Roy, the brother of Doyle and James, moved back to Choctaw County
and, with that move, the Blackwood Brothers Quartet was formed.
The 23 year old Doyle sang bass and played the guitar. The
Blackwood Brothers Quartet disbanded in late 1935 and Doyle began
to teach singing schools and sang briefly with the Homeland
Harmony Quartet. When the Blackwoods reunited in 1937, Doyle gave
up his stint with the Homeland Harmony Quartet to rejoin his
brothers. At this time, the Blackwoods were using only Doyle’s
guitar as the sole accompaniment for the group. V.O. Stamps felt
that the group needed a pianist, so he assigned Joe Roper to be
the first pianist for the quartet. The year was 1939. The Stamps
organization had provided the Blackwoods with a pianist, an
automobile, and a steady income of $18.50 per member each week.
Doyle retired from
the quartet in the late 40's and managed the Blackwood Brothers
Record Shop in Memphis. He later sang with The Memphians Quartet
with his son, Terry, and Verle Pilant, Chalmers Walker and Jack
Marshall.
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