Challenges to Producing a Wings over Jordan Choir Documentary

By Sam Barber

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669824312

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Copyright © 2022 by Sam Barber.

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Rev. date: 06/06/2022

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From a story of intense excitement and jubilation to one of neglect, regrets and even sadness, the story of the Wing Over Jordan Choir has traversed a bewildering journey far beyond ones imaginable dreams to one almost lost forever.

Almost an half century ago, as a doctoral candidate at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, a requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree was to select a thesis topic of my choice in choral music. I selected the Wings Over Jordan Choir, a black choral group that I loved to hear dearly as a young boy every Sunday morning on the radio for several years at the home of my aunt, Willia Frances Simmons and my grandmother, Francis Irving Barber Simmons. The purpose for selecting this topic would give me the opportunity to learn more about this famous Negro radio choir, about Negro Spirituals and about the choir’s performance practice techniques, the primary focus of the thesis. Before my study, I was unaware that the Wings Over Jordan Choir had been nationally and internationally proclaimed as the world’s most outstanding Negro choir of all times.

Early exploratory searches for documents and eye witness accounts about the choir were abortive. But an inquiry to my aunt about the group resulted in a spontaneous outburst of her humming the theme song and a revelation that the leader of the group was a Rev. Glenn T. Settle from Cleveland, Ohio. That was all she could remember. But to hear the Wings Over Jordan Choir every Sunday morning over our battery run radio was the joy of our existence. I knew that if my aunt remembered the choir, I surmised that if I were able to locate a few original members with perhaps depressed emotions but active memories, I would be able to bring Wings activities into sharper focus. Initially, I make some inquiries of my colleagues on campus, but no one remembered or had even heard of the choir. Only when I shared a few historical facts with them, did they believe, with skepticism, of course, that such a choir ever existed. Community and church members were of very little help as well. Many viewed the singing of Negro Spirituals as a relics of the past.

Given no encouragement for this topic, I unearthed an article that Mme. Azalia Hackley, a famous Negro soprano who studied in Europe, had the sterling reputation of training Negro choirs to sing classical music after only one week of rehearsals. Excited about this prospect, Mme. Azalia Hackley was my second choice for a thesis topic. Despite Mme. Hackley’s sterling reputation for training choirs, there was limited documentation to support her techniques. I found only one reserve book at the Detroit Public Library on Mme. Hackley.

Madame Emma Azalia Smith Hackley was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1867 and migrated to Detroit in the 1870s. She was the first African American graduate of the University of Denver Music School. By 1901, Hackley was already a well-known concert soprano, classically trained in the bel canto tradition. She began to devote herself to what became her life’s work. She described herself as a race musical missionary, who took personal responsibility to educate African Americans in the best of Classical culture, in order to uplift them, especially the poor, in both the North and post-Reconstruction South. What earned Madame Hackley the epithet of Vocal Teacher of Ten Thousands was her continuous organizing of huge community concerts and mass Folk Festivals. Self-financed and self-promoted, a concert would be scheduled for her as the main draw to perform operatic arias, Classical compositions and African American spirituals. Choral performances by local people would be added to the programs. Her goal was to provide cultural programs of racial uplift to celebrate the negro spiritual throughout the country. She would work with the local performers for approximately ten days prior to the concert. She gave free classes on voice culture, lecture demonstrations and other workshops that involved all aspects of life. She emphasized the importance of character and garnering respect at all costs.

She raised funds for scholarships and established the Vocal Institute of Chicago in 1912.

Madame Hackley authored short books and numerous articles for dailies and magazines. She lectured at schools, colleges, churches, and in communities. In 1916, she published The Colored Girl Beautiful. This etiquette manual combined familiar prescriptions of Victorian womanhood with calls for racial pride and uplift. Each manners and self sacrifice, to advance and change the prevalent opinion of the Negro. Hackley believed this individual self-help would lead to racial uplift.

Living in the post-Reconstruction era, when minstrel shows became the norm of popular entertainment, Madame Hackley refused to abandon her commitment to the coherence of culture and morality, and to the education and elevation of the spiritual qualities of even the lowliest of persons through great art.

Madame Hackley died in 1922 and is buried in Section O, Lot 26 of the Historic Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, MI

(Historic Elmwood Cemetery and Foundation Where Detroit’s History Endures)

(www.elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/events-tours/...)

With no other suggestions or thoughts about a topic, I contacted Dr. Dominique-Rene de Lerma, the guru of Black Music Studies at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana, for recommendations. I especially asked him about the Wings Over Jordan Choir. His response was instructive.

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Despite the less than encouraging news from Dr. de Lerma, the name Wings Over Jordan Choir was indelibly etched in my memory and I continued to search with all deliberate speed to uncover documents. When I heard the choir sing every Sunday morning many years ago, I was too young to remember any specifics. The only thing I remembered was the beautiful singing. But now with some preliminary knowledge about the group, its repertoire consisted primarily of all Negro Spirituals. I knew that this area of research was well explored and, in many cases, almost exhausted. Undaunted, I was truly at a loss to find a topic on black choral music.

Fortunately, while finishing my course work at the end of my third year at the university, an extraordinary event occurred in my life. I was recruited to teach Black Music in the Black Studies division at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Given that the Black Studies program was in its embryonic stage of development, I had the liberty to develop a syllabus and resources for my classes. For my first class in the Fall of 1971, I used the First Edition of The Music of Black Americans: A History, by Eilleen Southern, by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1971, the only comprehensive book on Black Music available. As comprehensive was the book, regrettably, there was no citation about the Wings Over Jordan Choir.

While the pursuit of a Wings Over Jordan Choir topic mesmerize my daily thoughts, the first several quarters at Ohio State were devoted to working a full-time job and preparing for my comprehensive examinations back at the university. For contrast and financial support, the summers were spent at Ft. Bliss, Texas on Active Duty for Training as a Processing Officer for two-weeks reservists. Promoted as having one of the finest library collection in the state, the huge music collection of books, recordings and magazines at Ohio Sate was far less than inclusive with information on Black Music.

To my knowledge, the Wing Over Jordan Choir was an unexplored and un-researched Black Choral group. However, being the object of my fascination as a thesis topic, I was always alert for any information or discussion about the choir. As time elapsed and the date for choosing a topic became imminent, an eureka moment happened one day in class early in the Spring quarter of 1974. On this particular day, we were discussing Negro Spirituals of the 19th Century, especially the Fisk Jubilee Singers and their contributions to the preservation of the spiritual repertoire. During the class, a young luminous and energetic white student raised his hand and said, Mr. Barber, you didn’t say anything about the Wings Over Jordan Choir. Shocked, my antennas vibrated uncontrollably. My first thought was now how would/could a young white boy know about the Wings Over Jordan Choir? To my knowledge, the choir had not broadcast for years. Immediately, I surmised the question to be a gotcha one to challenge my intellect. My response to Tim, (the student’s name) was we were discussing the spirituals and choirs of the 19th Century and the Wings Over Jordan Choir was a 20th Century group. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, the discussion of spirituals continued. But I knew immediately there was a deeper and more substantive thought behind Tim’s question. It was not just a chance question. For Tim to know about the Wings Over Jordan Choir and since the choir had been off the airways for many years, Tim had to have a direct link of communication or know someone who knew something about the choir to ask such a pointed question. So, when the class was dismissed, I posited myself at the door and as Tim approached I said, Tim, what do you know about the Wings Over Jordan Choir? And quite arrogantly he responded, well, I should know, my dad was the first PR-Public Relations - man for the choir. WOW!! What a REVELATION!! What an EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT!!! I asked him where was his dad? He told me in Dayton. He shared with me that his dad would be visiting him within the next two weeks and asked if I were interested in meeting him. Of course, my response was yes, indeed. So, when the time came, I met Mr. Neil Collins, Tim’s dad, at his apartment on Iuka and Summit Streets. What a special