Gospel
Wolf Stephenson met Tommy Couch (the founder of Malaco Records) while the two studied pharmacy in college. They began booking musical acts for their college parties and soon expanded to events and night clubs in and around Oxford, Mississippi. In 1963, Wolf met Rick Hall (the founder of Fame...
Jerry Mannery enjoyed writing poems and was encouraged by a college professor to set his words to music. When one of his songs was performed by the legacy choir director, Frank Williams, Jerry felt a calling to write gospel music. In 1985, Jerry oversaw the Gospel Division at Malaco Records and...
Doug Williams heard his father singing as far back as he can remember. As a member of the Big Five gospel group, his father encouraged his children to sing in church. Doug sang with his two older brothers as part of the Williams Brothers, a group that performed and recorded for several decades. In...
Tommy Couch was born in Tuscumbia, not too far from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and grew up with many of the studio musicians and engineers at the Fame Recording Studio. He later moved to Jackson, Mississippi to form his own studio, Malaco Records, with the help and advice of his old friends. The label...
Archie Bell, a native of Houston, Texas, grew up listening to his mother sing in the Baptist church. Out of her seven sons she singled out Archie and suggested that he should try to be a singer. After seeing Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke in concert together, Archie decided that would be his path as...
Betty Wright was three years old when she was placed on a pile of phone books in a studio in order to reach the microphone when her family recorded gospel music. She began writing songs very young, many of which were performed by her siblings. In the 1960s, Betty made the move to R&B music and...
Percy Bady grew up surrounded by gospel, thanks largely to the fact his father was a minister. Since he was six years old, Percy expressed his feelings through music, especially in church. Playing the piano and later organ and keyboards, Percy found another passion in writing music, which has...
Charles Hodges and his brothers were regular session players in Memphis. Charles was among the early keyboardist for Willie Mitchell's band, which was the cornerstone for the Hi Records rhythm section. Charles can be heard on an amazing 26 gold records in a row, beginning with Al Green in the...
Misty Browning loved to watch the smile on the faces of those in her church as a child when they began to sing. She noticed their mannerisms and expressions completely changed once the music started. She knew then that hers would be a life in music! She toured and recorded and taught, and all...
Tony Brown, the Nashville recording producer, started his career playing piano for Elvis Presley! Tony became a noted studio musician working with Roseanne Cash and Emmylou Harris before becoming one of the most successful producers in country music. As president of MCA Records, Tony produced...