Sunday, July 04, 1999
Success hasn't changed the Brotherhood Singers
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — I keep waiting for Rick Jennings to get proud. This is what happens to musicians, right?
His group, the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers, is getting big. Its first CD comes out this year. The members head to Spain and Portugal this week for their first overseas gig. Europeans are calling it “The Northern Kentucky Tour.”
Heady stuff for five men from east Covington. Still, Mr. Jennings talks just like he did two years ago, when I first wrote about the Brotherhood. His conversation is still sprinkled with biblical quotations. Until last week, he still worked part time as a shuttle driver for an airport hotel.
He still talks about the singers with charming modesty, as if he isn't one of them.
“Every day there's someone inquiring about these guys,” says Mr. Jennings, who acts as the group's manager. “That's why I don't answer my phones as often as I used to.”
OK, so maybe that much has changed.
The Brotherhood Singers have been together nine years now. I decided to check in after one of them, Eric Riley, called to say they were off to Spain.
Turns out last year was pivotal for the group, whose other members are Greg Page, Luther Scruggs and Bob Mullins.
At the Ottawa Blues Festival in Canada, they opened for Ray Charles before an audience of about 10,000. While there, they met their spiritual uncles — a longtime gospel group called the Dixie Hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds patriarch Irv Tucker Sr. is 74. He has been in the music business 61 years.
He loves the Brotherhood. His connections got them the gig in Spain.
“I had never heard of the group before,” says Mr. Tucker, who will be in Cincinnati for a concert on Saturday. “I said, "Where have you guys been hiding?'”
The Brotherhood Singers are unusual because they perform without instruments, a cappella. Many gospel groups don't want to go back to their roots like that, Mr. Tucker says.
But spirituals such as “I Shall Not Be Moved” originated with slaves who had only their voices. The Brotherhood's commitment to that tradition is admirable and smart, considering that the old style is getting popular again, Mr. Tucker says.
“They're a bunch of gentlemen, a bunch of well-raised guys,” he says. “They get up with each other in mind. It's a family affair.”
It's not always easy, of course. The family sometimes squabbles over little stuff, such as who will ride in which car.
“Satan nitpicks at you when things are going good,” Mr. Jennings says.
To ward him off, the group members hold hands and pray before every performance. Mr. Jennings and Mr. Riley ground themselves in their ultimate purpose: to spread the glory of God.
Thank goodness for him, because the group doesn't have time to rehearse, Mr. Jennings jokes. Heaven knows how their music would sound without a little divine intervention.
The Brotherhood Singers love playing big crowds, but they find small ones especially satisfying. Not long ago they visited a church in Stanford, Ky., because one of the members knew Mr. Mullins. Only 12 people showed up. They kept apologizing.
“We said, "You don't understand. We're getting ready to get busy!'” says Mr. Jennings.
He and Mr. Riley like to reminisce about their forays into parts of Kentucky where African-Americans are few and far between. Once they performed behind a jail in Henry County. The way people stared, Mr. Riley expected to end up in the jail, he says. Instead, the group performed and the people lined up for autographs.
On another occasion in Elkins, W.Va., the Brotherhood surprised a crew of restaurant workers by breaking into song on their last day in town.
After the song, the place erupted with appreciation. More people hearing about the love of God.
Maybe someday this won't be enough. Maybe someday Rick Jennings will get proud.
Then again, maybe not.
Karen Samples is the Enquirer's Kentucky columnist. Her column appears on Sundays and Thursdays in The Kentucky Enquirer. She can be reached at 578-5584 or by e-mail at: ksamples@enquirer.com
