When we left off last month, JD Sumner had just made it possible for the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen, competitors on stage but still business partners and colleagues, to both go to venues in brand new, custom buses.
At that time, and for some time afterward, when the Blackwood-Statesmen team did anything in gospel music, most groups followed…or to borrow a phrase used to describe the Dodgers in baseball’s National League, when the Blackwood-Statesmen team sneezed, the other gospel groups caught cold. From the “team”’s use of buses to travel far and wide to personal appearances, it was not a long stretch for the rest of the industry to follow suit. Over the next few years, as they were able, most gospel artists acquired their own buses, so that they, too, could make appearances far and wide across the United States and Canada.
This brought a whole new group of people into gospel music, people who may or may not have had musical ability, but people who were willing to use their particular talent(driving and maintaining a vehicle, in this case)to do their part in taking gospel music to all people who loved it and wanted to hear it.
As was the case with their music, the Blackwood Brothers brought one of the more interesting personalities into this aspect of gospel music as well.
By this time, JD Sumner had not only proven his own ability to drive and maintain a bus, but had taught all the other members of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet to drive the bus, so he wouldn’t have to spend every waking moment behind the wheel. Even the diminutive James Blackwood took a turn driving the large gospel bus, and though he sometimes struggled to cope with the vehicle, he helped his quartet get from place to place in their bus.
But having group members drive the bus was not part of JD’s original idea in buying the vehicle. The bus was supposed to allow the group to get from place to place comfortably, so the members would be relaxed and refreshed, and do a better job singing. So JD was always on the lookout for a new regular driver to replace the ill-fated Buddy Darvis, who was the Blackwoods’ initial driver, that was let go.
At one point, when the quartet was in Nashville, JD discovered a young mechanic at the Trailways depot there, making just forty dollars a week. The youngster supplemented his income by driving for another bus company on the side. JD hired the young man on the spot, offering him eighty-five dollars a week to drive for the Blackwood Brothers.
The youngster’s name was Bundy Brewster, and he reported for work the following week, and James Blackwood, not having been consulted about the hire, asked JD who this young man was, and who was going to pay him to drive. JD introduced Bundy to James, assuring him he’d found good driver, and even offering to pay him out of his own pocket. So Bundy became the Blackwood Brothers’ bus driver, and JD bragged on his “find”
to the rest of the group, and the Statesmen as well.
Bundy’s first trip as bus driver was to Tupelo, MS…where the “team” was scheduled to sing. The Statesmen were there first, and all eyes were on the Blackwood bus as it arrived with its new driver behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, Bundy’s debut was not auspicious. A canopy at the front of the building to protect people from rain and other elements was part of the problem. As Bundy was told to park the bus as close to the auditorium as possible to make unloading it easier, he was unable to avoid striking the canopy, and as he tried to stop the bus, it got a hold of the canopy and nearly ripped it from the building.
As the shaken Blackwood Brothers filed off the bus, they all GLARED at JD, who just sat in embarrassed silence. When they got off, JD remained for a few more minutes, enough time for Hovie Lister of the Statesmen to get on and tell JD, “Fantastic bus driver you got there! Fantastic!”
JD knew that Bundy still had a lot to learn about driving a bus.
But characteristically, JD took Bundy under his wing and taught him, and taught him well. In time, Bundy learned his job very well, and stayed with the Blackwood Brothers for over 20 years, eventually even learning how to operate the quartet’s sound equipment, doing more than just driving the bus.
But one thing Bundy never learned how to do was sing.
Oh, he tried. He sang often to himself on long trips, and was continually asking James Blackwood to let him sing on stage with the quartet, which James eventually did. Those occasional stage appearances by Bundy demonstrated why the driver was not a part of the quartet!
Though audiences warmed to Bundy’s pluck and determination, and he inexplicably got applause for his rare vocal appearances, there was no demand for a Bundy Brewster album or anything of that sort. And fortunately, he was not paid to sing, but drive!
And the Blackwood Brothers were fortunate to have their own driver, because singers still had a rough time at times navigating those large cruisers.
One example of the struggle some singers had in driving the vehicles occurred in the mid-1960s, when the Rebels Quartet was out on the West Coast, performing dates with the Couriers Quartet. When the groups arrived in Oakland, having arrived there from Southern California, the Couriers noticed a rather shaken Jimmy Taylor. When they asked the Rebels’ pianist what was wrong, he told them the story.
It seems that when they were heading north through the Tehachapi Mountains, into the Central Valley toward the San Francisco Bay Area(a route very familiar to this writer), something scary had occurred as they headed down the 6 % grade that was on the highway as it descended from the mountains. Bass singer London Parris, who was driving the bus in the wee hours of the morning, inexplicably took the bus out of gear as it went down the grade. The bus picked up so much speed going down, it literally jumped up and down the highway as it hurtled toward the valley below. As they were violently jostled from sleep, the rest of the quartet ran to the front of the bus to help keep it on the road.
Finally, when the bus got to more level terrain, they managed to get the bus under control. Needless to say, another member of the quartet took over behind the wheel. Fortunately, the group made it safely the rest of the way.
As one might expect, there have been a number of wrecks and near-misses over the many years of bus travel by groups…nothing as tragic as the 1954 Blackwood plane crash however…and fortunately, there have been relatively few mishaps over the years of bus travel…a tribute not only to the skills of the dedicated bus drivers, but to the love and mercy of the Lord Himself.
These large buses have not only served to help gospel groups get from place to place safely and efficiently, they have often served as advertising vehicles for the artists they carry. Until recent years, in fact, these buses had large signs on their sides proclaiming the name of the group they were carrying.
Yet, as more and more artists from all kinds of music have resorted to buses for their travel, fewer and fewer of them boast those signs any longer…why? Perhaps the following anecdote from the driver from a current group, Embrace, can explain…
We had stayed in a hotel and I had gotten up early to get the bus fueled up and ready to go. I pulled into the local truck stop and filled up. As I walked in to pay, I noticed that there were three women working there that seemed to be very interested in the bus. As soon as I reached the counter, the first woman asked, "Who ya got in that there bus?" I told her that I was alone and no one was on the bus. She said, "We don't believe you..is Alan Jackson or Kenny Chesney on that bus? (both of these artists had been in Tupelo the night before in concert) I do believe I saw that bus last night at the coliseum." I assured her that she had not seen our bus and that neither of those guys was on the bus.
At just about that time, one of the other women spoke up and said, "If Kenny Chesney is on that bus, there ain't no way you are gonna stop me from gettin' to him!" I said, "Sorry Mam!" and took off in a dead sprint! Gosh, I don't blame groups for leaving their name off now!
I thank Paul Hand for allowing me to share his story with you all.
I hope you enjoyed this look back at the development of travel in gospel music, and we’ll have another fond look back at the history of gospel music again next month…same time, same station. Stay tuned!
Author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Written: 08/01/2005
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Category: SG History 101
Comments: 17
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John-
Again,John, a story usually not told. And told with a love for the genre. Insights that most would not know. And characters from the past.
Hey John, was that Tejon Pass AKA the Ridge Route? I've heard some stories.
Thanks, John, for another great article. You have stirred many old memories.
I read with much interest the comments from Cliff Cerce about The Couriers borrowing the Gabriel bus. Ron Hensley was one funny man and (tongue in cheek) so "believable in his comments".
Hey John!
In answer to Duane Nicholson's comments, Ron's remarks were definitely "tongue-in-cheek". What was hilarious about his comments about the "changes" was the absurdity of them. Especially the comments about Neil and the walls. Everyone who knows Neil is struck by his sincere humility and total lack of self-promotion, so the crowd realized that Ron's portrayal of Neil as "having an ego" was as preposterous as Dave cutting holes in the bus wall for his feet.
To Chris Becker-
Chris, as Neil just posted, that little portion of the Ridge Route mentioned in my article is indeed the renowned "Grapevine", named for the tiny village at the foot of the pass.
John, what a great article! I enjoyed reading some of the stories that you told, and how they brought memories back to your faithful readers.
Neil, oops. That's what I get for not proofreading before posting. It's also quite an honor to have most of the Couriers comment on my post. Duane, the Grapevine is pretty much the same thing as Tejon Pass, but before 1965 it was the much scarier "Ridge Route" I mentioned. By the way, I worked with Polly Grimes, as a teenager, promoting shows in Pasadena and Oakland. I was what is now called a street team member. Someday someone will write a book about SG on the west coast, starting with the Blackwood Brothers when they were based in San Diego (with Don Smith singing bass.) John?
I do understand why groups do not put their names on their buses, but as an "oldtimer" I do miss it.
just a short note to thank "Bundy" Brewster for many years of dedicated service of providing safe transportation for my clients throughout the world. Bundy was one of the Pioneers of the Tour bus business. He taught me patients and shared many e-mails of positive thinking over the years. He will be missed, I only wish I had more time to thank him once again for helping my company grow over the years.
Rock-
Yes, Neil...and everyone else reading these comments, apparently Harl "Bundy" Brewster went to be with the Lord last Wednesday in his home in suburban Nashville...he was 65.
John,
I remember Bundy very well. I attended ALL the concerts that Polly Grimes promoted in Long Beach, Calif. & Pasadena, Calif. since Nov. of 1963.
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