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Little Willie and His Talking Guitar 6 When Troman Eason began to play the electric Hawaiian steel guitar for Keith Dominion services in Philadelphia, Bishop J. R. Lockley (1893–1971) enlisted him to travel with the Gospel Feast Party, a troupe of musicians, preachers, and dancers he organized in the late 1930s to perform at church services, revivals, and assemblies from New York to Miami. Lockley served as chief helper to the national leader, Chief Overseer Bishop Mary F. L. Keith. His dioceses included the state of New York, Philadelphia—where the Eason family worshipped—and the west coast of Florida.As proprietor of a used car lot in Brooklyn, Lockley always managed to drive a big car, often a black Cadillac. When the Gospel Feast Party traveled, he towed a flatbed trailer piled high with musical instruments covered by a canvas tarpaulin behind his Cadillac.1 Troman ceased to travel with the Gospel Feast Party after just one or two trips, as he found being away from home for extended periods was too difficult for him and his family. Lockley had witnessed young Willie’s ability to engage a church congregation with his strong, spirited singing and voice-like steel guitar playing. He had seen Willie draw large crowds that filled his guitar case with greenbacks as he played and sang on street corners in Philadelphia. Although Lockley was not present at Troman’s anniversary celebration when Willie received a standing ovation, news of that momentous occasion spread quickly to him. Sometime in the winter of 1938–39, he requested permission from Willie’s mother to allow her son to travel south with the Gospel Feast Party. A deeply religious woman who recognized her son’s talents as a gift from God, Addie Eason gladly honored her bishop’s request. Willie’s public school records state that he was withdrawn from Central High School in January 1939.2 It is logical to assume that Mrs. Eason withdrew her son from school just before he departed to travel with Bishop Lockley. Bishop Lockley and other members of the Gospel Feast Party stayed home to observe Christmas and the New Year’s Eve “night watch” service, and did not depart for their southern sojourn until some time after New Year’s Day. At that time, the Gospel Feast Party band consisted of Willie on electric steel guitar, the bishop’s son, J. R. Lockley Jr. (“J.R.”), who played upright bass and vibraphone, electric guitarist Roosevelt Eberhardt, and drummer Moe Harper. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, most Keith Dominion churches were small and austere. Musical instruments were generally limited to simple percussion such as tambourines, washboards, and cowbells brought from home by congregants who played them from the pews. A more prosperous church might purchase a large bass drum, or if it was especially well-off, a piano or organ. Not only was the electric steel guitar new to Keith Dominion congregations, full drum sets would not come into general use in the Keith Dominion until the 1950s, or even later in some locations. The Gospel Feast Party, with its full complement of musicians playing professional-grade instruments, created a sensation wherever it held its fiery worship services. Bishop Charles E. Campbell saw Lockley’s compelling entourage when just a boy growing up in Florida.“He had his singers that could sing and he also had his dancers,” recalled Campbell. “So when he hit the scene, he had the whole thing. And you talk about a service! White and black would come to see the performance because they loved to see them get happy and dance.”3 Traveling with the Gospel Feast Party to play for spirited worship services and revivals was an awakening as well as an adventure for young Willie Eason. As he left the urban Northeast to venture below the MasonDixon Line, he was shocked to encounter for the first time drinking water fountains and restrooms labeled “white only,” as well as other Jim Crow practices in the South. Still, it was an exciting experience and a rite of passage for him. Bishop Lockley limited Eason’s compensation to meals and lodging, an arrangement that Willie soon found intolerable, so he left the Gospel Feast Party. Willie recalled: I was coming up in a time when musicians didn’t get paid. Bishop Lockley and all, they just used me. After I found out what they was using me for— with the big tent services and all...

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