The Pilgrim Jubilees

6. Stepping Out

6. Stepping Out I n 1952 the reconstituted PilgrimJubilee Singers were one ofmanylocal Chicago gospel quartets. They sang on any program that would have them, but the singing had to be fitted around jobs. Major wasrunning his barbershop; Theophilus Graham's shop next door was providing work for him, Elgie C.B., and Monroe Hatchett, although Monroe wasalso work' ing at the New York Central Railroad depot, going to the barbershop once his day's work wasover. Claywasnearing the end of his schooldays, and new recruit Kenny Madden wasrunning his own car wash business. Cleave was working for a packing company and was finding it hard to make ends meet. He and Doris had two children when they left Mississippi, and the young familycontinued to grow in Chicago. Cleave: "C.B. got me a job with him at Kincaid Packing. He worked there a while, and later he started to cut hair at my brother's shop. Butmy family was growingso fast, I had to have that something steady coming. In the afternoons, after I got off work, I wouldgo to the barbershop. They had started this hair processing thing, where the guys wear their own hair and put the waves in. I learned how to do that, and I would do that after my regular job. And I left the packing company and went with Earmrite Imple* ment Company because the money wasbetter. But by now I had four kids. 52 Stepping Out 53 So I got a second job, with a can company. I was doing sixteen hours a day for a good while to try to make it better for my family. So I was making $1.50 an hour with Farmrite Implement, plus I had this other job. I said, 'Oh, I'm on my way!' But they saythat when it rains, it pours. The government came in [at Farmrite] and said that to do this job, you had to be a veteran. And that cut me out. Three days later, the can company let mego. Now, no job! I ran back to the barbershop. Mybrother had a little shoeshine parlor next door. Yd run in the barbershop and wash the customers' hair and put the relaxer in it and wash it out, then I'd run back over and shine shoes. I wasjust running back and forwards. And that's the wayI kept going until I got another job. But through it all, I found time for rehearsal. And I always tried to arrange it so I wouldn't miss anything my group had to do. Whenever we were going to do something, I wasgoing to be there." Clay Graham summarizes the group's first couple of years in two sentences : "After we organized, we started to do local shows. Then we became the number one group in Chicago." Chicago in the 19508 was a gospel music heartland. In the quartet world, the city's best-known group was the Soul Stirrers, originally from Texas but Chicago residents since 1937. As the PilgrimJubilees rehearsed, the Soul Stirrers and their dynamic new lead singer, Sam Cooke, were cutting a swathe through the gospel world with a potent mix of passionate, skillful singing and Cooke's stagecraft and matinee -idol good looks. Although based in Chicago, the Soul Stirrers weren't competition for the Pilgrim Jubilees. They were a model to aspire to. Competition came from other local groups. "The Soul Stirrers were from Chicago , but they were already out and going big," says Cleave. "The Norfolk Singers, I'd saythey were considered the top local group. The HighwayQCs were in Chicago when wegot there. And the Traveling Kings." Other leading local groups of the time included the Windy City Four, the Holy Wonders , the Bells of Zion, the Pilgrim Harmonizers, the Norfleet Brothers, and the Spiritual Five. The Pilgrim Jubilees started singing at programs put on by local churches. Their first engagements came through Major's contacts, but soon word-ofmouth advertising was boosting the bookings. Cleave: "From one church here, they would want us over to the next church, then the next church would want us. We started out doing Sundays. And then when people got to know us, then we'd be singing sometimes Wednesday nights, Friday 54 Stepping Out nights, Sunday evening on one side of town, Sunday night on the other side of town. Most of the time, we were...