Photo: Jim Rogers | By Christopher Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, KY | The most recent celebrity passing to make headlines was that of Lisa Marie Presley — daughter of iconic singer Elvis Presley — who died on January 12 at age 54. And a member of the Nancy, KY community was able to pay his respects to her in the most appropriate way possible — through the gift of music.
Jim Rogers is a member of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet, one of the most well-known names in gospel singing. And on Sunday, that ensemble sang at the legendary Graceland, Elvis’ home estate in Memphis, for Lisa Marie Presley’s headline-making funeral.
Lisa Marie, daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, had her own music career, with singles like “Dirty Laundry” and “Lights Out.” She was also heavily involved in various philanthropic efforts and had a newsmaking personal life, including her marriage to another music superstar, Michael Jackson.
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Those gigs led to the opportunity last year to perform with the Blackwood Brothers Quartet — one of the oldest such groups around, forming in 1934. The group has won eight Grammy Awards over time, seven Dove Awards, and has been named to various music halls of fame — but last year, they found themselves with a need with which Rogers could help.
“Their tenor singer (Wayne Little), who had been with them for over 20 years, passed away last year, January 1,” said Rogers. “I had a good friend that was very good friends with Billy Blackwood, who is the son of James Blackwood, one of the Blackwood Brothers that started the group. When their tenor singer passed away, this guy got a hold of Billy and told him about me. We talked a little bit, and he hired me to take the tenor vocal part.”
In addition to their own success, the Blackwood Brothers quartet was tied to an even bigger name in the music world, one of the biggest in fact — Elvis. James Blackwood and Elvis were friends when “the King of Rock and Roll” was just a youngster growing up in Memphis.
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. . . When Elvis’ mother Gladys died in 1958, the Blackwood Brothers were on the west coast touring, and Elvis and his father Vernon chartered a plane to go and get the Blackwood Brothers so they could sing at Gladys’ funeral, noted Rogers. When Elvis himself passed away in 1977, James Blackwood sang at his funeral as well.
“It’s kind of come full circle, because the (Presley) family asked the Blackwood Brothers to sing at Lisa Marie’s (funeral),” said Rogers.
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The Blackwood Brothers performed two beloved hymns: “How Great Thou Art,” a song Elvis did regularly in concert and that was requested by the family for the funeral, and “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.”
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“Growing up and knowing who Elvis was, knowing the band … to know all of that and then to see Lisa Marie do her thing but always in the shadow of her dad, who was bigger than life” made the invitation special, he said. “She went on to be a very musical, very talented person herself, and was able to do her own thing, even though she had a famous father and mother. I always thought that was a neat thing. So to be a part of that celebration of life was great.”
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Read the full article here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/farewell-fit-kings-daughter-local-045900662.html
[Editor’s note: All 3 of Lisa Marie’s albums went to No. 1 on the charts this past week. Too bad she was not alive to enjoy that achievement but maybe it’s some comfort to her family.]
Photo: Jim Rogers (from the Blackwood Brothers Quartet Facebook page)
https://ms-my.facebook.com/102626178884/photos/
A Farewell Fit for the King’s Daughter
