By Jerome Pearson
December 2015
“Well, my mother is on that train; coming around that curve; coming around that curve; coming around that curve; and the train goes chu chaka ling and bell goes ding aling aling, and the whistle goes WOP, WOP, WOOOOP…..!”
As he made that “WOP, WOP, WOOOP” sound, my Step Uncle, Rigby James Jr., would jump nearly 2 feet in the air or more, depending on the amount of liquor that was in his system at the time!
Starting with the early 70s, a group of folks from the Davis Station area of Clarendon County started an acapella spiritual group who called themselves the “Jeremiah Singers”. I am not sure how they went about choosing that name, as “Jeremiah” was a prophet who was tasked by God to give warnings of the possible outcome of sin.
In our town, however, it is highly unlikely that this group would have been chosen as a vessel tasked with continuing this prophecy! I can say this because half of its members were from my family!
The original members of this group included my Grand Uncle Felix Pearson and his wife Anna Coard Pearson; Grand Aunt Pauline Miller; step Uncle Rigby James Pearson; George Jones; and Nero Pearson. Each member of the group seemed to have a talent: Felix sang base, George and Anna were leads, Rigby and Nero soprano; Aunt Pauline was back-up lead!
In addition to the primary members of the group, there were often visiting members such as the brothers Robert, John, and Eugene Coard, who were the sons of Mrs. Anna Coard Pearson. Many years later, I recall seeing an obituary for Eugene Coard, and he was recognized as being a member of the Jeremiah Singers.
The original lead singer was George Jones. George Jones sang lead and was perhaps the best singer in the group. One of my favorite songs of his was: “I have a mother at the beautiful gate, waiting and watching for me!” In some ways, that song was always personal to me! I will admit that I may even have the wrong titles of some of these songs because I had never seen the words written down any place. This should be expected because, unfortunately, most of its members could barely read. They basically sang old spirituals from memory.
However, without a doubt, their most famous rendition was the one about the train coming around the curve: it was indeed the highlight of any program they participated in! It did not matter where they were when that song was being sung, the crowds just went absolutely crazy laughing! They were indeed one of a kind. And although he sang falsetto, Uncle Rigby’s incomparable rendition of the whistle was the song’s apogee.
For a year or two the group even had a manager. Her name was Florence Lemon! In addition to trying to boss the group around, she would also mess-up many songs while trying to sing base. She did not last long because the Jeremiah Singers could not be managed. Everything about them was spontaneous. One thing that Mrs. Lemon was able to do for them was to get them a rotating spot on the Sunday morning Manning radio station. The Jeremiah Singers were proud to be on the radio but did not like their manager. They remained on the radio but got rid of their manager.
After getting my driver’s license I was tasked with driving the singers to the radio station every Sunday morning. Uncle Felix did not have a license, so around 6: 45 each Sunday morning, I would hear that lime green Ford pulling into our yard. I would then have to get up and drive them to the Manning Radio Station located off highway 301. They had 7:30 spot! We would go by and pick up some of the other members on our way to Manning. Many of them would have already had their first drink of the day!
Once we arrived at the radio station, I would sometimes remain in the car, but other times I would sit in the studio waiting area and watch them sing. There were several groups with appointed times which were either leaving or coming to the station. Each group had a 15-minute spot and would be heard all over the local airwaves. Almost all homes in the area had their radios tuned to a gospel station on Sunday mornings. And many of these radios were of such poor quality that, unfortunately, the music often sounded like a whole lot of aggravating noise!
Once we returned from the radio station, I would eat breakfast and prepare for Sunday school. The Jeremiah Singers, however, rarely went to Sunday school. As a matter of fact, some rarely went to any kind of Sunday service. Their main attendance at a church involved what they would call “programs”. They would be invited to sing at some churches’ program in the afternoons and felt that was the only church they ever needed. Between singing at the radio station, and singing at various “programs”, they felt that they were meeting, or perhaps even exceeding, their religious obligations. Also, not having to attend normal church services provided them with additional opportunities to drink.
I was also tasked with driving them to many of these “programs”. Often, there would be only one completely sober person in the car: yours truly! There was always a pack of chewing gum around, and just before entering church they would each take a stick! Sometimes, the church they were visiting would collect money for them. I can recall one night following one of those programs when they asked that I figure out a way to divide their total collection among 7 people.
I did, however, enjoyed driving them because in addition to the fact that they paid me, I would often hear some of the craziest and funniest stories. I gained so much natural wisdom during the time I drove them places.
I think that being a member of the Jeremiah Singers was probably the most significant thing any of these folks has ever done. Sadly, I think that all the members of the group have since died, including some of the alternates.
Obituaries often tell lies! Very often we see in obituaries that “so and so” was educated in the public schools in Clarendon County, when they might have only gone as far as the first grade. The obituary would often say that “so and so” gave his life to Jesus at a young age, when they were actually raising hell for most of their lives.
However, in my mind, there is nothing inherently wrong with this; being in this world is not always easy, and we all struggle to find our way! The least we can do is to find something positive to say about those who have departed during their “home-going day!”
But for the Jeremiah Singers, the obituary is true when it says that “so and so” was once a member of a singing group; a group that provided some measures of joy; to both themselves and to those of us who were around them; and, finally, when the days become dark; and when we are “waiting and watching” for that train to come around that curve with that…. chu chaka ling and bell going ding aling aling, and the whistle going WOP, WOP, WOOOOP…..!”
We, too, can jump two feet in the air!
Jerome