The Soul Stirrers may now be performing to exuberant audiences in the Goodman’s production of The Gospel at Colonus, but 14 years ago the legendary Chicago-based gospel group’s fate was literally in the hands of God.
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The right people were Jackie Banks, the Soul Stirrers’ one genuine minister; Ben Odom, now the group’s musical director; and Willie Rogers, who returned to the group in 1980 after a nine-year absence. They toured and recorded primarily under the name J.J. Farley and the Original Soul Stirrers to distinguish themselves from two other groups calling themselves the Soul Stirrers (although neither contained any original members). Farley died in October 1988 and has yet to be replaced, but the group still often bills itself as J.J. Farley’s Soul Stirrers.
The heavyset Jacox, who’s 51, is the talker–he seems to burst with information, observations, and humor. Rogers, who’s 50, is more soft-spoken, contemplative. Banks, 36, is also quiet, but as his alternate profession would suggest, can take over in theological discussions. Odom, 30, is down-to-earth, spiritual, and, according to Rogers, savvy about the group’s commercial and technical side.
Rogers agrees, though he left the group in 1971 to record pop for Atlantic and Ronn records. “I just wanted to try something new, something different at the time,” he says, and then adds that money was also a consideration. “I wasn’t happy at all. I just didn’t like the hustle and bustle of the pop field.”
Decked out in blue suits, the Soul Stirrers collectively play the role of Choragos, essentially the lead voices in the Greek chorus. Each member solos, and Odom also plays bass guitar. They’re up front at the end, with Rogers’s rich tenor leading the cast through “Now Let the Weeping Cease.”
The Gospel at Colonus runs through August 12 at the Goodman, 200 S. Columbus; 7:30 Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 2 and 7:30 Thursdays, 8 Fridays, and 2:30 and 8 Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $18 to $30; call 443-3800. The Soul Stirrers’ concert at the New Canaan Land Baptist Church, 5957 S. Peoria, is at 7:30 PM, Monday, July 16. Tickets are $10; call 651-7892 or 651-2167.
