Abraham Battle

Abraham Battle was born in Haynesville, La. where he spent the first eleven years of his life. Having found religion, the young Battle was baptized in the alligator-infested Mississippi River near Talla Bene. He soon moved to his grandparents' farm where he helped out in the fields. He later joined his sickly father in Beaumont, Texas. After five
years, Battle found a job with the E.W. Bacherite Water Purification Company. His job took him from Beaumont to Waco, then on to Shreveport, Texarkana, and Omaha. At the onset of World War II, Battle found himself in Indianapolis where he was required to take the Army Induction Examination. Having intentionally failed the test and learning of his mother's fight with cancer, he packed his bags once more. This time Los Angeles was the intended destination, the place his mother and various members of his family had chosen for their home.

Meanwhile, his father and second oldest brother had moved to Oakland, Ca. where work was had building ships. Stopping off for a brief visit in the Bay Area on his way to L.A., Battle was persuaded by his father to stay and work with them in the prospering shipyards. Listening to their regular radio broadcasts, Battle was moved and inspired by the jubilee singing of The Golden Gate Quartet of Norfolk, Va. He was adamantly determined to form a quartet utilizing The Gates' approach and closeness of harmony. Battle had become a member of The William Chapel (Storefront) Baptist Church, a place of worship named after its founder. From its flock he put together a quartet. This makeshift outfit included James Baldwin, Willie Johnson, and Walter Blaze. They called themselves The Starlight Quartet. They rehearsed at the church and got to where they were confident enough they sounded pretty good. Indeed, The Starlight Quartet built quite a reputation playing the local Baptist church circuit which included the greater part of Oakland and Richmond.

The group did not have to compete with too much quartet opposition due to the shortage of able-bodied men during wartime. Tommy Jenkins and The Rising Stars were the group's most formidable rivals. Determined to advance and improve his skills, Battle had himself invited into the fledgling Oakland Silvertones. Members at that time included (?) Brown, Willie Johnson, and Harold Davis. "The group signed to KWBR, broadcast regularly out of a little white church pastored by Reverend Smith down on Thirty-fourth and Louise in Oakland," says Battle. The Oakland Silvertones grew extremely popular throughout the Greater Bay Area, sounding much more polished than The Starlight Quartet ever did.

After a member passed away and Harold Davis moved to Los Angeles, The Silvertones parted ways. The up-and-coming Southern Travelers also went out over KWBR airwaves, and it was not long before Abraham Battle had become this group's manager and trainer. Personnel at this point consisted of Woodrow Howard, lead, Allan Sherman, second lead, Jack Allen, tenor, and James Powell, bass. The quartet's popularity increased by leaps and bounds under Battle's management and their weekly broadcasts continued for a period of five years.

Battle had sponsored The Gray Brothers of Arkansas to come and perform in the Bay Area alongside The Southern Travelers. KDIA at this time had made acquisition of KWBR. Having taken up with The Gray Brothers, The Southern Travelers toured the southern states. The Gray Brothers eventually settled in the Bay Area. Sadly, after their return to Oakland, the original Southern Travelers split up and went separate ways. Battle saw potential in the reputation his original group had garnered thus far and did not want to see it go to waste, so he plucked the young Louis Candys from out of The Silver Trumpet Juniors and built a group he named The Junior Southern Travelers around him. (See Candys biography.) Under Candys' leadership The Junior Southern Travelers became one of the most accomplished quartets ever to come from the Bay Area. This consequently lead to the group's one waxing on Four Star Records, later leased to Hollywood and issued on Big Town owned by Bob Geddins who originally cut the session.

After approximately eleven run-throughs the guys recorded "He's my guiding light," which they sandwiched with "Peace in the land." The group only ever received one modest royalty payment, even though sales figures in the southern states were considerable. However, things did not last and the group folded. Battle's next challenge came when he joined The Silver Stars and had them signed to KRE in Berkeley. Battle's memory for the names of the guys in this outfit is foggy. "There was James Shafer, Hank, Laney, Clarence (who sang lead) and a guy named 'Buck' Williams," he recalls. The boys taped a considerable repertoire of material at KRE, but the baritone singer was killed, the tenor moved to Detroit, and the remainder of the group scattered before the agent could pick songs for studio re-recording.

Battle became disenchanted with the training and management of gospel vocal groups after this last experience. Lack of rehearsal commitment plus the cost of having the singers look their best for performance were factors he could no longer afford to consider. In 1957, Battle opened his "Tropical Music Shop" which ended up located on Twenty-third and Eleventh Streets in Oakland. He ran the place for over twenty-five years.

During much of his group management activity, Battle kept in constant touch with many of the Bay Area quartets. A fair number of them shared billing on his weekly broadcasts, and many became firm friends. One day Battle called a meeting with the manager of The Silverleaf Gospel Singers (Bro Dillard), members of The Sunset Wonders and other local aggregations. They decided that the problem with attrition warranted an organized solution. From now on, they would pool all their talent. Since most groups worked well together, they further decided to form an alliance. Thus the Standard Jubilee Singers Convention came about. The idea seemed to work on the basis of mutual support. Battle's skills at organizing and working for the good of all were further brought to bear when he called together a meeting at the old Carla Hotel on Fourteenth and Market Streets in 1949.

The Soul Stirrers, Pilgrim Travelers, C.H. Henry (baritone singer with The Rising Stars), and The Famous Blue Jay Singers from Chicago all sat around the same table to talk business. The basic idea was to take the precepts of The Standard Jubilee Singing Convention charter and spread them nationwide. Most jumped at the proposal, and visions of global unity prevailed. Consequently a document was drawn up and The National Quartet Convention was born.

Reverend Kellum of Dallas was elected national president. City presidents were chosen also, and Battle quite naturally was picked to head up the Oakland chapter. State presidents were then put in place with jurisdiction over city ones. C.H. Henry became chief over all state presidents. Finance to support the local chapters was raised in a grassroots fashion by having each performing act donate an agreed percentage of its earnings to the local kitty.

After four weeks, C.H. Henry found himself in a position where he was unable to devote sufficient time to the cause, due to poor health. He then handed the mantle of States President over to Battle who assumed the post on a temporary, unofficial basis. The next National Quartet Convention was held in August 1952 at The Victory Baptist Church in Los Angeles, home of the famous Voices of Victory Choir on McKinley Avenue. Battle lobbied and won presidency for the State of California. Reverend V. Mederos of The Paramount Singers of San Francisco became vice president.

Board meetings were held in San Antonio and Philadelphia. It was proposed that each member-state contribute $1,500 to a national fund. This money was to go towards building a headquarters in Chicago as well as develop business for singers. At the 1953 Chicago Convention, negotiations concerning proposals for raising general revenues got out of hand. A common ground could not be found. More widely known groups of singers did not see why they had to donate more money than lesser-known, lesser paid outfits when all were required to shell out at the same percentage. Major group managers were of the opinion that they deserved a larger slice of the earnings pie, thus leaving less in the national pot for those struggling to make it.

In despair, Battle marched out of the convention, taking with him the California revenues he had helped raise. New York and Mississippi followed suit. An element of distrust in the organization prevailed, thus hampering its day-to-day function. Battle wanted a series of sites built all over the country and a fair shake for everyone.

The following convention was held in Memphis, Tennessee in 1956. By this time, Reverend Kellum of Dallas had succumbed to ill health. At convention committee, Rebert H. Harris, ex-lead vocalist of The Soul Stirrers, got himself elected National President. The Vice Chair went to Abraham Battle. Battle accepted the post reluctantly. He had grown skeptical of the path the organization was taking. Money was being spent to fly delegates all over the country, but little of it was seen to go in support of artists.

In 1957, The National Quartet Convention was held in Washington, D.C. It had taken a year for Battle to conclude that the major differences between what he and his people wanted and the direction the organization was taking lead along paths of opposition. Battle resigned his vice-presidency there and then.

He had gained much sympathy for his ideas from delegates in Washington State, Oregon, California, and Arizona, and it was this support that traveled back with him to Oakland. With most of the Western states in his pocket Battle then put together The American Singers Association. The organization built a senior citizens' home for African American musicians on Harriet Tubman Terrace in Oakland in 1972. Battle operated the building through a series of trials and tribulations up until 1989. Stewardship of the building had taken Battle away from the main concerns of The American Singers Association that functioned in support of artists by training and promoting their endeavors.

Battle also made the mistake of letting out-of-state chapters adopt their own pet names. This meant that when valuable real estate, purchased by the chapter, changed ownership, it would inevitably pass to someone outside the organization.

The A.S.A. has grown considerably across the American West since 1989. Sister Mae Campbell is currently acting vice president and resides in Seattle, Washington. The organization also owns land in North Las Vegas. Battle is currently nurturing the talents of The Sons of The Soul Revivors, who have traveled the length and breadth of the land.