Abraham Battle
Abraham Battle was born in Haynesville, Louisiana in 1923. Baptized at an early age Abraham Battle decided to relocate to Los Angeles California the place his mother and various members of his family had chosen for their home. Stopping for a brief visit in the Bay Area he was persuaded by his father to stay in Oakland California with his father and one of his older brothers and work building ships in the prospering shipyards.
While living in Oakland, listening to their regular radio broadcast, Abraham Battle was moved and inspired by the jubilee singing of The Golden Gate Quartet of Norfolk, Virginia. 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. From its flock he put together a quartet. They called themselves The Starlight Quartet. The Starlight Quartet built quite a reputation playing the local Baptist church circuit which included the greater part of Oakland and Richmond.
Determined to advance and improve his skills, Battle had himself invited into the fledgling Oakland Silvertones. The group signed to KWBR and broadcast regularly out of a church on Thirty-fourth and Louise in Oakland, California.
After 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. 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.
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.
Battle's next challenge came when he joined The Silver Stars and had them signed to KRE in Berkeley. The group 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 California. He ran the place for over twenty-five years.
One day Battle called a meeting with the manager of The Silverleaf Gospel Singers, 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. 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.
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.
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. Battle also 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 and the Vice Chair went to Abraham Battle. 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.
Because of the number of delegates especially the Western states, that backed and supported Abraham Battle in his vision, 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.
The A.S.A. has grown considerably across the American West since 1989. The organization also owns land in North Las Vegas. During this time Battle was also nurturing the talents of The Sons of The Soul Revivors.