For Tiffany Boyd, “soul gospel” isn’t just another genre of music. It’s a calling.
“It’s a ministry, and that’s what we do. We carry it,” Boyd told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “It’s a song in you and every song has a story.”
On a recent Sunday at Milwaukee’s Holy Temple Firstborn Missionary Baptist Church, Boyd along with the rest of the O.W.’s Exalters are dressed in matching baby blue outfits. Standing in front of packed pews, they are here on a mission.
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As the emcee explained to the audience, the O.W.’s Exalters aren’t mere singers. “I’m not going to say ‘sing,’” the MC said of the group’s art. “But minister. Because that is exactly what they do.”
As the group performed, the vocalists strutted down the aisle and the congregation members came to their feet. At the front of the church, behind the singers, sunlight streamed through stained glass surrounding a massive cross.
This year the soul gospel group, made up of six vocalists and six band members — most of them related — celebrates 35 years of harmonizing. They’ve produced four studio albums and performed at Baptist churches across Wisconsin and Illinois.
The family patriarch, Deacon O.W. Griffin, started the group in their home’s basement. According to the family, the story goes that Griffin and the boys would sing together and the girls would run downstairs to harmonize. Deacon Griffin died in 2008. The Exalters added O.W. to their name in his honor.
Over nearly four decades together, O.W.’s Exalters have become known for hitting the high notes. That discipline and range stem from their father, who would insist they practice in separate corners of the room so they could hear themselves sing solo.
“Quartet is a lot different from singing with the choir, because in a choir there’s several voices singing the same part, so sometimes you can kind of fall in the background of a choir. But with the Exalters, it’s every man for themselves,” vocalist Temple Smith said.
Milwaukee’s gospel scene is more nurturing than competitive. The group’s relationship to neighboring churches and gospel groups has deepened over the years.
“We’re all like one big family. We all know each other. We commune together and we serve one God,” Boyd said.
Communing and serving
At the Sunday performance near Milwaukee’s Lincoln Park, O.W.’s Exalters are celebrating another gospel group. Theirs was one of five performances honoring the Legendary Holy Gospel Singers, who have been together for 45 years.
That group’s lead singer, Glanda Jeanes, started thinking about creating a gospel group when she was 14 years old and hadn’t yet been introduced to quartet singing.
“I’m from Mississippi. I was in the field and hoeing cotton in the hot sun. And God spoke to me. I looked up and he showed me that he wanted me to sing with a group,” she said.
O.W.’s Exalters and The Legendary Holy Gospel Singers have a lot in common, including a deep relationship with God.
At the beginning of the tribute performance, Mary Griffin, the woman considered the mother of O.W.’s Exalters, told everyone it was time to honor God. And during performances congregants bowed their heads and prayed.
Creating a legacy for future generations
As Mary gets older she thinks about the legacy of her family and the group’s place in the community. After decades of marriage, Mary remembers how the group performed at Deacon O.W. Griffin’s funeral, which was difficult.
“At one point, me personally, I just didn’t feel like I could carry it on. I couldn’t do it justice, and I did want to give up,” she said. “But through encouragement and me realizing how being in the church had kept my kids from things that could’ve gone really bad … It was the singing that they love to do, that held them [together].”
Singing is keeping new generations of the family together as well. Mary’s grandchildren participate in the troupe and her great-grandchildren are getting in line, including 7-year-old Kamden Carter, who hopes to play drums.
When asked what O.W.’s Exalters means to him, he looked at his adoring family, then smiled.
“Love and kindness,” Carter said.
The full group of O.W.’s Exalters includes: Tiffany Boyd, Mary Griffin, Temple Smith Patrice Carter, Amber Wilkerson, Makaya Evans, guitarists Greg Randle and Steve Wilkerson, bassist Terrence Griffin, keyboardist Demetrius Ford, and Kentrell Epperson and Trivoris Griffin on drums.
They will perform a “Mother’s Day Musical” on May 11 at True Love Missionary Baptist in Milwaukee. More information about the group and all their performances is available on their Facebook page.
Editor’s note: This story was updated onMay 9 with the correct spelling of Glanda Jeanes’ name.
