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The Speer Family
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The Speer Family c.1966
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Speers |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres | Christian, Southern Gospel |
| Years active | 1921–1998 |
| Labels | Heart Warming, RCA Victor |
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn (1902–1979) and Logan Claborn (William Logan Claborn; 1896–1981).[1] Harold Lane was also a member of this group.
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Both George Thomas and Lena came from musical families. G.T. and Lena began the group to supplement their income, which otherwise came from farming.[2] Before them, almost all gospel groups were made up solely of men. The Speer Family are considered pioneers in featuring women singers.[3][4]
Within two years, the group had become so successful that G.T. Speer decided to make the group full-time. In the late 1920s, the group established a working relationship with the James David Vaughan Music Company, selling songbooks. However, the group's success proved to be insufficient to support two families' budgets. In 1925, Logan and Pearl Claborn left the group; Logan returned to his job as a carpenter. To fill the void, "Dad" Speer enlisted 5-year-old Brock Speer and 3-year-old Rosa Nell Speer to sing with him and his wife. The group's concerts featured several duet songs by "Dad" and "Mom" Speer, and several songs with Brock singing alto and Rosa Nell singing lead.
In 1934, "Dad" Speer accepted a full-time job with the Vaughan Music Company. This position afforded greater financial security for the family. Also in the mid 1920s/early 1930s, two more siblings, Mary Tom Speer (1925-2014) and Ben Speer (1930-2017), joined the group.
In 1941, James Vaughan died, and the Speer family left his company. During his time at the Vaughan Company, "Dad" Speer wrote or co-wrote more than 600 songs.[2] After leaving, they joined the Stamps-Baxter company, a Vaughan competitor, and also became a regular performer on the WSFA radio station.
George Thomas "Dad" Speer died in 1966 and Lena "Mom" Speer died in 1967. Pearl and Logan Claborn died in 1979 and 1981 respectively. The group, led by brothers Brock (died March 29, 1999, at age 78[5]) and Ben, underwent various configurations over the next several decades. Ben retired from the group in 1993 although he did appear on occasion with the group until Brock officially retired the Speer Family at the 1998 National Quartet Convention. Ben Speer continued to be involved in Southern Gospel music as the Music Director of the Gaither Homecoming Series, and as owner of Ben Speer's Stamps-Baxter School of Music, a Southern Gospel singing school, up until his death in 2017, which continues under the ownership of son Stephen.[6]
Ben, Mary Tom, Rosa Nell and Faye continued to make appearances in Gaither Homecoming videos. The group was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame in 1998, following individual inductions for "Dad" Speer (1971); "Mom" Speer (1972); Brock Speer (1975); and Ben Speer (1995).[7][citation needed]
The Speer Family was the first group to receive the Gospel Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Other recognition for the Speers included inclusion in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, receiving the Southern Gospel Music Guild's Heritage Award, and receiving 14 Dove Awards.[8] The group's recording of "I'm Standing on the Solid Rock" has the distinction of having the longest tenure as the top song on the Singing News chart of popular Southern Gospel recordings.[9]
Mary Tom Speer-Reid died on September 16, 2014, aged 89. Faye Speer died on October 13, 2015, aged 86. Ben Speer died on April 7, 2017, at age 86. A month later, Rosa Nell Speer-Powell, who was the last survivor of the original Speer Family, died on May 16, 2017, at the age of 94.[10][11][12][13]
Since the retirement of the Speer Family in 1998, two spin-off groups have been created. The New Speer Revival was a short-lived group formed in the early 2000s by former Speer Family members Marc Speer and former soprano Karen Apple. They recorded one album titled "Carrying On The Tradition" which featured recordings of some of the Speer Family's best-known songs. Another group was formed in 2018 by Brock and Faye's son Brian Speer and his wife Allison Durham Speer, they were joined by bass singer Mike Allen and relatively new singer Ben Waites to form the New Speer Family. They have recorded one album titled "A Singing Heritage"
Several other notable Southern Gospel singers have been part of the Speer Family including Ann Downing, Sue Dodge, Jeanne Johnson, Daryl Williams and Ginger Laxson.
GMA Dove Award for Mixed Group of The Year (1969-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77) (The awards for 1971 were nullified; had the awards not been nullified The Speer Family would have won the award for Mixed Group of The Year)
Gospel Music Hall of Fame (1998; The Speer Family) (1971; Dad Speer) (1972; Mom Speer) (1975; Brock Speer) (1995; Ben Speer)
Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame (1997; Dad Speer) (1997; Mom Speer) (1997; Brock Speer) (1998; Ben Speer) (2005; Rosa Nell Speer Powell) (2006: Mary Tom Speer Reid) (2014; Faye Ihrig Speer)
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