In Touch With The Blevins Sisters
By Betty Miller Buttram
FWIS Contributing Writer
Psalm 92:1,4: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands, I sing for joy.
On Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 4 p.m., I heard the singing voices of a popular and well-known gospel group in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Blevins Sisters Gospel Quartet Singers were honored for their 50 faithful years as a gospel group with a Golden Jubilee Celebration at Kingdom Door Worship Center.
This was a Gospel Jubilee celebration for the Blevins Sisters. Pastor Curtis White, III, Divine Faith Baptist Church and current manager of the Blevins Sisters Gospel Quartet, began the celebration with a Scripture reading from Psalm 92:1-5. The program was filled with gospel songs that had the folks on their feet, clapping their hands, and singing along.
The Blevins Sisters were born into a family filled with the sound of gospel music. Their mother, Lucinda Blevins, began singing at the age of nine in Selma, Alabama. She sang with her sisters, the Bonner Sisters, known as “The Holy City Quartet.” Their father, Moses Blevins, Sr., began singing at the age of seven, and he sang in a gospel quartet known as “The Traveling Four” in Selma, Alabama. Both parents were born in Selma, Alabama and out of their union were born ten daughters and one son. In 1948, the Blevins family moved from Selma, Alabama to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Blevins Sisters grew up listening to spirituals and jubilee songs by Gospels artists like the Jackson Southernaires, Sensational Nightingales, Dixie Hummingbirds, Same Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, The Trumpeteers, The Pilgrim Travelers, The Norfleet Brothers, The Bells of Joy, Angelic Voices, and many more that were played in their parents’ home. This music helped shape their music ministry into what it has become today.
They began their journey into gospel jubilee singing on Mother’s Day, May 12, 1974. Mrs. Juanita Williams of St. John C.M.E. Church at 602 E. Wayne Street asked some of the mothers of the church to sing a solo. Mrs. Lutetia Reed, one of the Blevins sisters, was one of the mothers asked. Her sisters, Shirley and Ophelia joined her as background singers, and they sang “Mother Bowed and Yes, She Prayed for Me.” Later that same day, the sisters formed a gospel quartet along with their mother Lucinda Blevins and became known as the Blevins Sisters. Two weeks later, Mr. Heck Goree joined them as manager for the group. A month later, Archie Ellis joined the group as their bass singer. As a theme song, they decided on “Where Could I Go, But to the Lord.” In the latter part of 1975, the group name was changed to The Blevins Sisters and Company. The Blevins Sisters started out singing Acapella. As the years passed, they decided to accompany some of their songs with music.
The late Archie Ellis was a long-time good friend to the Blevins family. He sang bass with the Blevins Sisters’ father, as part of the Indiana Jubilee Singers. The late Heck Goree was Lutelia Reed’s brother-in-law. He sang in a gospel quartet known as “The Spiritual Travelers” in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The current Blevins Sisters are Lutelia Reed, Pastor Ann White, Evangelist Janice Blevins-Hannah, Patricia Blevins, Barbara Blevins, Ophelia Edwards, Shirley McKinnie, and Lucinda Blevins. Tara Maydwell is the daughter and Stepdaughter of Pastors Ann and Curtis White III and assists the Blevins Sisters as a fill-in when needed.
The Blevins Sisters sang at many churches and organizations throughout their 50 years of singing in Fort Wayne, Indiana and in surrounding cities and states. They have developed many relationships with gospel quartet groups in Warsaw, Indiana; Anderson, Indiana; Lima, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, Saginaw Michigan, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Throughout the years, the Blevins Sisters have received many awards. On May 5, 2024, they were honored with a Proclamation from the Late Tom Henry and signed by Mayor Sharon Tucker, proclaiming May 5, 2024, as the 50th Anniversary of the Blevins Sisters Gospel Singers Day in Fort Wayne, encouraging all citizens of Fort Wayne to duly note this occasion. It was read by Chief Condra Ridley:
“The City of Fort Wayne honors and recognizes the Blevins Sisters for 50 years of gospel singing and thank the Blevins Sisters individually and collectively for their harmonious voices and praise. We are appreciative of their service in song not only in church worship but also concerts, funerals, and park events. We thank the Lord for their fortitude, conviction, stamina, and grace all these years, and we bless the Blevins Sisters who have made the City of Fort Wayne a better place.”
The Blevins Sisters are looking forward to passing the torch and the legacy of their gospel quartet and gospel music history on to the next generation. The quartet sings every 2nd Sunday at Divine Faith Baptist Church, Pastor Curtis White II and Pastor Ann White, at 4 p.m. with other talented groups, soloists or anyone who would like to share their talents.