Editing The Soul Stirrers (section)

===Recordings and performances===
In 1936, [[Alan Lomax]] recorded The Soul Stirrers for the [[Library of Congress]]'s American music project, and those four unissued recordings are in the [[American Folklife Center]] collection today. They later moved to [[Chicago]], where they broadcast a weekly radio show (WIND) with other famous groups including [[The Golden Gate Quartet]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kJQtrJNvo7gC&pg=PA211 |title=Close Harmony: A History of Southern Gospel |author=James R. Goff |page=211 |access-date=September 4, 2016|isbn=9780807853467 |year=2002 |publisher=UNC Press Books }}</ref> and ''The Famous Blue Jay Singers''.<ref>[https://blackmusicscholar.com/the-famous-blue-jay-singers/ The Famous Blue Jay Singers] blackmusicscholar.com Retrieved 14 November 2024</ref> As the gospel quartet style of singing became more popular, groups would perform in competitions called "song battles" to further increase the genre's popularity.

As World War II began, it became more difficult for many gospel quartet groups to make a living. It resulted in some quartets supplementing their income by doing live performances at churches, schools, and neighborhood centers. Despite the economic situation, throughout the 1940s and leading into the 1950s, many gospel quartet groups were able to pursue their careers successfully. The Soul Stirrers' nationwide touring gained them an even larger audience.

The Soul Stirrers signed with [[Specialty Records]], where they recorded a number of tracks, including "By and By" and "In That Awful Hour".<ref name="Larkin50"/> Harris quit in late 1950 to form a new group, citing dissatisfaction with what he viewed as the crookedness of the business and immoral behavior by musicians he saw on the "Gospel Highway" touring circuit.<ref name="Larkin50"/> He was briefly replaced on lead by Paul Foster, then by [[Sam Cooke]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> Cooke joined the group at 19 and served as lead vocalist from 1950 to 1956.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/sam-cooke|title=Sam Cooke|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|language=en|access-date=2017-10-10}}</ref>

One of the early singles with Cooke was "Jesus Gave Me Water", a major hit that brought The Soul Stirrers acclaim. Thomas L. Breuster was replaced by Bob King and, briefly, [[Julius Cheeks]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> When Cooke left in 1957 to pursue a solo career in pop music, The Soul Stirrers' preeminence in gospel was essentially over, though a brief period of success with [[Johnnie Taylor]] sustained the group for a time.<ref name="Larkin50"/> The group made several appearances performing on ''[[TV Gospel Time]]'' in early 1960s. Various line-ups continued touring and recording throughout the last half of the century to a small and devoted following.