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One of the best descriptions of the Fairfield Four is 'heritage music'. They're a bonafide gospel singing group; the original group was founded by the Rev. J.R. Carrethers of the Fairfield Baptist Church in Nashville in the 1920s.

The current lineup performed as a quartet beginning in 1942, and added James Hill in 1946; justifiably, they have appeared at the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife.

Ranging in age from the mid-'60s to the mid-'80s, their a cappella harmonies still reach for the sky. The group has won too many awards, performed too many concerts, and recorded too many albums to mention. The four are Joseph Thompson, Isaac Freeman, Edward Hall and Robert Hamlett.

A national musical treasure, with a history that spans virtually the entire twentieth century, The Fairfield Four stands at the crossroads of the American experience - that extraordinary juncture rooted in gospel and branching into virtually every form of musical expression from blues to R&B, soul to rock & roll and beyond.

As such, it is only fitting that the veteran a capella group should find a whole new audience for their traditional-steeped sound, thanks to a flurry of recent recording and performing opportunities with some of the most influential artists on the scene. Over the past few years, The Fairfield Four have worked on stage and in the studio with everyone from John Fogerty to Charlie Daniels, Steve Earle to Elvis Costello. In the process, they have brought their incredibly evocative vocal harmonies to a rich array of styles and, once again, they have called to mind the seminal role of gospel in the shaping and substance of our common musical heritage.

The group has, in fact, been so much in demand of late, it's surprising that they were able to find time to return to the studio to cut a follow-up to their acclaimed 1992 Warner Bros. Records debut album, Standing In The Safety Zone. Add to that the sad news that one of the group's longest-standing members, W.L. Richardson, passed away August, 1993 and the arrival of their exuberant new album, I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, is all the more a cause for celebration.

Recorded over a three-year period whenever their increasingly hectic schedule allowed for spare studio time, I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray features eleven moving and majestic new tracks, including the Paul McCartney / Elvis Costello tune, "That Day Is Done," with a lead vocal performance by Costello himself. Country star Pam Tillis is heard on "Get Away Jordan," while radio-great Garrison Keillor delivers a moving scripture recitation for the medley "Amazing Grace / The Prodigal Son."

In between is a selection of gospel perennials - from "Noah" and "Come On In This House" to "Four And Twenty Elders" and the title track - each given vibrant new life by a group whose very existence testifies to the enduring power of their music and its message.

Although The Fairfield Four was initially formed in the early '20s at Nashville's Fairfield Baptist Church, the group gained national recognition in 1942 when they won a contest that offered the winners an on-air performance at a local station. The broadcast proved so popular that, five days a week for the next ten years, The Fairfield Four had their own radio show, making them one of the most recognized and beloved gospel groups in the country.

The original group reached the apex of its popularity by the late '40s with a lineup that included Isaac Freeman and Bessemer, Alabama's own James Hill, the only early members still performing with The Fairfield Four. Over the next two decades, the group underwent various personnel changes, yet always remained true to the distinctive vocal harmonies that had initially set them apart. In the late '60s, the group went into semi-retirement, emerging again in 1980 at a Birmingham, Alabama Quartet Reunion, where they electrified audiences with an authentic gospel sound that had all but disappeared in the intervening years.

Since then, The Fairfield Four have never looked back. Individual members continued to come and go, leading up to the current lineup of Joseph Thompson, Isaac Freeman, Edward Hall and Robert Hamlett.

Aside from appearing on such albums as John Fogerty's long-awaited new release Blue Moon Swamp and Steve Earle's new Warner Bros. Records release El Corazón, the group has also performed in concert with Charlie Daniels and Lyle Lovett. They were honored guests at The Meltdown Festival in London, under the direction of Elvis Costello, who returned the favor by writing the liner notes to I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray. The group has headlined their own concerts from coast to coast, appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and have been awarded National Heritage Fellowships by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1998, a dream came true when the group won it's first Grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Recording for, I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray.

The Fairfield Four is a living link to the roots of a mutually shared musical tradition, singing songs that carry a timeless message, with voices lifted up in the purest praise.

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