Throughout a time of strict segregation, the processions of colorful uniforms and gleaming brass instruments were a source of pride to black people, who were limited in social and religious options. The combination of Grace’s preaching and shout bands proved potent in spreading the House of Prayer’s message, especially during those massive parades. But trombones, because of their expressive tones, became the dominant instrument 20 years later, adding theater and new converts to the faith. Photos from the time show brass bands accompanying Grace at mass baptisms. Twenty thousand people packed in to watch in a town with a population of only 30,000.
Grace, resplendent with long, curly hair and a tailored suit, rode in a luxurious automobile or float, leading the way to Lakewood Park for a mass baptism of new converts - black and white - by dunking them in the lake. The marching band consisted of drums and brass. There were women and girls in flowing white dresses men and boys in dark suits, white shirts, and ties. But Charlotte churches gave the concept a cultural foothold through Grace’s preaching, parades, and mass baptisms.Īt the denomination’s annual fall convocations in the 1920s, thousands lined the route in their Sunday best to watch the procession. House of Prayer congregations in Gaston County were at the forefront of setting gospel messages to a secular tempo in the early 20th century. The exact origin of shout bands is uncertain, but North Carolina is at the heart of their development, with 17 in the state by Mangum’s count. “Who knows? The music just might be a bait to grab on to the hook for them to come.” Pageantry in the streets “It’s something to draw people toward the House of Prayer to come in and seek more,” Mangum says. The Charlotte Mother House on Beatties Ford Road holds services six days a week, in addition to performances across the country and overseas. The Bailey Clouds of Heaven, which consists of eight to 10 musicians, now performs almost daily. They’re church emissaries and have been since 1965 when Grace’s successor, Bishop Walter McCollough, launched the group as the No. The Clouds aren’t typical church musicians. “It’s designed for the soul, and that’s what draws the people.” To watch Mangum play - cheeks billowing as he blows into the mouthpiece, right hand pushing the slide in and out - is to understand why the band is a ministry. Music as baitĬedric Mangum joined the band as a 7-year-old in 1968 and learned every instrument in the band before taking the lead on trombone. Today, Charlotte is home to 20 House of Prayer congregations within a 20-mile radius. Brass bands added a creative element to the sermon that proved so effective at winning converts that Charlotte became an anchor in the House of Prayer’s membership base. Grace was a master of promotion, deploying a car as a rolling billboard, covered with verses from Scripture and an angel on the roof urging people to see “Sweet Daddy” preach.
Noting the success of racially exclusive tent crusades organized by white preachers in the South, Grace expanded the concept to the black community, using Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood as the base. He found an opportunity to spread the Pentecostal faith’s message beyond the Mason-Dixon Line. In the 1920s, a charismatic preacher from Cape Verde, Africa, named Bishop Charles Manuel Grace, visited Charlotte after forming the United House of Prayer for All People in 1919 in Massachusetts. Band members don’t preach, but they’re integral to worship services as an upbeat, musical bridge to the Word, awash in a sonic tide of jazz, blues, gospel, and Dixieland. The United House of Prayer for All People and its shout bands, including the Bailey Clouds of Heaven, are rooted in North Carolina, mixing dynamic preaching with showstopping musicianship that energized black communities during the days of segregation. If Gabriel took an earthly gig, he’d join this band. The band, which includes trumpets, baritones, saxophones, drums, and sousaphones, obliges, and launches into a call-and-response interaction between the Clouds and the congregation. The assembled exhort the Clouds to dig deeper, so they can be moved to new heights of praise. And heads sway from side to side when the trombones wail.įrom the first note, the spirit takes over, and the Bailey Clouds of Heaven brass band coaxes the audience to its feet.
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