The Relatives

The Relatives are spawned from the same fervent Pentecostal tradition that begat Elder Utah Smith. In the 1950’s and 60’s, the West family were Dallas Gospel royalty and often hosted traveling musicians, including a young Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Lou Rawls, and O.V. Wright. Rev. Tommie recalls climbing a tree to watch Soul Stirrer Sam Cooke play guitar and sing on their front porch. When Rev. Gean returned home from 1970 tour, a young Tommie had written a song in a new voice influenced as much by traditional Gospel quartets as it was James Brown and Hendrix. “Speak to Me (What’s Wrong With America?)” marked the beginning of The Relatives and a new musical direction, dubbed the “Street Sound” by Rev. Gean. The group quickly realized that their contemporary sound would get them bookings in nightclubs as well as churches. As Rev. Gean says, “If the people won’t come to church, we’ll bring church to the people.” The Relatives spent the 1970’s touring nationwide and pressing small batches of 45 rpm singles that did well regionally, but never made a splash outside of North Texas. Known for their powerful original songs and searing stage show, their reputation survived the 1970’s, but the group did not, recording their final session with legendary engineer Phil York in 1975 and disbanding in 1980. Rev. Tommie founded his No Walls Ministries, while Rev. Gean continued to manage touring Gospel artists, founded his own church and hosted a popular radio show on Dallas’ KKDA, “Soul 73 AM.” With only a cracked copy of The Relatives’ “Don’t Let Me Fall” single to go on, Heavy Light Records located Rev. Gean in 2009 and began the process of reissuing The Relatives’ vintage recordings. Rev. Gean calls The Relatives’ rediscovery and resurgence, “nothing short of a miracle.”

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