The Golden Gate Quartette

The members of the Golden Gate Quartette were Clyde Riddick and Harry Owens, tenors; Orlandus Wilson and Alton Bradley, bass, and Conred Frederick was the piano accompanist. It was reported that they all came from Norfolk, Virginia. Their specialty was traditional American jubilee spirituals, classics, folk songs as well as original material. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the group concertized all over the world, including Russia and Egypt. They also appeared regularly on radio and recordings. In January, 1941 the group performed at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., the same venue that denied opera singer Marion Anderson in 1939. In July, 1948 the quartet was featured on Ed Sullivan's television program, marking the first time spiritual melodies had been presented over television. Quartet member Orlandus Wilson (1917-1998), who moved to Paris in the 1950s, was the last survivor of the original group. In 2003, playwright Dean Strober created a play based on the history of the quartet, as seen through the eyes of Orlandus Wilson. Entitled Orlandus, the play had its premiere at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.