Brewster, William Herbert Sr.

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Brewster, William Herbert Sr.

Brewster, William Herbert Sr., black American gospel singer and songwriter; b. Somerville, Term., July 2, 1897; d. Memphis, Oct. 14, 1987. He was educated at Roger Williams Coll. in Nashville, Term. (B.A., 1922). In 1928 he became pastor of the East Trigg Baptist Church in Memphis. He was founder-director of the Brewster Theological Clinic there, which maintained branches in many other U.S. cities. He possessed a fine baritone voice and toured with his own group, the Brewster Ensemble. He composed over 200 gospel songs, the most popular being “Move on Up a Little Higher” (1946) and “Surely, God is Able” (1949). He also wrote over 15 biblical music dramas.

Bibliography

A Retrospective of Gospel Music Composer Reverend W.H. B. (Washington, D.C., 1982).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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