By Michael Laches
The Silver Stars Gospel Group will celebrate its 58th anniversary on the second Sunday of September 2022. Long-time resident and a community stalwart of Holly Springs, George Kimble, will be there. Kimble is the only remaining, original member of the group, a group that got its start in the mid-1960s.
Kimble recounted that fateful day in the spring of 1965. He and his brother, both high school students, were out on an errand and stopped at a house off of Lead Mine Road.
“When we stepped inside, there was singing. We joined in and they said you guys are pretty good. You all want to sing quartet?” they asked.
A gentleman took their telephone number down. It was a Friday night. On the following Monday, they got a call to come back. The quartet consisted of Kimble, his two brothers Otis and William, John Guest and Albert Jeffers (the manager). They added Richard Evans shortly thereafter. These were the original Silver Stars. Over the next two-plus years, they performed at a variety of churches.
Then came the Vietnam War. Evans was drafted in February of 1969 and he went to Vietnam. Kimble got the call several months later but was spared making the trip.
“Thank God for that,” Kimble said.
The Silver Stars were silenced. Then, in July of 1971, Kimble came back from the service. Evans returned in December of 1971. It wasn’t long before the Silver Stars reconvened performing in and around Wake County and then, as their connections and reputation grew, made their way to myriad cities and towns across the state including Asheboro, Greensboro, Wilson, Goldsboro, Raeford, Fayetteville and Winston-Salem, to name a few.
In 1972, the lead singer, Guest, said he was going to leave the group. They needed a new lead singer. They looked at Kimble. He said no. They then asked Evans.
“I can’t stand in front of all of those people,” Kimble recalled Evans saying, “So, I told him to close his eyes.” And that’s exactly what he did. The Silver Stars had a new lead singer.
In 1976, with almost 10 years of performances under their belt, the Silver Stars recorded their first 45 rpm. It did reasonably well. While the Silver Stars managed their internal affairs, Kimble recalled a fan who frequented their performances and offered up unapologetic advice.
“Marvin Chavis would tell us if we sounded good or bad,” Kimble said with a bit of a laugh. I asked Kimble if Chavis had a good ear. He said he did, so I guess this unsolicited advice helped them fine-tune their singing.
That singing was something Kimble likely heard the moment he was born. He grew up in a home where singing was almost as important as breathing. Kimble was the knee baby (i.e., second to last). With his six siblings, and mother and father singing all the time, each had a part.
“You had to know your part and only sing your part,” Kimble recounted.
Kimble then demonstrated what he meant. It was just a simple riff, like a doo-wop or an ooooh or an ahhhhhh. But it had soul and passion. All these years later, he remembered his part.
So, with a foundation of music and song at home, in 1952, Kimble was enrolled at the Rosenwald school in Holly Springs where he started the first grade. He noted that every Friday, they’d have a talent show. His teacher at the time, Ms. Hattie Atwater Mims, would plan out a children’s play with pre-selected songs. Kimble fondly recalled his first performance at the school.
“Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today,” he sang.
From there, Kimble said he sang all over Holly Springs: church on Sundays, glee club in middle school and chorus in high school. Kimble was born in Holly Springs and has lived there for most of his life save for a short stint in North Raleigh in the 1950s. Later on, Kimble even served in the town’s local government for a stretch.
“Holly Springs is home. I love Holly Springs,” Kimble said.
He recounted a time when he was visiting his fiancée up in Brooklyn, NY. She tried to get him to move there. He looked around and said he was going back to Holly Springs.
Back in Holly Springs, the Silver Stars were adding more instruments to the group. They always had a lead guitarist but saw the need for a bass player and then a drummer. They were an established and respected gospel singing group and at their height, they had six men plus the band. They would play at churches around the state to help with fundraising, they would play at other celebrations and memorials, and they would play at gospel jubilees with and for their fellow gospel groups. In the early days, there were many, many gospel groups in Wake County and these “gigs” were all played for free.
The Silver Stars’ first anniversary was held on the first Sunday in September in 1966. They later found out that WLLE-AM radio, a local gospel station, was celebrating its anniversary on the first Sunday in September. As a result, the Silver Stars moved their anniversary to the second Sunday in September and that’s been their day ever since.
Kimble noted that the ensuing anniversary celebrations took place at a variety of locations during their previous 57 years. He said that the first-ever concert held at the Raleigh Civic Center (brand new at the time) was a Silver Star anniversary celebration.
“That room we played in was as big as this house,” Kimble said.
As you might imagine, these anniversary celebrations always included family and friends, special guests and many local, contemporary gospel groups. The gospel singing community was tight-knit and loyal. But Kimble lamented that gospel groups are not as big today. Many of the groups that played alongside the Silver Stars have faded away as their members passed away and were not replaced.
“No one carried on their legacy,” he shared.
Kimble underscored that playing gospel music is not a money-making thing
“If you think you’re gonna make some money, stay home,” Kimble said.
For a while, the Silver Stars rarely stayed home on Sunday morning. Instead, they could be found broadcasting live gospel songs at 10 a.m. from the Raleigh-based radio station, WLLE-AM. Sadly, those broadcasts are a thing of the past. While not lucrative financially, those radio slots provided additional exposure and recognition.
They garnered additional exposure and recognition (and made some money along the way) as they recorded two albums, one in 1985 and the other in 1986. Both were recorded at The Toybox Studio in Nashville, Tennessee—a studio owned by none other than Dolly Parton. But how did the Silver Stars connect with this country music star?
Kimble, an electrician by day, was part of the construction team that was building the Raleigh Community Hospital. The general contractor was from Nashville. He put the Silver Stars in touch with Louis Swift, a Nashville-based music producer. Swift produced both of their albums. The albums did well but the group members didn’t quit their day jobs.
Kimble shared that their gigs eventually moved outside of the state with performances in places like Detroit, Tampa, New Orleans and Rochester (NY) to name a few. For the most part, these were Silver Star road trips. When money is tight, you drive.
Driving wasn’t without its peril, however. Kimble recalled the trip to Rochester in upstate New York in December of 1983.
“We got up there just fine,” he said.
The return trip wasn’t as successful. They hit some freezing rain and their rented van skidded off the road, rolled a few times and came to a complete stop on the shoulder, some two feet from the highway pavement.
“The roof of the van looked like an A-frame. Every window was smashed in,” Kimble remembered.
The good news was that no one was seriously injured. Kimble said that they should have gone to the hospital. They didn’t. Instead, they slept in a very cold wrecker (tow truck) from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. until their replacement cars arrived from Philadelphia. Holly Springs, here we come.
A connection they made during the recording session in Nashville led them to the New Orleans gig, a trip they would make for 10 straight years before Hurricane Katrina got in the way. They continued traveling outside the state to perform until the pandemic hit in early 2020. They have not traveled out of state since.
As the Silver Stars approach their 58th anniversary, I asked Kimble what kept him engaged for almost six decades.
“The love of it. The Lord blessed us to have voices and the opportunity to meet new people. It’s in your blood. It’s not a money thing. I told everyone who thought it was to ‘keep your day job’,” Kimble said. Kimble reiterated that you have to be dedicated to gospel singing.
“If you are not going to be dedicated, move on. There ain’t no children in the group. You are either gonna do what you’re supposed to do or you’re not. And if not, move on. We have no time for babysitting,” Kimble implored.
Kimble said that not just anyone could join. It sounded like they were pretty discerning about who they would consider. They had to be compatible with the rest and move in the same direction.
“If you’re going right and he’s going left. If you’re going forward and he’s backing up. That’s not gonna work,” Kimble shared.
In the end, Kimble suggested that the whole was much bigger than the sum of its parts. “I need you; you need me. Everybody’s got to perform their part,” Kimble said.
Sound familiar?
Kimble’s early singing days with his family featured the same refrain about knowing your part. If you don’t know your part or you’re not going to do your part, move on.
“Don’t get a big head. No one is bigger than the group,” Kimble reminded.
Kimble looks forward to the coming Silver Stars anniversary on the second Sunday in September. And, if it’s the Lord’s will, as he said, he will be back next year and then in two years at their big 60th jubilee.
As the only remaining original member of the Silver Stars, I asked Kimble if someone will carry on the legacy when the inevitable happens. Kimble said they have someone poised to do so, God willing.
Today, the Silver Stars consist of Kimble, James Mann, Jr., Theodore Carrington, Tony Thompson, John Dennin and Kevin Burgess.
For George Kimble, a passionate and dedicated gospel singer and a passionate and dedicated member of the Holly Springs community, it’s always been about knowing your part.
This Silver Star shines on.
