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1967 Koko Taylor sings "Wang Dang Doodle." Backed by Little Walter on harmonica, Hound Dog Taylor on guitar, Dillard Crume on bass, and Odie Payne on drums!

Dillard Crume, producer, guitarist and lead singer of the legendary SoulStirrers passed away Friday after an extended illness.

Dillard was born in asmall town in Missouri but due to economics the family of 10, eight boys andtwo girls, migrated to Chicago.

Dillard and the other Crume brothers wouldlater be introduced to Gospel music through their eldest brother A.C. Crume.Dillard quickly found out that this is what he wanted to do for the rest ofhis life and the brothers formed a group called the Crume Brothers.Other major Gospel groups became interested in the Crume Brothers because oftheir musical ability. At the age of 19 Dillard was approached by the BlindBoys of Mississippi. He accepted their offer and became their guitarist andbackground vocalist. After singing and playing with Blind Boys, Dillard became a member of the Highway QC's.

After singing with the Highway QC's. Dillard Crume will be greatly missed by his family, fans and friends, and bythe Gospel Community who admired and cherished his life's work.

Many years ago, when he was just a little boy, Dillard developed the idea that he wanted to be a gospel singer. Little did he know that this childhood aspiration would someday become reality.

Born in the state of Missouri, Dillard heard his first gospel quartet at the tender age of five. At the age of 81/2, he and his family migrated to the city of Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 91/2, Dillards oldest brother, A.C. Crume, taught all of the younger brothers to sing.

There were eight boys and two girls in Dillards family, of which six of the boys formed a gospel group called The Crume Brothers, when Dillard was only 9 years of age. Since that time so long ago, two of the brothers have died.

After developing their singing and musical talents during the early years, the Crume Brothers became quite famous in their own right in the city of Chicago, Il.

Other professional groups began to gain an interest in the singing and musical abilities of the brothers, and at the age of 19, Dillard was approached by the famous Five Blind Boys of Jackson, Mississippi to become their guitarist and background singer. He accepted their offer and traveled extensively within the United States.

After singing and playing with the Blind Boys, Dillard became a member of the Highway QCs of Chicago, Il.

After his stint with the Highway QCs, Dillard left the gospel field for awhile and played R&B, Rock and Roll, Blues, Calypso, etc, for about ten years.

While visiting the late great Willie Dixon (Little Red Rooster, Wang Dang Doodle, Cant Judge The Book By Looking At The Cover, etc.) one day, Dillard got his first chance to leave the country.

Willie was the American coordinator for the American Folk Blues Festival of 1968, which was booked out of Frankfurt, Germany by the Lippman Rau concert bureau, and gave Dillard the opportunity to travel to Europe as the bass player and emcee of the show, which consisted of thirteen acts including; Son House, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor, KoKo Taylor, Booker White, Odie Payne, and others.

After years of playing and singing R&B, Rock and Roll, etc., which included a stint with his own band (The Soul Rockers), Dillard felt an emptiness in his life. Realizing what that emptiness was, Dillard turned down a lucrative offer of part ownership in the club he was currently playing, to return to gospel music as the lead singer and producer of the world famous Soul Stirrers of Chicago, Illinois in 1976.

This is the very same group that gave the world the late great Sam Cooke.

Dillard traveled even more extensively with the Soul Stirrers, having traveled to all of the western European countries, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Scandinavia, etc., singing Gods praises.

In 1998, Dillard formed his own gospel group called; Dillard Crume and the Soul Crusaders, and has a new CD release out at this time.

Little did Dillard know when he had a dream at the tender age of five, that his dream would become reality, and allow him to travel the world over, singing and playing the music he loves so much. Now, after all this time, Dillard has come full circle and formed his latest group, "DILLARD CRUME AND THE "NEW SOUL STIRRERS".

Jackson, MS. March 24, 2008– On Friday, March 21, 2008, Gospel music lost another legend. Dillard Crume, producer, guitarist and lead singer of the legendary Soul Stirrers passed away after an extended illness. Dillard was born in a small town in Missouri but due to economics the family of 10, eight boys and two girls, migrated to Chicago. Dillard and the other Crume brothers would later be introduced to Gospel music through their eldest brother A.C. Crume. Dillard quickly found out that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and the brothers formed a group called the Crume Brothers. Other major Gospel groups became interested in the Crume Brothers because of their musical ability. At the age of 19 Dillard was approached by the Blind Boys of Mississippi. He accepted their offer and became their guitarist and background vocalist. After singing and playing with Blind Boys, Dillard became a member of the Highway QC’s. After singing with the Highway QC’s, Dillard left the Gospel Field to sing R&B. One night while singing in a night club in California, Dillard was approached by a motion picture company to be a part of an upcoming film entitled “Blume In Love”, starring George Segal and Shelley Winters. Dillard and his brother Rufus wrote a song for the movie entitled “I’m in Love With You”. Dillard also appeared in the movie. In the midst of all of the fame and fortune, Dillard still felt a void in his life and returned to his roots, Gospel Music. Dillard began producing records for labels such as Specialty Records, Checker Records and Jewel Records. Whatever label the Soul Stirrers were on, Dillard would somehow land a job. In 1976, an opportunity became available for Dillard as one of the lead singers for the Soul Stirrers. He gladly took the job and remained there until his death. While with The Soul Stirrers, Dillard wrote such hit songs as “Resting Easy”, “Meeting Over Yonder” and “If You Love Jesus Raise Your Hands” just to name a few. In February 2008, the Soul Stirrers were all reunited at the Malaco recording studio in Jackson, MS to record the upcoming release, “A Soul Stirring Reunion” on Malaco Records. Darrell Luster, member of The Sensational Nightingales and producer of “A Soul Stirring Reunion” states, “Dillard was my childhood idol. I learned so much from him. He taught me the Nashville Number System and how to read and write music charts. We’d stay on the phone for hours talking about the business. He will definitely be missed by me.”

n a small town names Swift, Missouri, Arthur Crume was born to Dillard and Lonia Crume on July 6, 1929. Arthur was the sixth child in a family that would eventually grow to 11 children--three girls and eight boys. He started his singing career at an early age.

When Arthur was 13 years old, his oldest brother started a group called The Crume Brothers. They sang together for several years without using instruments. They became very popular in Chicage and surronding areas.

Sometime later, Arthur's brother LeRoy bought a guitar and started to play it. Arthur got a book on how to play a guitar and began teaching himself. Other members of the family started playing the guitar also.

Arthur started playing the guitar for Gospel groups all around Chicago. Soon other professional singing groups began hearing about those guitar-playing Crume brothers and they started recuiting them one by one.

Arthur joined The Legendary Soul Stirrers in 1965. Prior to that he had played for the Swan Silver Tones for 1 years, The Nightingales for 1 year and the Highway QC'S for 5 years. Arthur became a manager of The Soul Stirrers in 1974.

He is currently serving the group as the manager, guitarist and tenor. He has been a member of the group longer than anyone in the history of the group with the exception of the previous manage, J.J. Farley.

He is "Committed To His Ministry Of Music" and plans to serve God until the end. Arthur is married to "A Beautiful Leading Lady of God ," Prophetess Jeanette Pierce- Crume.