The Blackwood Brothers sang gospel for over 60 years, and from the 1950s to the '70s, they were one of the most popular gospel groups in the U.S. One of their biggest fans was a young Elvis Presley, who auditioned -- and was turned down -- for the group in 1953. The quartet was formed in 1934 by brothers Roy (b. December 24, 1900, Fentress, MS; d. March 21, 1971), Doyle (b. August 22, 1911, Ackerman, MS), and James Blackwood (b. August 4, 1919, Ackerman, MS; d. February 3, 2002, Memphis, TN), along with Roy's 13-year-old son R.W. Blackwood (b. October 23, 1921, Ackerman, MS; d. June 30, 1954, Clanton, AL). The Blackwoods sang at churches around their base of Ackerman, MS, during the mid-'30s. By 1937, however, they began working a radio show in Kosciusko, MS. The quartet moved to WJDX in Jackson later that year, singing pop and country in addition to gospel. After two years in Jackson, they were popular enough to move to KWKH in Shreveport, LA, a regional superstation that broadcast over much of the South.