by Larry Chowning
Middlesex County natives and musicians Sherman Holmes, Theodore Braxton, the late James Curtis and the late Wendell Holmes were honored Saturday night at the Labor Day “Get Out The Vote” R&B concert in Urbanna for their contribution to the music world.
S. Holmes, Braxton, Curtis and North Carolina native Roland Park formed the rock-and-roll music group Sevilles in 1963. The Sevilles toured the country for six years backing up such rock-and-roll greats as The Impressions, The Drifters, John Lee Hooker, Jerry Butler, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis.
S. Holmes, Braxton and Curtis were members of the St. Clare Walker (SCW) High School band. SCW was Middlesex County’s all-black high school at Cooks Corner.
“I remember when we started the group and left for New York,” said Braxton to the more than 2,000 people who attended the concert. “It was quite an experience being a part of the band and we traveled all over the country. Later, I got married and that ended that type of life for me, but Sherman and Wendell (Sherman’s younger brother) went on to become famous as the Holmes Brothers.”
In 1979, Sherman, Wendell and Willie “Popsy” Dixon formed the band and singing group, the Holmes Brothers, a group that went on to receive international and national honors. In 2014, they received the National Heritage Award, which honors those who preserve America’s historical character.
Middlesex County native George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare union in the nation, presented Holmes and Braxton with framed copies of the Southside Sentinel article published February 28, 2019 with a story on the Holmes Brothers and a front page photo of the 1963 Sevilles.
“I used to go to St. Clare Walker High School and listen to these guys play music in the school band, and that is a very special memory for me,” said Gresham.
The Labor Day “Get Out The Vote” R&B concert was sponsored by Gresham’s New York union. This is the third year of the concert. The union has in past years also sponsored visits to Middlesex County by Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jessie Jackson who came and preached at Lebanon Baptist Church near Saluda.
The Saturday night concert featured singers were The Isley Brothers and Angela Winbush. Rev. Dr. William Barber II gave the message on the importance of everyone voting this November.
