The Golden Gate Quartet

The definitive afroamerican gospel group in the jubilee quartet style. Founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet in Norfolk, Virginia in 1934 by A. C. “Eddie” Griffin, Robert “Peg” Ford, Henry Owens, and Bill Johnson, they began as a traditional jubilee quartet, combining the clever arrangements associated with barbershop quartets with rhythms borrowed from the blues and jazz. The makeup of the group changed over the years, as some members were drafted during the war and new members were brought in to replace those who had retired or left to join other groups.