Sullivan Family, The

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THE SULLIVAN FAMILY

  • From St. Stephens, Alabama.
  • The first band to use the term bluegrass gospel to describe their music.
  • Originally included Arthur, Margie, Aubrey, Enoch and Emmett Sullivan. Jerry Sullivan also performed with the band.
  • 1949, began performing on a weekly radio broadcast over WPBB in Jackson, Alabama.
  • For many years, they hosted a bluegrass festival at their own 69-acre park in St. Stephens, Alabama.
  • For years, they performed more than 300 concerts a year and published a newsletter called The Bluegrass Gospel News.
  • Carl Jackson and Marty Stuart are former members of the Sullivan Family band. Marty Stuart’s first exposure to bluegrass was seeing The Sullivan Family as a youngster.
  • Bill Monroe gave Margie Sullivan the title “The First Lady of Bluegrass Gospel Music.”
  • 2011, Enoch Sullivan died at the age of 79.
  • 2014, Jerry Sullivan died at the age of 78.
  • 2023, Margie Sullivan died at the age of 90.