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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 8
BY SENATOR BARROW
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers of Baton Rouge upon their
seventieth year anniversary as a traditional quartet gospel singing group.
WHEREAS, the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers were organized in 1948 by
Sister Eleanor Hill and, under the auspices of older brother, John "Jay" Wright, and the
Lighthouse Seniors, they became the first generation of Lighthouse Juniors with the original
members consisting of brothers Perry Wright Jr., Levie Wright, and Sterling Wright and
their first cousin Helen Wright; and
WHEREAS, in 1951, the late William Jackson became the first manager of the
Lighthouse Juniors; and
WHEREAS, in 1957, another brother, Linwood "Moonie" Wright became a member
of the group; and
WHEREAS, the young Wright brothers, known then as the Lighthouse Juniors,
traveled in and around their hometown singing and lifting up the name of Jesus through their
gospel songs; and
WHEREAS, born to Christian parents, Reverend Perry Wright Sr. and Sister Daisy
Hills Wright, they were reared in the little town of Wilson, Louisiana, where their father who
was a Baptist pastor and their mother who was also a local traditional gospel songbird,
nurtured their gift of singing; Daisy made them some little black robes and put matching
little black tennis shoes on them; and
WHEREAS, in 1962, Reverend Jeffery Spears became the second manager and
remained faithful until his death; shortly thereafter, in the same year, Brother Willie Jackson
became the third manager of the Lighthouse Juniors; and
WHEREAS, in 1965, Brother John Robertson joined the group as a lead singer and
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also became the fourth manager of the Lighthouse Juniors, serving in that capacity until his
death in 2001; after his death, Brother Sam Milligan became the fifth manager of the group
and continues to serve in this capacity presently; and
WHEREAS, during Brother Robertson's tenure with the group, God graced them
with an abundance of blessings: they changed their name to the Legendary Lighthouse
Gospel Singers; they began to travel across the country; they even began promoting their
own gospel concerts at various popular venues around the capital city of Baton Rouge which
included a lineup of several major traditional gospel recording artists such as Brother
Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Spencer Taylor and the Highway
QC's, Pastor Shirley Caesar, The Truthettes, Slim and the Supreme Angels, Doc McKenzie
and the Gospel HiLites, Willie Neal Johnson and the Gospel Keynotes, Willie Banks and the
Messengers, and many, many other major quartet gospel artists around the country; they also
produced and began their own local radio program over fifty-one years ago, and to this day
they can still be heard on radio station Heaven 1460 AM WXOK every Sunday morning
from 9:00 - 9:45 a.m.; and
WHEREAS, the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers again expanded the group in
1966 to include brothers Roosevelt Hafford and John Johnson, and late brothers Willie
Miles, Earl Johnson, and Donald Ray "Fats" Johnson; and
WHEREAS, in 1971 God again blessed the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers;
they recorded their first double 45 record that included two songs: "I'm On my Journey
Now" and "There's a Man"; two years later they released two 45 singles: "Nobody Knows"
and "Two Wings"; this was the beginning of the highlight of an immeasurable career for the
group; and
WHEREAS, from the mid 70s to the late 90s and into the early millennial years, the
Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers added to their discography of musical recordings
another 45 record, two LP albums, and several studio projects; their first full LP album
entitled "Let Jesus Have Control" was released in 1981 with ten songs on it; two of the songs
included on this LP were "I'll Rise Again" and "Nobody Knows", which were both written
by lead singer and songwriter, Pastor Perry Wright Jr., and unbeknownst to the group, "I'll
Rise Again" would later become a national hit, which was and still is to this day the most
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requested song on radio and in person; their third 45 record included two songs: "Stretch Out
on God's Word" and "God's Got His Eyes on You"; in the early 90s, LP albums and 45s had
become a thing of the past; in order to keep up with the changing times, radio stations began
requesting artists' music be submitted via compact disc; in order to keep their music,
including their national hit song "I'll Rise Again" in rotation, the Lighthouse Gospel Singers
were able to convert their "Let Jesus Have Control" LP onto a compact disc; in actuality this
was their first recording which was released as a CD; their next and second CD release was
"Calm the Storm" and their third CD entitled "I'll Rise Again" was named after their national
hit song; and
WHEREAS, in 1984, the sixth boy and baby brother of the Wright brothers, David
"Crock" Wright Sr. joined the group as a baritone singer and lead guitarist; around this time
the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers, in keeping with the tradition which was started
over thirty years before, noticed "the gift of song" in their sons and decided to train, push,
and groom them to one day carry on the legacy of their fathers, so from this lineage the
Lighthouse Gospel Singers formed a second generation of Lighthouse Juniors; the
Lighthouse Gospel Singers then became the Lighthouse Senior Gospel Singers; and
WHEREAS, in November 2016 with Dr. Gerard A. Robinson Sr. as their business
manager, the Lighthouse Senior Gospel Singers recorded and produced their first ever
national CD/DVD recording entitled "Through it All" live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on a
national record label: Ecko Records of Memphis, Tennessee; it was from this recording that
"Legendary" was added to their nationally known name; and
WHEREAS, the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers are schedule to release their
second national recording on the Ecko record label in June of 2018; and
WHEREAS, the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers continue to gain prominence
as one of the longest living premiere traditional quartet gospel groups as they continue to
travel all over the country singing praises unto Almighty God.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and celebrate the Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers as they reach
the momentous milestone of seventy years of traditional quartet gospel singing, and hereby
record for posterity their accomplishment.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Legendary Lighthouse Gospel Singers, Pastor Perry Wright Jr., Pastor Sterling Wright,
Levie Wright Sr., and Helen Wright Dantzler.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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