Elvis Collectors Brasil - Interview: Bill Baize

An accomplished gospel singer, Bill Baize sung background for Elvis Presley when he decided to hit the road again, in the latter stage of his comeback. Bill is part of famous gospel group J.D Sumner And The Stamps Quartet. We catch up with Bill about his carreer, his times with Elvis and his recent visit to Brazil.

Bill Baize interviewed for Elvis Collectors Brasil by Marco Ruiz, Sergio Biston and Renan Ruiz.
ECB: Elvis Collectors Brasil
BB: Bill Baize

ECB: Bill, please tell us about yourself and your music background
BB: I was born in Indiana in the United States in 1939. My music background reads something like this:
Started singing with a gospel quartet in Evansville, Indiana named "The Echoes of Calvary Quartet" when I was 14 years old. We sang in a church and for a live church radio broadcast every week. This was my beginning back in 1953. I did that until I was 18 years old and then I joined the U.S. Navy. I was there for 5 years, then came back to Indiana. During my time in the Navy, I met and married my wonderful wife Dorcas. We will celebrate our 52nd anniversary on the 17th of February 2014.
Upon my exit from the Navy in 1963 I began to sing with another gospel quartet in Evansville named "The Trailsmen Quartet" which actually had the same members as the "Echoes of Calvary" all except the Baritone singer. He was new.
I left that quartet in 1966 and moved to Texas to sing with "The Smitty Gatlin Trio".   I was there until late 1967, at which time I moved to Nashville to sing with another trio "The Hal Kennedy Trio".    That group didn't last very long.
I left there and went to a University to study opera and education. I attended all year long for 3 years and completed 4 years of study in 3 years at which time I was graduated. Just a few months prior to my graduation "J.D. Sumner" heard me sing and liked my singing. He hired me in the spring of 1971. I would fly to the dates of "The Stamps" on the weekends, sing with them, then fly back to Nashville until June of 1971 at which time I was graduated from the university and started singing full time with "J. D. Sumner and The Stamps Quartet" In November of 1971 " The Stamps" were hired to be Elvis backup singers.

ECB: What was like to work with the fantastic J.D. Sumner?
BB: I will have most of this in a book that I am writing.   I really enjoyed working with J.D. Sumner. He was the world's lowest bass singer, and a pleasure for me to work with. I have never sang with any other bass singer that could compare with J.D. Sumner. He was just absolutely the very best. I am proud to say that I was able to sing with him.

ECB: What are you preferences in music and your favorite Elvis songs?
BB:I have such a wide variety of tastes in music. I like all kinds of music from bluegrass all the way to opera and I have favorites in each area.   I guess that my all time very very favorite would be Elvis singing "You Were Always on My Mind" (secular) and Elvis singing "How Great Thou Art" in Gospel music. They seem to be the ones that I enjoy the most. However, I really enjoy "The Carpenters" "Spyro Gyra's" ,   Kenny G, and really enjoy 'Placido Dolmingo" , as well as "Vince Gill", "Emmylou Harris", and I really enjoy "Ricky Skaggs and all of the bluegrass artists.   I have a wide variety of different kinds of music represented ,in my CD collection.

ECB:How much was Elvis involved in the backing vocals arrangements with the Stamps?
BB:Elvis would make suggestions at times about something he especially wanted to hear in the background, but most of the time he left that up to the arranger for the background singers, who in our case was Donnie Sumner.

ECB: Soon after you joined Elvis show, he went on tour. One of his tours was captured in the Golden Globe winner movie, Elvis On Tour. One of the highlights of this documentary is the “Sweet Sweet Spirit” segment where Elvis complete losts himself in the music, sung by The Stamps. Did it happen in the spur of the moment or Elvis told the group that they would do a solo part?
BB: Surprisingly this all happened on the spur of the moment. Elvis just told the audience that "The Stamps" were going to sing "Sweet Sweet Spirit" and that he didn't sing on this song. Glen D gave us the key on the piano and we started singing.

ECB:What is the feeling of singing “Sweet Sweet Spirit” with Elvis in the big screen, more than 40 years later, knowing that he is not among us anymore?
BB: The first time I did it was rather an eerie feeling. However, now it is more a feeling of joy to be able to share that intimate
moment with the crowd.

ECB:Elvis was a very religious person and often sought the meaning of life and according to many people around him, he wanted to understand why God chose him to be a famous person. Did you ever talk to Elvis about those matters?
BB: I never talked to Elvis in a one on one conversation about these matters. However, I was privileged to be in the group several times when he was talking about them to a group of people.   He did feel as you have said, and always expressed his gratitude to God for the talent that he had been given. I know he was always wanting to do his very best, each time that he sang. I can't help but believe that he felt that way because he wanted to please God, and please the fans who were listening to him sing.

ECB:Aloha From Hawaii was the first worldwide satellite broadcast and you were there. Do you have any memory you would like to share?
BB:Yes I have a special memory of that show. I was able to bring my wife and daughter out to Hawaii when we did that show.
Not only did I enjoy working on the show, but I enjoyed having my family with me. You see, in 1962 Dorcas, (my wife,) and I were married in Hawaii, while I was serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed there at Pearl Harbor. My Daughter ,Susan, who is my only child, was born there at the military hospital, in September of 1963. So it was a great time for our family to go back and visit as well as get to go in such an exciting time as the time when "Aloha From Hawaii" was filmed. We all enjoyed it a lot.

Being around Elvis for such time, on tours, in the studio and in his late night gospel "sessions" You sure must have many great anecdotes to tell. Could You share one with us?
BB: One night on tour, I forget the exact city, an interesting thing happened.   It was one of those times when Elvis was feeling in the mood to play jokes on people. Elvis came to J.D., on stage during the show, and he had a glass of water in his hand. Charlie always kept many glasses of water for Elvis to drink during the show. As Elvis walked over toward J.D. to introduce "The Stamps" to the crowd, he was carrying a glass of water with him.
After he had introduced "The Stamps" he turned to go back to center stage then turned around immediately and threw the water on J.D.
This had happened before, and this was not the first time. The next time Elvis came to our side of the stage, J.D. had a water pistol, and when Elvis turned to go back to center stage, J.D. sprayed the water pistol on Elvis backside.   Elvis went right on with the show. After the show, Red and Sonny sent someone to tell J.D. that Elvis wanted to see him.   We were staying at a motel where the stairs were on the outside of the motel and there was a little landing after each flight of stairs. Just as J.D. started to approach the bottom set of stairs, on the way up to the top floor where Elvis was staying, Red and Sonny were standing on the landing area at the top of the stairs with a waste basket full of water and they dumped it on J.D. and soaked him. Then it was made known that this was the payback for J.D. spraying Elvis with the water gun during the show. This was funny to me. I hope it makes you smile a little.

ECB: What are your preferences in music and what is your favorite Elvis song?
BB:I have such a wide variety of tastes in music. I like all kinds of music from bluegrass all the way to opera and I have favorites in each area.   I guess that my all time very very favorite would be Elvis singing "You Were Always on My Mind" (secular) and Elvis singing "How Great Thou Art" in Gospel music. They seem to be the ones that I enjoy the most. However, I really enjoy "The Carpenters" "Spyro Gyra's" ,   Kenny G, and really enjoy 'Placido Dolmingo" , as well as "Vince Gill", "Emmylou Harris", and I really enjoy "Ricky Skaggs and all of the bluegrass artists.   I have a wide variety of different kinds of music represented ,in my CD collection.

ECB:What is your opinion about the actual music industry?
BB: I think that the music industry is constantly in a mode of change. Some of what I hear today, I don't like a lot, because there seems to be a lack of real good lyrics, and real good melodies. There seems to me to be to much repetition of meaningless phrases in the singing and to much repetition of the same chord structure over and over and over and over in the music of modern pop songs. I really do like the purity of Bluegrass Music . Right now it seems to me to be the music that is sticking closest to it's roots. Most other pop and some country music is to much of what I just described as music that I don't care for.

ECB:You told us it was your first time in Brazil. What were your thoughts when you knew you were coming to Brazil for Elvis In Concert 2013?
BB: This tour was the my first time ever to be in Brazil. I really enjoyed visiting with all of the fans. The fans in Brazil are wonderful.
I was treated great while I was there. Each show was sold out and we had a wonderful time singing for the fans in Brazil. Thank you Brazil for your super support of Elvis. He was a great talent and he had the greatest fans in the world. Brazil is one of those places who really loved Elvis. Thanks to all of you for your enthusiasm, support and caring for Elvis and all of us who worked with him. You are enthusiastic, complimentary, caring and exciting people to be with and around. That is my description of the fans in Brazil. Thanks for being who you are.

ECB:More than 40 years after those wonderful years, working with The Stamps, The Imperials, Sweet Inspirations and TCB, how is your relationship with them nowadays?
BB: I am still close friends with "The Stamps", "The Imperials" because we all live in Nashville. I am also close friends with Joe Guercio who lives in Nashville.   The "Sweets" I only get to see when we work with them. They are wonderfully talented and nice people to be around. The TCB band, I only get to see when we work with them. I think they are the absolute best musicians, bar none, that I have ever been around. I admire and respect each one of them. When I get to work with them, I am constantly amazed at the talent and dedication of these great musicians. Each time I get to see Joe Guercio, I marvel at the talent he has , and the way he is able to take an orchestra in any city and work with them to make them sound their best. Joe is an unbelievable talent. I admire and respect him and his talent.   The Imperials are still great singers and I always consider it a privilege to get to work with them on any show.

ECB:Besides Elvis, which artist did you really appreciate working with?
BB:When you work with Elvis, No one else can compare to that. So, I will stick to writing about him.

ECB:What do you miss most about Elvis and how do you think he should be remembered?
BB: I miss his great singing. I also miss that special time that we always shared together after each show, in his suite, of singing and talking about the show and visiting with other artists who would visit Elvis, especially when we worked in Las Vegas.

ECB:Could you please leave a special message to the Brazilian fans ?
BB: I think the Brazilian people are the most enthusiastic fans that we have sung for. I really enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness of the people in Brazil while I was there. May God bless you fans there in Brazil and bring you as much joy and happiness as you brought to me while I visited there during our tour.