Active from 1956, the Plainsmen crossed stylistic and genre boundaries in the 1960s, becoming one of the best-known gospel groups in America. In the process, they helped define modern gospel quartet sound with unusually tight and high harmonies.
In August 1956, Howard Welborn (tenor), Bill Randall (baritone), Jack Mainord (lead), Joe B. Davis (bass), and Easmon Napier (pianist) left the Stamps Music Company family and established the Plainsmen in Dallas,...