Palmetto State Quartet

The Palmetto State Quartet
Origin	Greenville, South Carolina, United States
Genres	Southern Gospel
Years active	1946–2013
Labels	Skylite Records, Sing Records, Dawn Records, MorningStar Records, Cathedral Records, Sonlite Records, Peaceful Valley Records, Mansion Entertainment

The Palmetto State Quartet was a professional Southern gospel singing quartet that originated in Greenville, South Carolina, in the mid-1940s. In 1988 they received at a Singing News Fan Awards ceremony the Marvin Norcross Award for contributions to Southern Gospel over their career.

Personnel history

Tenor

• Leon Sutherland (1946–1949)
• Clarence Owens (1949–1960)
• Claude Hunter (1960–1963, 1970–1985)
• Jerry Hovis (1963–1970)
• Eddie Broome (1985–1993)
• Brion Carter (1993–2002)
• John Rulapaugh (2002–2006)
• Wesley Smith (2006–2008, 2011) (went on to things like Dixie Echoes and Dailey & Vincent)
• Jeremy Calloway (2008–2009)
• Robert Fulton (2009–2011) (went on to Gold City)
• Jeremy Easley (2011-2013)

Lead

• Woodrow Pittman (1946–1954)
• Jack Pittman (1954-1960?) (at some point Pittman & Bagwell switched parts)
• Jack Bagwell (1960?–1968, 1970-1997)
• Harold Schronce (1968–70)
• Kerry Beatty (1997–2009)
• Paul Lancaster (2009-2013) (also sang with Karen Peck, The Nelons, The Greenes, and recently The Booth Brothers)
• David Staton (2013)

Baritone

• Malone Thomason (1946–1952)
• Jack Bagwell (1952-1960?) (at some point Pittman & Bagwell switched parts)
• Jack Pittman (1960?–1967, 1970–1997)
• Laverne Tripp (1967–68) (went on to Blue Ridge Quartet)
• Jerome Bush (1968–69)
• Milton Sigmon (1969–70)
• Tony Peace (1997–2004) (went on to things like The Kingsmen Quartet and The Dove Brothers)
• Rick Fair (2004–2008) (formerly of The Statesmen Quartet)
• Brian Beatty (2008–2009)
• David Darst (2009–2012)
• David Staton (2012-2013)
• DaRon Maughon (2013)

Bass

• Paul Burroughs (1946–1955)
• Ellison Jenkins (1955–1961)
• Ken Turner (1961–1968)
• Joe Divine (1968-1969)
• Chuck Bright (1969-1970)
• Cliff King (1970–1976)
• Jerry Trotter (1976–1979)
• Joel Duncan (1979–1994)
• Harold Gilley (1994–1997) (formerly of Statesmen Quartet)
• Jeff Pearles (1997–2003) (went on to The King's Heralds)
• Jason Brooks (2003)
• Aaron McCune (2003–2006) (went on to things like Gold City, Dailey & Vincent, and Oak Ridge Boys)
• Burman Porter (2006–2008)
• Larry Strickland (2008–2013) (husband of Naomi Judd)
• Mike Allen (2013) (Gaither Homecoming regular)

Piano

• Jamie Dill (1946–1968, 1970–d.1987)
• Charles Abee (1968–1969)
• Carroll Melvin (1970)
• David McAbee (1987–1989)
• Hovie Lister (1989–1991) (brought back his signature Statesmen Quartet the following year) (d. 2001)
• Woody Beatty (1989–1999)
• Jerry Kelso (1999–2001)
• Andrew Ishee (2001–2006) (also known for The Kingsmen Quartet, Dixie Echoes, and most recently Oak Ridge Boys)
• Bryan Elliott (2006–2008) (went on to things like The Perrys and Gold City)
• KC Martin (2008–2009)
• Mark Carman (2009–2010)
• Mark Willett (2010–2010)
• KC Martin (2010-2013)

Various

• Charles Waller (1983–1997, manager/promoter)
• Eddie Broome (1984–1985, bass guitar/vocals)
• Louie Sprouse (1986, Bass guitar)
• J.J. Jennings (1987, bass guitar)
• Michael W. Carman (2008-2011, road manager)