In 1965, Isaiah “Zeke” Bailey organized The King Solomon Junior Brotherhood, a singing group consisting of himself, his teenage son Mike Bailey, and other young members of King Solomon Baptist Church, which at the time was one of the few churches in Louisville that welcomed quartet programs. Original members included George Elliott, Rev. Dennis Broadus, Rev. John Cummings, Wayne Elliott, Freddie Wright, and guitarist Rev. J.R. Vance. They had weekly rehearsals at the Bailey residence in the Southwick housing project. Around 1967, they changed their name to The Solomonaires and they have continued singing for over fifty years. Other notable members of the group over the years include Glenn Elliott. Rev. Price E. King, Rev. O.W. Bush, Charles Perry, and Anna “Sissy” Elliott, who sings lead on “Come Out of the Wilderness,” which was recorded at QCA in Cincinnati and released as the A-side of a 45 on Chicago’s Skyway Records. Mike Bailey recalls, “Sissy was very instrumental in our group. She did what she was supposed to do: really pushed our background, no slacking or taking it easy, because she didn’t. She was like a teacher. She would tell you where you needed to be with your singing.”
The Solomonaires toured widely over the years, but have remained closely associated with King Solomon Baptist Church. The group has included several siblings and cousins of civil rights leader Rev. Charles Elliott Jr., who has been the church’s pastor since 1961. Mike Bailey recalls, “Rev. Elliott was proud of us. He would say, ‘Can’t nobody beat them Solomonaires! I’d put them up against anybody.’ When Rev. Elliott did street revivals at Village West, he would ask The Solomonaires to sing, and we liked that. I’m also proud of the fact that the Solomonaires are the only quartet group in Louisville that always had a minister in the group at any given time.”
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