Around 1927, Thermon Ruth (1914–2002) founded the Selah Jubilee Singers, a group drawn from the membership of a church choir, while he was the disc jockey at WOR in Brooklyn, New York.
He later based the group in Raleigh, North Carolina when he moved his radio show to station WPTF.
[2] By the late 1940s, the members were Ruth, Alden ("Allen") Bunn, Junius Parker, Melvin Coldten, and Jimmy Gorham.
In 1949, Ruth and Bunn decided to form a secular vocal group, which became The Larks.
On December 15, 1955, the Selah Jubilee Singers debuted at the Apollo, the first gospel group to play at any commercial theater.