Gospel music has always been part of Eli "Paperboy" Reed's musical makeup, so it wasn't a stretch for him to get involved with the New York nonprofit Gospel For Teens. Not long after, he spun off the Harlem Gospel Travelers, a quartet whose debut album He's On Time is premiering exclusively below ahead of its Oct. 11 release date.
"I love quartet music," Reed, who also sang in the Boston quartet the Silver Leaf Gospel Singers, tells Billboard. "I think male quartet leads are, like, the most important when it comes to influence. Sam Cooke came out of the Soul Stirrers. People like Jackie Wilson and Bobby Womack, they were all quartet singers. Nothing against choir music, but it never really struck me as being as emotional and fervent. I've been heavy into quartet music since I was a teenager."