The Paramount Singers organized in front of the old Anderson High School on Comal Street in Austin in later 1936. The original members included Rev. E. M. Franklin, Rev. A. C. Franklin, Ben H. Williams, Kermit Terrel, James Harwood Medlock, and Geno Terrel. The members wanted to get involved in something and decided to organize a spiritual group.
The group took their name from the large and attractive Paramount Theater on Congress Ave. They were not allowed to attend the theater at that time due to segregation, however, they thought that the name Paramount Singers would distinguish them from other quartets. The Paramount Singers completed school by day and sang at night. The group became very popular and began a successful radio program on KTBC.
They toured mainly in a 300-mile radius of Austin because most of the members had families. The group could stay busy with engagements even during weeknights and often had an audience of over 1200 people. The Paramount Singers continued to perform on the radio, to tour and to make recordings until World War II when the original group disbanded. In 1946, the new Paramount Singers organized in California with two of the original members, Geno Terrel and Ben Williams.