NFL
By: Brock Vierra
The Cornelius household of Dania Beach, Florida couldn’t have imagined what it was brewing when Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius popped out the siblings that would turn the genre of soul on its head. The Cornelius siblings of Carter, Eddie, Rose, and eventually Billy Jo Cornelius united to form the band Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. A gospel-inspired group, their debut self-titled album sprung them into fame in 1971 just four years later in 1976, they disbanded forever. So let’s discuss what happened to Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose.
The brothers would be discovered through a talent search while Rose made an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. At her mother’s request, Rose reunited with the boys to form the aforementioned group, and they quickly shot to fame. In 1971, they released their first single titled Treat Her Like a Lady which ended up as the number 3 song on the Billboard Top 100. Carrying this momentum into their first album, they released their second massive hit “Too Late to Turn Back Now” which hit number 2 on the Top 100 and number 5 on the R&B charts.
Rolling as a band and as a songwriter, the world was captivated by the penmanship of Eddie Cornelius supplemented by the vocals of Carter Cornelius and the harmony of their sister Rose. It seemed like nothing could stop them, especially with two more songs making the Top 40. However, success in the music business is short and fleeting, and this was the case for the Cornelius siblings.
Despite releasing three albums and having chart-topping success, the group would be disbanded in 1976 when Carter Cornelius became a member of a black Hebrew Israelite group named the Nation of Yahweh. Carter would change his name to Prince Gideon Israel, and he began to work on music for the Nation of Yahweh, ending his professional relationship with his siblings.
Eddie Cornelius would go on to become a pastor in South Florida. Starting his ministries in the 1980s, he would spend the last 40+ years preaching, singing, and writing a memoir on his life which he released in 2020 titled It’s Not Too Late To Turn Back Now (Back To The Open Arms Of God).
Rose Cornelius continued as a touring musician and continues to work until today.
The reason Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose never got back together is a point of sadness for the group and the family. While preparing for a personal comeback in the early nineties, Carter Cornelius suffered a heart attack and passed away in 1991. That brought an end to the group’s mainstream success, and the family has relatively remained out of the spotlight since.
However, after being lost to the history of music and the world, Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose would have a slight reemergence courtesy of Spike Lee. Lee’s usage of Too Late to Turn Back Now in his 2018 film BlacKkKlansman brought the song and the group to a new generation of listeners as the song has over 26 million streams on Spotify.
Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose lives on through the living work of siblings Eddie and Rose while their music continues to be used in films and television. They are a constant reminder of a better time in music when songs transcended life, breathing air into the culture. Their songs speak of love, partnership, and commitment to one another in a way only two can share. With a melody that hits the core and vocals only talent and gospel training could provide, Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose exemplified the creativity of the seventies.
Throughout my research, I got a chance to watch some of their live performances, and I can attest that there is zero drop in quality when it comes to their vocals and performances from the studio to the stage. A throwback to a time when singers actually needed to have the ability to sing, Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose prove that gospel music and R&B remain interchangeable and serve as the foundation for fantastic music.
