Born in Bluefield, West Virginia Ethel had the opportunity to learn her Afro-American Heritage from her parents Dave C. and Lucy Caffie. She was raised in Mount Hope, WV. Her father—a coal miner, minister, and guitarist—insisted that his child learn music. Dave C. Caffie was the son of a first-generation slave. He planted roots of the old songs, and old ways, in Alabama and indentured slave culture in Ethel as he shared the experiences of his father, and his own personal experiences as the son of a slave. The immediate family history and community experiences of the times were passed on to Ethel, Grio Style as portraits of her people were vividly painted through words, songs, and music from her father’s Gibson guitar.
Ethel was nurtured and protected by Dave C. and Lucy Caffie who waited many years for her arrival; David Caffie was born in 1893 and was 55 years old when she was born. Lucy Caffie noticed early that Ethel could play songs; she was hearing her play on the piano and immediately provided Piano lessons for her. She took lessons in Mount Hope from Eunice B. Fleming, the first Black person ever to give a master’s recital (1957) and perform at a commencement (1973) at Marshall University. Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin started playing piano, publically, at the age of six, accompanying her father during his services at the Word of Truth COGIC, at the age of nine she started directing her first choir, THE SENIOR CHOIR, in her father’s church, and by the age of 14, Dr. Caffie-Austin was organizing and directing the first state choir in Southern West Virginia for the Churches Of God In Christ, bringing together singers from ten congregations of all ages.
Thomas Dorsey, the FATHER OF GOSPEL MUSIC, referred to singing Gospel Music as “singing the good news”. Since childhood, that is exactly what Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin did. Inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall Of Fame in 2020, Acclaimed as West Virginia First Lady of Gospel Music, coronated as West Virginia’s Queen of Black Sacred Music on November 22, 1995, and West Virginia’s Queen of Gospel Music in 1998, Dr. Caffie-Austin has been sharing the rich and distinctive sound of Black Sacred Music through performance to thousands for decades, in USA Ethel Caffie-Austin has been called and distinguishingly awarded the title “West Virginia’s First Lady of Gospel Music”.
Ethel’s, outstanding vocal talents were also noticed early beginning and began to blossom spiritually and secularly while attending Montgomery high school. There her musical talents were sharpened by being the accompanist for the Glee Club. Ethel was involved with the Thespian Club; she debuted and had leading roles in several plays during her high school years. At the urging of her aging parents, Ethel enrolled as a student at the West Virginia Institute of Technology, majoring in English. After graduating from Mount Hope High School in 1967, Ethel’s father discouraged her from pursuing a music career. Instead, she earned an English degree from the West Virginia Institute of Technology. Dr Caffie-Austin was an educator in public schools for more than 30 years. She became involved in education in 1971. As a student at the West Virginia Institute of Technology, Ethel sang and played original compositions with the school’s choral groups and organized gospel groups in four of the state’s colleges and universities, taking them on tour throughout the Eastern and Southern United States. Dr. Caffie-Austin formed The Collegiate Gospel Choir at West Virginia Tech in 1967. Dr. Caffie-Austin was confirmed as an honorary Doctor of Arts Degree in May 1997 by Davis and Elkins College.
Dr. Caffie-Austin passed away at the age of 75 in Charleston, West Virginia on December 11, 2024.
Caffie-Austin taught English studies in West Virginia public schools for 20 years.[2]
In 1971, Caffie-Austin and her musical group performed at the Federal Prison Camp, Alderson (then named Federal Reformatory for Women). After hearing the performance, the warden of the prison, Virginia McLaughlin, soon hired Caffie-Austin as an intern to teach both gospel and secular music in the prison.[2]
Caffie-Austin was the founder, lead singer and pianist of the Ethel Caffie-Austin Singers.[3]
Caffie-Austin has toured worldwide, performing numerous festivals and concerts.[4]
Caffie-Austin has made several appearances on NPR's Mountain Stage and at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston, where she was awarded the Vandalia Award in 2006 by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History.[2][6]
Caffie-Austin recorded two songs for The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music (1998). She recorded her own DVD titled Learn to Play Gospel Piano (2003),[7] an instructional video released by Homespun Video.
Caffie-Austin was the subject of a 1999 documentary film titled "His Eye is on the Sparrow,"[8] for Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and a 1997 edition of Goldenseal magazine titled “Hand-Clapping and Hallelujahs: A Visit with Ethel Caffie-Austin.”[1]
She was nominated in 2019 to be inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame[9] and was inducted during a televised ceremony on November 14, 2020,[10] during which she also performed.
Personal life
Caffie-Austin married James Austin in 1982. He died from an enlarged heart in 1989.[2]
Dr. Caffie-Austin passed away on December 11, 2024 in Charleston, West Virginia.
