The Myles family — Rev. Marvin Myles, Jr., Rev. Marvin Myles, Sr., and Samantha Myles sing during the Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration in downtown Kosciusko. Karen Fioretti / The Star-Herald
Recently Rev. Marvin Myles, Sr. of the gospel group The Myles Family was honored with a chair at the Skipworth Performing Arts Center by Peggy Keady.
“It made my heart leap for joy when I heard that Ms. Keady had purchased a chair in my honor. I am very humbled and grateful,” said Rev. Myles in a recent interview.
Myles actually started his career very young.
“I grew up singing with my brothers. We were called the Sons of Wonder and sang together for about 30 years,” he said.
That early experience combined with a talented wife and children led Myles to realize that his family could perform gospel as well.
“I was a church musician at several churches. One Sunday morning, my wife, Olivia, took the children (LaShondra, Keith, Samantha, Marvin II, and Melvin), and they sang in place of the church choir. I realized that they were gifted, and I began to train their voices,” Myles said. That was in the early 1980s, and the family has been performing together ever since, with Olivia composing many of the songs for the group.
“We perform under the name ‘The Myles Family,’ and we have been blessed to perform at many festivals and venues all over the state. We have performed about 10 years in a row at the Clarksdale Blues and Gospel Festival. We are originally from the Friar’s Point and Lyon area near Clarksdale, and enjoy going there every year,” said Myles.
Karen Fioretti / The Star-Herald
The full Myles Family singing group at a recent event.
Nationally, the family has performed at the Kennedy Center, as part of the Millennium Stage series, and at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. An international experience that the family treasures is its performance at the Notodden Music Festival in Norway.
“That was very interesting, and one we will always remember,” said Myles. “We were also members of the Mississippi Arts Commission for several years as artists. It provides organizations grants to bring in artists. Although we are no longer members, we enjoyed doing that for a number of years.”
“The children are all grown now; one is in Florida and another in Georgia. However, another three of our children live in the area, and we are occasionally able to get together and sing as a family. As a matter of fact, before the pandemic, we gave a regular annual concert here in Kosciusko,” said the senior pastor of Christian Liberty Church.
Myles and his family are huge supporters of the arts and of the Skipworth Center.
“The Center is very needful for education and society in general. It will be of great importance community-wide, and wonderful thing for our area. Selling chairs to honor people speaks volumes about the importance of it,” Myles said.
When asked about her choice of Reverend Myles for an honored chair, Keady spoke very highly of him.
“He and his family have done a lot for Kosciusko, and for the area, as well. I have visited his church a few times and have always been blessed by his wonderful messages and singing. He is a great minister of God,” Keady said. “I have enjoyed my interactions with him, and he is someone that the Lord has given me a great love and appreciation for.”
Although Keady said there are many people who deserve honored chairs, she was led to honor Myles specifically.
“I thought of many people who deserve a chair, but his face kept coming to mind when I prayed about it. I have learned not to ignore what the Lord puts in front of me,” Keady said of her decision to choose Rev. Myles.
