them before they could record a follow-up, and shortly thereafter the Golden Echoes disbanded. Pianist Willie Love said during this period that, "Little Axe couldn’t sing low, because he had a relatively high voice. It wasn’t falsetto, it was naturally high. So somebody had to sing the bottom." His point is clear in the recordings of the Golden Echoes, where Paul Foster's rich baritone and Broadnax's clear tenor riff off each other to create the illusion of a multi-octave lead singer. As music critic Ray Funk points out, "Little Axe’s lead is absolutely distinctive on these cuts. He is the high lead that takes over from the baritone of Paul Foster. His voice is sweet but almost vicious, dripping with emotion, while Foster, in contrast, would offer almost a growl." In 1950, Broadnax joined the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. Along with Broadnax, the group featured two other leads – Jethro "Jet" Bledsoe, a bluesy crooner, and Silas Steele, an overpowering baritone. The Spirit of Memphis Quartet recorded for King Records, and Broadnax appeared on their releases at least until 1952. Shortly after that, Broadnax moved on, working with The Fairfield Four, and in the early 1960s as one of the replacements for Archie Brownlee in the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Until 1965 Wilmer headed a quartet called "Little Axe and the Golden Echoes," which released some singles on Peacock Records. By then, quartet singing was fading in commercial viability, and Broadnax retired from touring. In retirement, Broadnax continued to record new material occasionally with the Blind Boys into the 1970s and 1980s. Later years and death Broadnax was killed in 1992 by his lover Lavina Richardson (age 42 at the time), who was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on February 4, 1993. Leading up to the stabbing, Broadnax had allegedly been jealous of Richardson. Broadnax saw Richardson in a vehicle with another man, bumped his car into theirs, and dragged Richardson out. He then threatened her with a knife before he was disarmed by a bystander, whereupon Richardson picked up his knife and stabbed him three times. Broadnax died from his injuries several days later on June 1, 1992. Upon Broadnax's death in 1992, it was discovered that Broadnax was a trans man. This created a stir in the gospel community, with many prominent singers at the time insisting that they had suspected all along that his gender