The Inspirations unveil new lineup—UPDATED
Though I don’t see any official announcements on the rest of their website, the Inspirations have put a group photo with two new faces on their website’s home page. At the far right, singing tenor, is Dallas Rogers; their new lead singer (I’ve heard but not confirmed that his name is David Regan) is standing in the back row, second from left.
UPDATE (10:43 AM): A quick call over to the Inspirations office answered a few questions. David Ragan’s name is pronounced like President Reagan’s, but Ron Hutchins indicated it was spelled r-a-g-a-n. David is Filipino (to Ron’s knowledge the first in Southern Gospel); his father was a GI stationed in the Philippines and married a Filipino. He is a recent graduate of Pensacola Christian College. Bios on Dallas and David will be on the website soon.
Also, Ron said that the plan is for Dallas Rogers to be a recording member of the group, and for Archie to be a featured vocalist (that wasn’t his exact wording). I asked if it was a situation like James Blackwood with the Blackwood Brothers, and he said yes.
To say I’m looking forward to see what their next release brings would be an understatement. In fact, my anticipation level for that one is almost as high as for the upcoming GVB reunion. And sometimes I suspect I’m one of the few in Southern Gospel that would be anticipating both equally!
Blame it on whatever you like! Fact is, my reason is simple enough: I have no interest in any secular music. 
(jealous pout)
Comment by John (January 13, 2009, 8:04 am)
Information about the current group as well as the history of the Inspirations can be found here:
http://www.grandolegospelreunion.com/sg-
101/inspirations.htm
Alan Kendall has done a great job with this article.
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Comment by natesings (January 13, 2009, 8:20 am)
…and no sign of Darren Osbourne.
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Comment by Jason (January 13, 2009, 9:48 am)
I don’t know who David Reagan is, but with Dallas Rogers it promises to be a good lineup.
I’m excited from Rogers to get the exposure he deserves as a singer.
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Comment by Sam Johnson (January 13, 2009, 11:13 am)
Wasn’t Armonde Morales a Fillipino? I think he was the first in Southern Gospel but I may be remembering wrong.
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (January 13, 2009, 11:18 am)
Ron brought up Armond, then corrected himself and said he thought Armond was from Hawaii (though possibly of Filipino roots, I might add).
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Comment by Brandon Coomer (January 13, 2009, 11:46 am)
Nate, that was my first thought, too. Did he turn the job down? Did they not offer it to him? He’s helped them out so much over the last several years that, IMO, he deserved a spot if he wanted it.
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Comment by DJPhil (January 13, 2009, 12:27 pm)
I talked to Darrens brother a couple months ago, and if I remember correctly, he told me Darren was a full-time pastor. If so that would make it difficult to do both.
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Comment by Brad (January 13, 2009, 12:34 pm)
Daniel,
You are not the only one looking forward to the GVB reunion and the Inspirations next release. Although, I would agree with you that we are probably in the minority with our wide variety of tastes within the SG world.
Seriously, I think it will be good for the Inspirations to have a stable lineup and I am looking forward to hearing the new guys. Also, I think it will be good for Archie to take it a little easier so we can enjoy him for many more years.
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (January 13, 2009, 12:38 pm)
Darren is a pastor of a growing church.
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Comment by Matt Baker (January 13, 2009, 6:18 pm)
i graduated with Dave from college. He will be great with them and he is one of my best friends in the whole world. this is all he has ever wanted to do, and I am so happy for him that God has allowed this to happen. Look for great things coming from the Inspirations!!!
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Comment by Grigs (January 13, 2009, 6:21 pm)
Matt, can you tell us about David’s singing? What will he add to the Inspiration’s sound?
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Comment by Joshua Cottrell (January 13, 2009, 11:20 pm)
A few months ago I got to hear David Ragan trying out, and he did a wonderful job. The guys were joking about him being Filipino, I guess he had filled in a few years back for a couple of concerts. I am excited he got the job. I am also thrilled a fellow PCC (pcci.edu) grad is in a full time southern gospel group, which I believe may also be a first.
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Comment by Frank Denisi (February 6, 2009, 2:45 am)
It’s great to see a Godly man like David Ragan singing in a Southern Gospel group, he’s a great person with a great voice. He will do just fine with inspirations. Also, this is a worthy thing to note that he is the first Filipino in Southern Gospel Music! That’s great, and praise the Lord for that!
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Comment by Jeff Hinshaw (February 7, 2009, 9:42 am)
Saw the I’s in Wilkesboro last nite. I was worried as not having Archie on tenor fulltime is a thought none of us want to embrace. However, I was delighted, impressed, and down right tickled with the new sound. Dallas fits right in and brings a new shot of energy to the group. David’s voice is a good fit as well. You can see the enthusiasm on stage and it was refreshing. Their harmonies were very impressive given the relative short time together. I think things will be just fine!
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