Comments on: Liner Notes

By: Steven E. Weatherford

Steven E. Weatherford — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:01:12 +0000

As a self proclaimed Weatherford expert (let’s not go so far as to call me an expert, I just have really good access.) I can give you a little insight to some of this. Back in the 1950s- 1980s There was no real desire or reason to put every ones name on or date an album. It was even common for the record companies to use stock photos on the covers of albums. The RCA “In The Garden” by the W’s had a somewhat stock photo on it. (I have been researching the location of the stock photo for a new photo shoot) Nor was it as important to tell all the information as the albums were mostly sold at the concerts the people came to. We did not have web sites and digital song files. We just sold the albums to the folk who showed up at the concerts, and were they got the first hand information about the albums. So it was a different time and place with different needs. I for one do not even have the album mentioned in this post. My dad sold every album he could get his hands on. The W’s recorded (at best count) right at 65 Vinyl 33s records and 120 sides of 78s before that. (It’s funny but I have all the 78s.) Before CD’S took over. The old saying ” You Are Only As Good As Your Last Record” to my dad meant he was going to sell every one in the box and make another one. He did not keep one of every album. When it ran its course, he moved on. I know of an album my dad did that he was not real proud of and he sold the first order and never re ordered them. I am working on a discography and a definitive list of our past group members. I just found a new one last week we had forgotten to mention. But my dad did not keep records of any of this information. I heard him say many time, he never thought any one would ever be interested in any of this. He did live long enough to be surprised but I don’t think it would have made any difference in the way he thought about it.

By: Daniel J. Mount

Daniel J. Mount — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:39:52 +0000

FJW – check out the discography page at http://www.cathedralstribute.com

By: FJW

FJW — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:02:24 +0000

It has become my passion to try and identify the members at time of the recording, of the Cathedrals. I fianlly have all the members ordered by year,…now I am try to match who was on what CD. It is especially difficult since many songs that were recorded previously are included with the new stuff. Martin Cook is right up front about saying that he does that with the Inspirations too.

By: Quaid

Quaid — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:36:02 +0000

Speaking of recordings and credits, has anyone ever seen online or elsewhere a complete and accurate discography / membership list for Perfect Heart?

By: John C

John C — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:14:44 +0000

Speaking of the Weatherfords . . . I recently did a project accumulating all of their singles, remastering them, and recording them on CD. If you think LPs are difficult to catagorize, then try to make some sense out of 45s and 78s!

By: John C

John C — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:11:14 +0000

. . . and another thing . . . .

When JD Sumner reorganized the Stamps Quartet in the late 1980s, they went into the studio and re-released three Masters V projects with the vocals of the current personnel of the Stamps Quartet.

Things like that will also get you mighty confused!

By: Daniel J. Mount

Daniel J. Mount — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:10:27 +0000

Yes – we had a discussion on that a while back and we concluded it was probably 1959, but I think we thought there was a decent chance it might have been later 1958, too.

By: John C

John C — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:09:09 +0000

By the way, I think that Weatherfords LP in question was released in 1959.

By: John C

John C — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:08:27 +0000

It is quite frustrating to try to date an LP that was released fifty years ago. I have spent many hours in the quest to accurately date the releases by all of the major quartets (and even mixed groups!) that have impacted gospel music in a major way.

In the 1950s and 1960s, RCA was about the only company that listed the year of release on their recordings.

I have managed to come within a year on most of the major releases by using personnel changes and record numbering to zero in on the release dates.

Group pictures were not included on many releases in the 1960s due to personnel turnover in the quartet. Often too, the pictures on the album covers don’t match the vocalists on the recordings. The groups feel that product doesn’t sell with old personnel listed on the LP.

It takes a good ear and a good command of the history of gospel groups to accurately identify release dates of those recordings.

Occasionaly, you’ll also find a recording that has been reissued with different personnel. Case in point are the projects “Keep On Singing” by the Cathedral Quartet and “You Can’t Stop God From Blessing Me” by the Dove Brothers.

Recordings were also issued with different covers depicting personnel changes in the group although they were not changed on the recording. Case in point are “When I Stand with God” by the Rebels and “Garden of Melody” by the Speer Family.

Frankly, I’d rather have no personnel listed than to have inaccuracy on recordings.

These issues may not concern the casual fan, but they do irriate me!

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:29:46 +0000

Great post, Daniel–I have often lamented the glaring absence on project liners of many of the very same things you have listed!