Gaither Vocal Band Reunion announced
Some time back, Gaither Vocal Band tenor Wes Hampton mentioned on his blog that he would have exciting news to announce soon. Well, it was worth the wait; his most recent post has this paragraph:
Oh, while I’m thinking about it, I can finally reveal what I’ve been excited about for so long but have been unable to share. Of course now, it’s probably been so hyped up that you’ll think, “is that it??!!” Well, here it goes… the week of July 21st, I will be in Indiana, along with Bill, Guy, and Marsh, for a Gaither Vocal Band Reunion taping. Everyone who has ever been in the GVB will come together for two days to do, well, I’m not really sure at this point. But, all I know is that it will be awesome. I will get to hang around and sing with my vocal idols…wow. I still can’t believe it when I think about it.
Although several groups (Speers, Kingsmen, Dixie Echoes, etc.) have done reunion recordings, this promises to be the most exciting reunion event since the Cathedrals’ 1995 reunion. The potential draw of getting names like Bill Gaither, Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, David Phelps, Michael English, Jim Murray, Mark Lowry, Russ Taff, and David Phelps all in the same room for a live recording could well overshadow even recent Homecoming titles.
Comment by natesings (March 25, 2008, 11:05 am)
I see you added an etc. to your list of groups that have done reunion recordings but I am shocked you left off these guys:
http://www.theinspirations.com/Prod_Videos.htm
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Comment by Kyle (March 25, 2008, 11:40 am)
If I could hear the English/Lowry/Franklin combo sing anything, I’d be a happy camper!!!!
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Comment by Donna (March 25, 2008, 12:03 pm)
I am really excited about this. Can’t wait to hear the finished product. I know it will be excellent.
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Comment by Brandon Coomer (March 25, 2008, 12:04 pm)
The Franklin/English/Lowry lineup is also my favorite version of the Vocal Band. I believe they only recorded two audio projects, “Southern Classics” and “Peace Of The Rock”.
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Comment by Kyle (March 25, 2008, 12:59 pm)
I’m willing to bet they close the show with Mike singing “I Bowed On My Knees”…..
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Comment by Adam Wallace (March 25, 2008, 2:00 pm)
That will be great.
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Comment by Teresa Banda (March 25, 2008, 3:42 pm)
I hope that Bill, Guy, David and Mark combo will be included. That was my favorite Vocal Band even though I loved them all.Teresa
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Comment by Meagan Williams (March 26, 2008, 1:29 am)
It’s going to be AMAZING! I’m really excited about this!
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Comment by Quaid (March 26, 2008, 8:22 am)
Noticed you mentioned David Phelps twice.
To me, the David/Guy/Mark/Bill lineup would be the greatest draw. I hope that the GVB does “More Than Ever”and “It Is Finished”. These 2 are arguably David’s best features ever.
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Comment by Kyle (March 26, 2008, 9:25 am)
“Let Freedom Ring” will have to be on the lineup as well.
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Comment by Canuk (March 27, 2008, 8:34 pm)
I wonder if Bill will sing baritone again with some of those earlier versions of the group.
?
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Comment by Inquirer (March 27, 2008, 10:41 pm)
To answer Canuk, I suppose it would depend on whether Jon Mohr or Lee Young decide to attend.
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Comment by gospelHog (March 28, 2008, 2:18 am)
wow!
gH
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Comment by Quaid (March 31, 2008, 3:28 pm)
Gotta add “Child You’re Forgiven” also.
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Comment by Josh (May 31, 2008, 3:13 pm)
Another one song that is a must would be “These Are They” with all the membersw singing and Phelps singing the verses. That would be awesome. David Phelps is the best singer to walk the planet. I can not wait for this project.
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Comment by dan (June 14, 2008, 4:50 pm)
Sorry, but English did These are They many years before Phelps did it, and the English version is still better in my opinion…
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (June 14, 2008, 6:04 pm)
And Vestal Goodman did it before Michael English, and is better than either English or Phelps in my opinion…
Opinions, opinions.
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Comment by Amy Rogers (June 14, 2008, 9:18 pm)
Re: #4
I just noticed this. I’m assuming that this is the one with “Satisfied” and “Beulah Land,” among others. I love some of the songs on that album! (To be honest, some of the songs I don’t love, either. But anyway.) We had pretty nearly worn the tape out over the years, but a few weeks ago I was able to get digital versions of “Satisfied” and a couple others. I had no idea it was Michael English, although I’ve often wondered who the group members were.
My opinion … My brother and I used to marvel at how (we thought) David Phelps had matured so much between that album and the Homecoming stuff we heard.
Not exactly the voice, though; rather the style. I don’t know which I prefer with regard to actual voice quality.
Anyway, I’m glad to know now who that tenor and lead singer was. And I’m still enjoying “Satisfied” nowadays; that song’s a keeper. Wow, they had a guitar player!
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Comment by dan (June 16, 2008, 1:19 pm)
AaaaHaa! I forgot Vestal did it before English! This is my ashamed look…
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Comment by dan (June 16, 2008, 1:20 pm)
Oh yeah, Wes Hampton’s blog says that two members will be absent from the GVB reunion. Wonder who they are?
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (June 16, 2008, 1:21 pm)
If you want an ashamed look, like this smiley
, you can type colon-oops-colon (using : for colon and omitting the hyphens).
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (June 16, 2008, 1:23 pm)
#20 – I have no idea. I’m hoping it’s not going to be one of the superstars, like Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, or David Phelps.
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Comment by mark forester (June 16, 2008, 1:47 pm)
jonatjan pierce and terry franklin will not be there from what I understand. Bummed that frankilin won’t be there.
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (June 16, 2008, 1:50 pm)
Terry & Barbi Franklin have dates for July 20/21 and July 26/27 on their website. It would be too bad if Terry couldn’t make it, but I am glad that if it’s those two, that means that some of the ones I named in comment #22 will be there.
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Comment by Quaid (June 16, 2008, 9:12 pm)
Oh no, Jonathan Pierce won’t be there? Shoot!!
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Comment by Johnny (June 27, 2008, 6:01 pm)
What about “Picture of Grace”?
There is not any recording of this song..
i would like to see Guy, David, Marshal and the good-old Bill singing this beautiful song…
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Comment by Nathan (July 18, 2008, 7:24 am)
I agree, Picture of Grace is beautiful, needs to be done live! Jonathan Pierce will be missed if he does not make it.
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Comment by Quaid (July 18, 2008, 1:40 pm)
I thought Picture of Grace was on a CD ?
There is a very interesting “tidbit” of info. about this song………………
I remember when it first hit radio, David Phelps was still with the group. After he left, they re-cut it and sent this 2nd cut of the song on radio. What struck me as very odd is that in some parts…most noticiably “Where once hung a potrait of gloom and despair, this masterpeice hangs in it’s place” , they replaced David’s leads with a trio vocal with Guy taking the lead, then that led right into Guy doing solo “It’s signed with His love, and……..” so on and so forth till the end of the chorus.
BUT, that was on one or 2 repititions of the chorus. On the last few times of singing the last couple lines of the chorus, David’s original lead was left in. In addition, David’s harmonies were left on the 2nd radio cut. Are you CONFUSED YET??????????? I am.
Go figure. Your guess is as best as mine as to the specific reasoning as to why people do exactly what they do. And no, I am in no way implying anything against anyone.
The only thing that bugs me is that the “punched in”,or “edited” parts, as it’s called, sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the song. The audio quallity and tonallity is different, the mix is different, levles are slightly different.
But hey, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to prepare a radio single.
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Comment by CAROLINE PASSIER (July 22, 2008, 3:52 am)
Anything that features Guy will be totally BRILLIANT!!!!
He’s the most gifted humble man walking the planet
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Comment by CAROLINE PASSIER (July 24, 2008, 3:32 am)
It sounds like David Phelps wasn’t there – that’s unbelievable
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Comment by Adam Wallace (July 28, 2008, 6:04 pm)
I mentioned it before but I’m so excited about this.
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Comment by Meagan Williams (July 28, 2008, 9:09 pm)
David Phelps was definitely there. Visit http://www.gaither.com for recaps of the event and photos.
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Comment by Dan (August 12, 2008, 9:57 pm)
As long as we are on the topic… Ever notice on Alpha and Omega that Phelps is singing the solo line and harmony?
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