Dream Concert
Dixie Echoes bass Pat Barker started a thread on the Singing News forums asking for your dream concert lineup. Since little else seems to be happening today in the way of news, I thought I’d post mine here as well:
First half: Today’s Groups
- Kingdom Heirs (5 songs)
- Booth Brothers (3 songs)
- Dixie Echoes (3 songs)
- Liberty Quartet (3 songs)
- Mark Trammell Trio (4 songs–Glory Road, When Mercy Came Down, Won’t it Be Wonderful There, Once Upon a Cross)
- Greater Vision (4 songs)
- Triumphant Quartet (4 songs)
- Gaither Vocal Band (4 songs)
- Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (5 songs)
- Perrys (5 songs)
Intermission: Kim Collingsworth on piano
Second half: Groups of yesteryear
- Original Gaither Vocal Band (2 songs, including “Passin’ the Faith Along”)
- Phelps/Lowry GVB (5 songs)
- Trammell/Liles Florida Boys (5 songs)
- Classic Inspirations (5 songs)
- Shaw/Sumner Blackwood Brothers (5 songs)
- Classic Inspirations (5 songs)
- Funderburk/Trammell/Wolfe Cathedrals (5 songs)
- Free/Parker and Parrack/Wilburn/Trammell Gold Cities (no song limit!)
- Phillips/Maynard/Burger Kingsmen (no song limit!)
- Happy Goodmans (Vestal/Howard/Sam/Rusty) (no song limit!)
- Final Cathedrals (no song limit!)
I finish that list feeling like I could have easily made one twice as long!
Feel free to post your list here or there.
Comment by GospelMusicFan (May 1, 2008, 11:22 am)
You will need to sing some songs about rest for the weary after “no song limit!” performances from the last three artists on the program.
May you can sing hymns like Near to the heart of God, We rest on Thee, In the Shadow of His Wings, Come unto Me or At the Name of Jesus.
I didn’t mention The Haven of Rest because the Cathedrals would have done that song sometime around 4 AM in the morning.
Some people might be telling you and singing that I rather I’ll Meet You In The Morning
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (May 1, 2008, 11:33 am)
You know what, Carl, if some of today’s newer SG fans today had that one chance to hear those last three groups (actually four with my edit), I don’t think we would care how long it went.
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Comment by Ed Butler (May 1, 2008, 6:16 pm)
You know – it is an interesting thread over at SN. And – in all sincerity – I enjoyed the past a great deal & still do with my recordings.
But cancel all those groups and give me the Dixie Echoes as they are today for about two hours – and I’ll be a very happy camper and will listen to old CD’s on my way home.
It has been a long time since I attended a concert with a large # of groups – I just prefer a group or two over the 15-30 minute slot for multiple groups. Listening to all the sales pitches will drive you to leave!
JEB
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Comment by lashay (May 2, 2008, 9:50 am)
Wow, Daniel….that’d be a great concert….a long concert, but a great one.
I like Ed’s idea. Just give me the DE’s for a couple hours and I’ll be good to go.
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Comment by John C (May 2, 2008, 9:51 am)
Oak Ridge Boys: 35 minutes
Blackwood Brothers: 40 minutes
Speer Family: 40 minutes
Statesmen Quartet: 40 minutes
Encore with all groups together: 15 minutes
This program will be more than entertaining and will leave the crowd begging for more. I usually don’t like a program to run more than three hours.
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Comment by Daniel J. Mount (May 2, 2008, 10:24 am)
I think people who live in areas less frequented by SG concerts are much less likely to have a dream concert that leaves the audience begging for more.
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Comment by Ed Butler (May 2, 2008, 8:15 pm)
OK – I have been thinking again. Perhaps the very best concert in my life was in ‘76 featuring “only” the Thrasher Brothers and the Cathedrals. I would love to be at that concert again. I had been following the Thrasher Brothers for years and they were high-energy and very exciting. But it was my first time to hear the Cathedrals and I was blown away by their smooth harmony. Roy Tremble sang tenor the way it should be sung. No screamers at tenor between the Thrashers and Cathedrals.
JEB
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Comment by Grigs (May 2, 2008, 9:48 pm)
John C,
Which personnel for those groups? Crumpler or Rozelle? JD or Liles? I’m guessing Smitty Gatlin at lead for the Oaks.
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Comment by John C (May 3, 2008, 8:24 am)
Grigs, let’s pretend this concert was held around 1961. That would make the personnel
Oaks: Willie Wynn, Smitty Gatlin, Ron Page, Herman Harper, Tommy Fairchild
Blackwoods: Bill Shaw, James & Cecil Blackwood, JD Sumner, Wally Varner
Speers: Mom, Dad, Brock & Ben Speer, Ginger Smith
Statesmen: Rosie, Jake, Doy, Chief, & Hovie
Since this is a “dream” concert, maybe I need to provide a set list for them, too!
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Comment by Quaid (May 6, 2008, 10:03 am)
I’d give just about anything to see the Cathedrals live. My first exposure to them was the Farewell video.
Ed Butler, you were blessed indeed to see Roy, George, Haskell, Glenn, and George live!
But at least those of us who never saw them have some great video footage to cherish. I have watched “Travellin Live” again, and again, and again and again. It’s absolutley amazing that one group could have so much talent at one time, and even more so that they repeiced the group together after personall changes with lineups that easily rivaled the previous.
As for my dream concert, place it around 1983. That way you could have the Cathedrals with Danny, Gold City, and The Kingsmen with Ernie Phillips.
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Comment by Quaid (May 6, 2008, 10:07 am)
I actually saw a recent “dream concert” on November 1st, 2002 in Lancaster, Ohio. Gold City (Jay, Jonathon, Danny, Tim, Channing, Adam, Doug) and Carolina Boys (Jerry Martin, Randy Crawford, Tim Surrett {his first booking with that group}, Ray Dean, Nick Succi, Jason Selpth, & Brandon Reese)
As for a future event, I’d love to see a Gold City reunion video taping with every former member.
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Comment by Tyler (May 6, 2008, 2:24 pm)
There is going to be a Gold City reunion this year with Jay, Jon, Tim, and Mark.
Here’s just hoping they TAPE IT!!!
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Comment by Quaid (May 7, 2008, 2:49 pm)
That would be a very wise decision for them.
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