Comments on: Was George Younce the Best?

By: thomas anderson

thomas anderson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:56:21 +0000

How can a person who has heard all the singers mentioned in the above post and is an avid southern gospel fan not know who Tim Riley is or not have heard him. In the 90’s Riley and Younce were the basses that were mentioned when it came to who was the best out there during that time.

By: S. Thompson

S. Thompson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:56:40 +0000

As someone above suggested, there is no “best ever”. It’s all a matter of opinion. It’s whomever suits your ear and your eye. I became an avid southern gospel quartet fan in 1958 and have seen most all of the top groups in the years since. I’ve seen all of the bass singers in my ranking below, most of them multiple times. I have not seen nor heard Tim Riley so I can’t say about him. Here are my favorites and how I would rank them……

1. Jay Simmons Best ever. Could sing low with good, crisp tones, could sing higher melody and knew how to “sell” his part. I saw him in person many, many times.

2.George Younce, Gene McDonald, Richard Sterban, Eric Bennett, Gerald Williams and Big Chief. I saw George with the Blue Ridge & The Cathedrals, saw Gerald many times, the Statesmaen several times and the Oaks several times.

3. Mike Holcomb, Cecil Stringer, London Paris and Billy Todd. I’ve seen Mike and Billy several times and Cecil many times.

4. Noel Fox, Rex Nelon, Brock Speer and Herman Harper.

A distant 5th. Buddy Liles, Burl Strevel, Bob Thacker (all air)

A distant last. J.D. All air, no quality, no good crisp tones.

My opinions pertain only to their bass singing, nothing personal.

By: S. Thompson

S. Thompson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:49:47 +0000

1. Jay Simmons Best ever. Could sing low with good, crisp tones, could sing higher melody and knew how to “sell” his part. I saw him in person many, many times.

3. Mike Holcomb, Cecil Stringer, London Paris and Billy Todd. I’ve seen Mike and Billy several times and Cecil many times.

4. Noel Fox, Rex Nelon, Brock Speer and Herman Harper.

A distant 5th. Buddy Liles, Burl Strevel, Bob Thacker (all air)

A distant last. J.D. All air, no quality, no good crisp tones.

My opinions pertain only to their bass singing, nothing personal.

By: J. Lhotka

J. Lhotka — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:12:07 +0000

Oh and by the way, great blog! I love these . . .

By: J. Lhotka

J. Lhotka — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:57:35 +0000

I have heard most of the bass singers mentioned on this page and agree with alot of the points that have been made. I feel that while the older generation may have set that standard for what we have come to love, the bass’s singing today have taken this standard to a whole new level.

The best bass singer in my opinion is Eric Bennett. This guy is smooth and low. Great rip and solid down to an Eb below low C . He also has an exceptional ability to sing the lead part and connects with their audience every time. Jeff Chapman, Gene MacDonald, and Christian Davis are other great examples of this new era of Southern Gospel Bass Singers. All the old time bass singers in heaven have got to be proud of this new bunch of singers carrying on their traditions.

By: Mary McCall

Mary McCall — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:45:08 +0000

I have been looking up each name listed in the various entries here and listening to them on YouTube. I agree that it’s hard to compare bass singers. They are in groups that focus on different things. My favorite and IMO the best of all was Big Chief Wetherington. He is copied to this day by many of the above mentioned. Who can blame them? He influenced even J.D. Sumner. He could have been the “rock star” of his day! He was great looking, moved well, and could rock a song! This isn’t to say the others can’t – I enjoy them, too- but there will never be another Big Chief!

By: L. Godwin

L. Godwin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:26:08 +0000

I grew up in Southern Gospel music during the 50’s and 60’s and lost interest as the older singers/musicians started to pass on. Vocally speaking as far as bass singers go, nobody has the resonance, smoothness and ability to blend like Armand Morales. J.D. will always be the one with the lowest range. Burrel Strevel had a clarity in his lowest notes (b flat a, g ) that others didn’t. London Paris had power to burn and a good low range but not always big and full, nobody, but nobody was nor is a showman like Big Chief. Noel Fox had class and blended well with the Oaks and a good bass voice.
The best all around bass singer in my opinion sang with many, groups and did over 200 characterizations for Disney. He was the ONLY Tony the Tiger for Kellogs from 1954 to present and his name was Thurl Ravenscroft. His voice, whether speaking or singing was so resonant yet crisp and clear like noone else I’ve heard in my 56 years of living.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:20:42 +0000

George Younce was undeniably a great bass singer. Was he the greatest? That’s a good question. Personally, I think he had a better voice than J.D. Sumner. J.D. could certainly sing lower than George, but he lacked George’s tone quality and annunciation. George had a smooth, sweet voice that was pleasant to the ear. J.D. had a really nice voice in his younger days, but it got pretty gravelly as he got older.

In short, I agree with those who think Big Chief Wetherington was the greatest bass singer of all time. I didn’t become acquainted with his music until several years after his death, but I still get goose pimples when I listen to him. I would rank Younce a close second to Chief, though.

Has anyone here mentioned Brock Speer? I think he was one of the most underrated bass singers of all time. By the time he appeared on the Gaither videos, he had gotten on in years and was past his prime. In his younger days, though, he could hold his own with the best of them.

By: Red Ryder

Red Ryder — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:29:28 +0000

As a teenager, I loved gospel quartets and sang bass in local quartets. When the Blackwoods and Statesmen changed the whole face of southern gospel, I was there, in person, taking it all in and loving it. — The Statesmen and Blackwoods were a package, always appearing together. The Blackwoods would appear first and warm up the audience and the Statesmen would go on next and sing until the end of the night. Hovie Lister, the greatest showman, would work the crowd into a fever, much like a rock concert of today. — JD was easily the lowest voice of the age but he did not have great harmonics and did not blend into the group. It always sounded like “JD and the Blackwoods.” His voice could vibrate the seats but it never sounded like an integral part of the quarted. I loved JD and wished I could hit the low notes like he could. — But I loved Big Chief more. He could not hit a double low C on his best day. But he could hit all the notes in all the music he ever attempted to sing. His voice had great harmonic quality. He could sing high up in the baritone range and it still sounded like full-blown bass. Most of all, his voice blended perfectly into the group. There was never any sense that he wanted to be more important or better heard that the rest of the group. — JD considered Chief the best bass singer in the business. He considered the Statesmen the best quartet in the business. His public statements made that clear. — So, who is the best bass? If you want to be entertained by sub-low sounds, then JD or Tim Storm. If you want to hear a great voice blended with three other great voices, then Chief wins by a clear margin. — I love them all. Most nights, the last sound I hear before sleep is from the Statesmen, Blackwoods, or Rangers. I consider Chief to be the best bass quartet singer of all time. — Thank you for allowing me to give may historical observations.

By: James Moore

James Moore — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:24:53 +0000

It’s true that George Younce was a wonderful bass, and a great emcee who could connect with his audience especially in the role of emcee, and I’m not taking anything away from his singing. James S. “Big Chief Wetherington had it all, great timing, knew his music, the ability to know each man’s part. rhythm-which is un-surpassed, showmanship-where he is un-equaled, low voice-actually lower than people usually heard him sing, this I know personaly because I was going to an auditorium where the Blackwoods and Statesmen were appearing and being a little late when arriving outside the building-I heard a bass singer sluring a bass note very low, and I thought-that’s J.D.Sumner, well when I got inside I saw Big Chief onstage. And I also wittnessed how Chief could hold an audience in the palm of hand when he did the recitation “The Common Man” at the NQC.