ORIGINAL POST, SUNDAY, 10:04 P.M.: Several Southern Gospel performers, including Jeff & Sheri Easter, Karen Peck Gooch, and Shawn Degenhart (who performed with Hill in the Heritage Harmony Quartet), are reporting that soloist Stephen Hill passed away suddenly today after a heart attack. He was in Lumberton, North Carolina for a concert at Antioch Baptist Church (Wesley Pritchard’s home church) (UPDATE: Early reports that it was Pritchard’s home church appear to be incorrect.)

Hill was best known for his Gaither Homecoming appearances as a soloist. He was also on the Heritage Harmony Quartet’s debut recording, which we gave a five-star rating here.

UPDATE, 7 AM 8/6/12: The Gaither organization has officially confirmed Stephen Hill’s passing. He suffered a massive heart attack during soundcheck for yesterday evening’s concert. They added:

Stephen was a “gentle giant” with a kind, soft-spoken nature and a tenor voice as versatile as it was beautiful. He had a sincere heart for people and for sharing the hope of Christ with audiences throughout his career. He was dearly loved by his friends, family and the music community. 

Stephen is survived by his wife, Kathy, and their three children, Melody, Miriam, and Caleb.

UPDATE, 8:58 AM, 8/7/12: Funeral plans, via Woody Wright on Facebook:

I hope everyone will make plans to be with us on Monday August 13 at Grace Church of the Nazarene near Opryland in Nashville at 1 PM. Kathy, Melody, Miriam and Caleb appreciate your prayers as they deal with the shock and grief of this sudden, unexpected tragedy. They have asked for a great celebration of Stephen’s extraordinary life.

UPDATE, 9:25 PM, 8/7/12: Updated time for service: The funeral will be at 3:00 pm Monday, August 13; visitation will be (before) 1:00-3:00pm.

Worth Knowing

• Via this concert promotional poster, it appears that Beyond the Ashes’ new lead singer is Dustin Doyle.
• Ivan Parker recently recorded vocals for a hymns project. He conducted a contest with fans of his Facebook page to name the project; the winning name was Timeless Treasures.

Worth Reading

• John S. offers his take on the “What does Southern Gospel need to survive?” question we discussed here last week.

Worth Watching

SGConcerts’ Diana Brantley recently caught Union Street in concert. Here is a highlight:

She also posted a concert review, [EDIT, 3/16/13: Broken link removed] and videos of three other songs—After a While, Boundless Love, and The Love of God.

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Live music is on the decline in Southern Gospel; an increasing number of concerts consist solely of three or four singers with soundtracks. These soundtrack-only performances often sacrifice spontaneity and excitement in exchange for perfection.

When this issue is raised, someone will invariably note that soundtracks are necessary because it is not economically feasible for many groups to add three or four more salaries. But is this a false dichotomy? Are these our only two choices?

Southern Gospel’s period of greatest visibility and cultural influence was in the quarter-century from 1950-1975. For the last 8-10 years of that period, it was common for groups to travel with bands. But for two generations of Southern Gospel prior to that point—and for most of this peak visibility period—Southern Gospel live programs consisted of three or four voices and a piano player.

The singing was so good, the piano playing was so good, and the songs were so good that these live programs were hardly inferior.

What would happen if Southern Gospel live programs went back to four voices and a piano player? Would groups still be able to execute the show-stopping anthems that are generally the high points of current live programs? For many of the best groups, the answer would be yes. If you have a featured vocalist of a Mark Trammell, Arthur Rice, or Joseph Habedank caliber, you don’t need a 60-piece orchestra to bring the house down with “Loving the Lamb,” “We Will Stand Our Ground,” or “If You Knew Him.”

Two more questions. (1) Has our culture progressed to the point where three or four top-notch vocalists and a top-notch piano player cannot put on a compelling, dynamic live concert that will draw fans to the genre?

(2) On the flip side, is three or four top-notch vocalists and a soundtrack player more or less compelling and dynamic?

Some time back, Crossroads offered free mp3 downloads of a song from current projects. This feature returned yesterday, with a song from the new Inspirations album, “So Simple, So Profound.” You can get the song here.

This list aims to be inclusive of Daywind, Crossroads, Horizon/Crossroads, Sonlite/Crossroads, Vine/Crossroads, Gaither Music Group/EMI CMG, Stow Town/Provident/Integrity, New Haven/Provident/Integrity, Song Garden, Homeland, The Mansion Entertainment, and major independent group releases where known.

August 2012

• 8/14: The Best of the Booth Brothers (DVD), Booth Brothers (Gaither Music Group / EMI CMG)
• 8/14: A Tribute to the Songs of Bill and Gloria Gaither, Booth Brothers (Gaither Music Group / EMI CMG)
• 8/14: Nothing But Love, Brian Free & Assurance (Daywind)
• 8/21: I Can Rejoice, Mark Bishop (Sonlite / Crossroads)
• 8/21: You’ve Got to Hear This, David Staton (Song Garden)
• 8/28: Sweet Songs About Heaven, Blackwood Brothers (Daywind)
• 8/28: Seasons of Life: Solo Piano Reflections, Stan Whitmire (Spring Hill / EMI CMG)

September 2012

Is this list missing anything significant, especially among major independent releases? Let us know in the comments!

Mark Trammell posted on Facebook that his mother, Elizabeth Trammell, passed away at 1 AM Central Time:\

At 1 AM central time… Mom quietly and peacefully walked thru the gates of pearl….No more broken hip, no cancer, no arthritis, no heart problems. She made it…..because Jesus said that she would!!!!!!! Yay MOM!!

Please keep the Trammell family in your prayers.

UPDATE: Singing News posted funeral arrangements: “Huson Funeral Home in Sherwood, Arkansas, will be handling the arrangements for Ms. Trammell. The visitation will be Sunday, August 5, 2012 from 12 – 2 p.m., with the celebration of life service at 2 p.m.”

Last night, I was talking with a friend who loves Southern Gospel but is well off the beaten path of the heart of this genre’s circuit. As I was trying to describe that unique breed of song known as a “shoutin’ song,” it occurred to me that we might arrive at a better description with a collective exercise.

First, for other readers off of the beaten path, here are a few examples of local and regional groups singing “shoutin’ songs”:

• Fletcher Family – “Better Farther On“
• Primitive Quartet – “Gloryland“
• Perrys – “Did I Mention“

These songs share a few common characteristics:

• They are slow
• …but they aren’t big ballads – they hold the same dynamic intensity throughout, as opposed to starting low and slow and building to a big, slow ending
• They’re either about salvation or Heaven (or both)
• They’re delivered passionately, and to the right audience
• There is, at least, an a cappella encore (but is this an intrinsic characteristic or a coincidence with these three?)

What other characteristics make a song a “shoutin’ song”?

This is the twentieth entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in Proverbs can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• Proverbs 1:9: A Trophy of Grace (McKameys)
• Proverbs 2:5-6: Trust in the Lord (The Goss Brothers and Jim Wesson)
• Proverbs 2:5-6: I’m Gonna Trust in the Lord (Speer Family)
• Proverbs 4:5: Just A Gettin’ It (Kingdom Heirs) (allusion)
• Proverbs 18:24: Closer Than a Brother (Harvesters, Singing Americans, Imperials)
• Proverbs 18:24: He’s All I Need (Kingsmen)
• Proverbs 19:21: One Step at a Time (McKameys)
• Proverbs 22:6: Train Up Your Children (Dallas Holm)
• Proverbs 22:6: Monuments (Legacy Five)
• Proverbs 22:28: The Old Landmark (Couriers, Statesmen, Gaither Vocal Band, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
• Proverbs 22:28: Monuments (Legacy Five) (also see Proverbs 23:10)
• Proverbs 23:10: Monuments (Legacy Five) (also see Proverbs 22:6)
• Proverbs 27:17: Steel on Steel (Gaither Vocal Band)
• Proverbs 30:5: Only Trust in Him (McKameys)
• Proverbs 31: A Mother To Be Praised (Baker-Pasma Families)

What others come to mind?

Worth Knowing

• Inspirations bass player Myron Cook and his wife Jennifer welcomed their fourth child, daughter Abigail (Abby) Elizabeth Cook, on July 17th. She joins brothers Caleb and Josiah and sister Hannah Grace.
• Canton Junction’s self-titled debut will be available in September.

Worth Reading

• Don’t miss Legacy Five’s mouse story!

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Periodically, Southern Gospel artists and fans will discuss whether Southern Gospel has a future. Newer and more musically aggressive styles have captured the fancy of a large portion of the American church. The decline in Christian bookstores and other facets of the traditional music industry has cut into revenues. That is not even mentioning the cost of fuel now as compared to twenty years ago! What does Southern Gospel need to survive?

First, of course, is God’s blessing. Remove the spiritual impact of the songs touching the lives of listeners and our genre has no value!

Second, our genre needs the right people. But if God blesses us with people who have both the determination to carry the work of the ministries forward and the talent and persistence to pull it off, Southern Gospel will survive and even thrive. There will be great challenges in a changing cultural and technological environment, but if the right people are in place and God blesses their efforts, those challenges can be solved.