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Our Final Quarter is the joint autobiography of Dave Kyllonen, Duane Nicholson, and Neil Enloe. From the 1957 through 1980, they traveled together as the Couriers. Tenor Duane Nicholson and Neil Enloe traveled together at various points since, eventually handing the Couriers’ name off to a new generation in 2000. During those years, Dave Kyllonen was involved in music ministry with his family. In the last few years, they have reunited and tour together as Dave, Duane & Neil.

The first part is the recollections of bass/baritone singer Dave Kyllonen. His section focuses heavily on the final quarter of his life, as the title suggests; his original stint with the Couriers is dealt with in two paragraphs in chapter one, though referenced later. A fairly large portion of his section is comments and tributes from family members and friends. It provides a fascinating look into his life, but I was slightly concerned that if the other two sections followed the same model, readers could end the book without more than a basic understanding of how the Couriers got to their final quarter.

Duane Nicholson’s section rapidly remedied those concerns. His colleagues said he was the one to remember details and precise events, and he did not disappoint. His section is a gripping and fascinating look at the history of the Couriers.

The personality and integrity of the group shines through in his often understated comments. After describing their only major vehicular accident—a trucker had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashing into their bus and totaling it—he said: “Our lawyers wanted us to sue the trucking company, but we found out that the trucker had only three trucks and only two of those were being used. We could have put him out of business but we decided not to.”

He faced what must have been an even greater temptation to sue later, when a botched operation to remove a vocal nodule disabled his voice and indirectly forced the Couriers’ retirement (as they did not want to continue without him). Friends urged him to sue the doctor for malpractice, but he said:

The idea was that I should be compensated for loss of income because of malpractice, but this was not an option for me. By this time the Couriers were well known; if I sued, it would be in all the major newspapers and on radio and television. What kind of testimony would that be? I probably would have destroyed this doctor’s practice, but in light of eternity what would that accomplish?

This viewpoint of living life through the light of eternity permeated the Couriers’ approach to life and ministry. After God started calling them into missions work, they aimed to devote 10% or more of their time to performing in around the world in missions-type situations. Some of the highlights of the book are the sections where they describe how God opened improbable doors for them to minister in 80 nations.

Neil Enloe’s section closed the book. He adopted an approach like Nicholson’s (though briefer), giving a chronological recounting of his life and the ministry’s history, as well as discussing the stories behind some of his songs.

If I could make one recommendation in this review, it would be to place Duane Nicholson’s account first in future printings. His is the most detailed history of the group and provides an excellent background to more fully appreciate the other two sections.

The three wrote their sections of the book individually, without seeing what the others had written. This approach lets the reader see the same stories through different lenses. Yet their similarities are far more evident than their differences. Though these men are unlikely to be remembered as the musical megastars of their generation, their passion for living in the light of eternity has resulted in a life-work with an impact that will only be fully realized then.

Note: This is unrelated to the book review, but attendees to this year’s NQC will have the chance to hear Dave, Duane, and Neil as they perform on the mainstage for the first time in decades on Friday night (9/18). If you’re there, don’t miss this rare opportunity.

Gerald Williams, bass singer for the Melody Boys Quartet and other Southern Gospel groups for the last sixty years, had no particular desire to write an autobiography. But his daughter, Judy Cox, persuaded him that it would be a shame not to preserve the heritage for his children and grandchildren. Judy Cox is listed as the book’s co-writer; she collected his stories on tape and assembled them into a book.

Since oral recollections are frequently more episodic (i.e., retelling a specific story) than chronological, a co-author working from oral recollections can easily lose continuity. But Cox did an admirably good job of telling his life in chronological fashion and weaving stories in at the appropriate points.

Obviously, the main reason most readers would purchase this autobiography is that they are a fan of the Melody Boys’ music and want to know more about Williams’ life story. But this book is also the most frank and detailed description of the challenges of life on the Southern Gospel circuit during the 1940s and 1950s that I have read. Williams frankly states what his weekly salary was in different groups—and why, on several occasions, financial issues led him to leave groups. He even frankly discusses the one time he was fired from a group. (It had to do with doctrinal differences with the group’s leader.)

The one area where the book could be improved would be by adding several appendices that would be difficult to compile without Williams’  input. It would be helpful to historians years down the road to have a complete Melody Boys discography, listing of group personnel, and a complete listing of the recordings Williams has been on with the Melody Boys and other group. Perhaps this could be added in a second edition.

This fascinating first-hand account of our genre’s early days is must reading for any Melody Boys Quartet fan and worth reading for any fan of the genre.

Available from: www.doranlovessoutherngospel.com.

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Richard Doran has been singing baritone with a local Ohio group for over three decades. Over those years, he has accumulated a wealth of first-hand knowledge about Southern Gospel in Ohio.

Ohio is sometimes thought to be off the beaten path of the Southern Gospel circuit. Granted, Ohioans get fewer concerts than residents of states in the deep South, but Doran shows in this book that Ohio’s Gospel roots run deep.

The book’s greatest strength is its exhaustive detail. Doran seems to have tracked down a member or two from nearly every Southern Gospel group based in Ohio, or that had member(s) from Ohio. Whether you follow the national Southern Gospel groups or are trying to find information on a small family group that sang in your church decades ago, chances are high that if there is any Ohio tie they are in here.

Besides general outlines of each group’s history, the book includes many humorous anecdotes. In one memorable incident, Jim Blair of Harrittsville, Ohio’s Chapel-Aires totally blew an altar call, asking the audience, “Please stand on your hands, bow your eyes, and close your heads.” The book is also full of fascinating trivia—everything from how many copies the Inspirations’ 2001 Pure Vintage album sold in the first three months it was out (10,ooo copies) to Mike Allen’s full last name and why he chose to use his middle name on stage. (You’ll have to get the book for that one.) Another tidbit: Mitchel Jon Kenitzer had never sung Southern Gospel before joining Three Bridges. He had actually been a rock singer from North Dakota.

The book is set in a travelogue format. Each chapter is in the context of a road trip, and town by town, Doran shares some facts about the town and singers that lived there. Though a unique idea, it probably wasn’t the best choice of formats for the book. The only practical way to access the wealth of data in the book is through the index; an encyclopedic (alphabetical) or chronological listing would have been a little more accessible.

But on the scope of things, that is really a minor quibble. Aside from minor errors like occasional mispellings of singers’ names, the book is quite accurate. This book can safely be called definitive. Southern Gospel history is better off for having this information preserved—and would be even better if writers in other states are inspired to research similar projects.