This is the forty-fourth 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 Acts can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• Acts 1:13: Something in the Upper Room (Wilburns)
• Acts 2: Pentecost Fire (Teddy Huffam & the Gems)
• Acts 2: There is a River (just about everyone)
• Acts 2: Wind, Rain, Fire (Gold City)
• Acts 2: The Wind Blew In (Gold City)
• Acts 2: There’s No Need to Die (Hoppers)
• Acts 3:1-11: Silver and Gold (Inspirations, Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters)
• Acts 7: I See Jesus (Gospel Harmony Quartet – young Ed O’Neal)
• Acts 7:56: He Will Row You Over the Tide (Cathedrals, Dixie Echoes, Florida Boys, Gold City, Hoppers, Inspirations, Kingsmen)
• Acts 8: Just Preach Jesus (Kingsmen)
• Acts 9:1-9: On Damascus Road (Brian Free & Assurance)
• Acts 9:1-9: Damascus Road (Perrys)
• Acts 9:1-9: The Touch (McKameys)
• Acts 12: Moving the Hand of God (Mark Trammell Trio)
• Acts 12:5: A Wall of Prayer (McKameys)
• Acts 16:23-34: God’s Got a Bigger Thing Going On (Greater Vision)
• Acts 16:23-34: Breakin’ Chains (Three Bridges)
• Acts 16:23-34: Give Me a Song to Sing at Midnight (Kingmsen)
• Acts 16:23-34: Music at Midnight (Liberty Quartet)
• Acts 16:23-34: Singing in the Midnight Hour (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
• Acts 16:23-24: They Sang a Hymn (Perrys)
• Acts 16:23-24: God Wants to Hear You Sing (Greater Vision)
• Acts 24:25: Standing at the Altar (McKameys)
• Acts 25-26: I’m Saved (Wilburns, Old Paths)
• Acts 26:16-18: Telling the Old Story (McKameys)
• ACts 26:28: Almost Persuaded
• Acts 26:28-29: I Just Thought You Ought to Know (McKameys)
• Acts 27:14: Euroclydon (Dave, Duane, and Neil/Couriers)

What others come to mind?

A sizable and apparently growing number of Southern Gospel fans express a distinct preference for attending concerts with live music. This is a fairly well-known segment of Southern Gospel fans. To my surprise, a recent commenter expressed a preference for a soundtrack-driven concert. How significant is this preference? Let’s find out!

A number of observers of this genre are calling 2012 a slump year for albums. There is some truth to that; several of the genre’s leading groups released albums that were almost (but not quite) as strong as the preceding album. Nevertheless, this year did produce several standout albums:

1. The Talleys, Love Won. Since I’m webmaster for the Talleys’ website, I thought I was a little too close to the process to write an objective review. Yet I’ll state here the conclusion I would have given had I reviewed it: From song selection to arrangements to performances, this is the strongest album that this family has ever released. (See? I said I didn’t claim to be objective here! Yet it is also worth noting that, in the six years I’ve run this site, I’ve never said this about a previous Talleys album, including the others released since I started working with them.)
2. Mark Trammell Quartet, Lifetime, reviewed here. A case could be made that this album should head the list. The tie-breaker was that Lifetime contains mostly pre-recorded songs, while Love Won achieves a similarly strong result with new songs.
3. Booth Brothers, A Tribute to the Songs of Bill and Gloria Gaither, reviewed here.
4. Tribute Quartet, Our Anthem, reviewed here.
5. Barry Rowland & Deliverance, Make Mine the Real Thing, reviewed here.

Honorable mention: The Cathedrals’ Live in Chicago (reviewed here) would have stood near the head of the list if I’d included it. Since it was recorded sixteen years ago, it seemed best to focus this list on recently recorded releases. But it was certainly among the year’s strongest releases.

This is the forty-third 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 John can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• John 1:6-37: See Matthew 3
• John 1:12-14: Remember When (McKameys)
• John 1:23: Preach (Talley Trio)
• John 1:29: Behold the Lamb (Palmetto State Quartet)
• John 1:29: Behold the Lamb (Songmasters, Hoppers, Jerry & the Singing Goffs, Dove Brothers) (allusion)
• John 1:29: Behold the Lamb (Rambos) (different song) (allusion)
• John 1:29: Behold the Lamb (Down East Boys) (different song) (allusion)
• John 1:29: Look No Further (Perrys)
• John 1:29: Sing a Song About The Lamb (McKameys)
• John 1:32: See Matthew 3:16
• John 1:39: Come and See (Kingsmen)
• John 1:39: Come and See (Roy Knight Singers) (allusion)
• John 1:45: But I Met a Nazarene (Perrys, McKameys)
• John 2:1-10: He Turned the Water into Wine (Couriers)
• John 3: The Only Way (Greater Vision)
• John 3: If You Want to Go to Heaven (Isaacs)
• John 3:16: For God So Loved (Brian Free & Assurance)
• John 3:16: For God So Loved (Blackwood Brothers, Blue Ridge, Cathedrals, Florida Boys, Rebels, Stamps) (different song)
• John 3:16: For God So Loved the World (Blue Ridge)
• John 3:16: John Chapter 3 (Wilburns)
• John 3:16: How Deep the Father’s Love For Us (McKameys, Talleys)
• John 3:16: He Gave (McKameys)
• John 3:16: Blame it On Love (Hoppers)
• John 3:16: The Old Love Letter (McKameys)
• John 4:1-16: Bucket at the Well (Inspirations)
• John 4:1-16: Close To The Well (Ivan Parker)
• John 4:1-16: Drink from the Well (Gold City)
• John 4:1-16: Go to the Well (Dixie Melody Boys)
• John 4:1-16: Going to the Well (Dixie Echoes)
• John 4:1-16: He’s Still Waiting by the Well (Greater Vision)
• John 4:1-16: Jacob’s Well (Perrys)
• John 4:1-16: Mighty Deep Well (Kingdom Heirs)
• John 4:1-16: Paid in Full Through Jesus, Amen (Greater Vision)
• John 4:1-16: Keeper of the Well (Cathedrals, Chris Allman)
• John 4:1-16: One Well (Liberty Quartet)
• John 4:1-16: Still Drinking Water from the Well (Cathedrals, Cross 4 Crowns, Legacy Five)
• John 4:1-16: This Well Travels (Hoppers)
• John 4:1-16: Water at the Well (Beene Family)
• John 4:1-16: Weary at the Well (Mark Trammell Quartet)
• John 4:1-16: The Well of Grace (Kingsmen)
• John 4:1-16: Well of Life (Booth Brothers)
• John 4:1-16: Well Water (Martins)
• John 4:1-16: You’re at the Well (Gold City)
• John 4:1-16: You Can’t Draw Water from a Dry Well (Wendy Bagwell & the Sunliters)
• John 4:1-16: Too Good to Not Be True (Perrys)
• John 4:7-42: Something More (McKameys)
• John 4:11: Fountain of Living Water (Crist Family)
• John 4:11: I’ve Found Living Water (Cumberland Quartet)
• John 4:11: Jesus is the Living Water (Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet, Heartland Quartet, Perfect Heart)
• John 4:11: Living Water (Gaither Vocal Band)
• John 4:11: Living Water (Hoppers) (different song)
• John 4:11: Living Water (N’Harmony) (different song)
• John 4:11: Living Water (Paid in Full) (different song)
• John 4:11: Living Water (Talley Trio, Won by One) (different song)
• John 5:2: See Matthew 9:20-22
• John 5:6: Do You Want To Be Well (Gaither Vocal Band)
• John 6:1-14: See Matthew 14:13-21
• John 6:15-21: See Matthew 14:22-33
• John 6:35: Living Water, Bread of Life (Booth Brothers)
• John 7:38: Rivers of Living Water (Daryl Williams Trio)
• John 8:12: Light of the World (The Martins)
• John 8:12: Jesus, the Light of the World (The Rebels, Gaither Homecoming Friends)
• John 10:1-21: Gentle Shepherd (Bill Gaither Trio, Cathedrals, Dixie Melody Boys, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Gaither Vocal Band, Mark Trammell Quartet, Statesmen)
• John 10:1-21: Gentle Shepherd (Perrys) (different song)
• John 10:1-21: The Shepherd’s Call (Crabb Family)
• John 10:1-21: The Shepherd’s Point of View (McKameys) (allusion)
• John 10:3: When He Speaks (McKameys)
• John 11:1-46: Hey, Lazarus (Dove Brothers)
• John 11:1-46: Bring Lazarus Back (Mark Bishop)
• John 11:1-46: Lazarus Come Forth (Bishops)
• John 11:1-46: My Name is Lazarus (Greater Vision)
• John 11:1-46: Take Off Those Rags Lazarus (Rex Nelon)
• John 11:1-46: Come and See (Roy Knight Singers)
• John 11:1-46: Behold, the Master Cometh (Kingsmen)
• John 11:1-46: Four Days Late (Karen Peck & New River)
• John 11:1-46: The Voice I Could Not Resist (Greater Vision)
• John 11:1-46: When Jesus Speaks Life (Kingdom Heirs)
• John 11:1-46: Grave Clothes (Gold City)
• John 11:1-46: On Time God (Talley Trio)
• John 11:1-46: Power in God’s Son (McKameys)
• John 11:15: Weep (Nelons)
• John 12:13: See Matthew 21:9
• John 13:1-20: God Washed the Dirty Feet of Men (Florida Boys)
• John 13:1-20: He Washed My Feet (Greater Vision)
• John 14:1-3: Coming Very Soon (McKameys)
• John 14:1-3: In My Father’s House (McKameys)
• John 14:1-4: When I Think About Heaven (McKameys)
• John 14:27: When He Speaks (McKameys)
• John 15:5: Without Him (McKameys)
• John 15:13: What Will You Do For Jesus? (narration) (Cathedrals)
• John 19: See Matthew 27
• John 19:16-30: Between Twelve and Thirty-Three (McKameys)
• John 19:17: See Matthew 27:31-33
• John 19:23: Close to the Cross But Far From the Blood (McKameys)
• John 19:25-35: All Is Well (McKameys)
• John 19:28: I Thirst (Cathedrals)
• John 19:30: It is Finished (pretty much everyone)
• John 19:30: He Said it All (Bishops)
• John 19:30: It is Finished Started it All (LordSong)
• John 19:30: It is Done (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
• John 19:34: Oh, How Precious Is The Flow (McKameys)
• John 19:38: See Matthew 27:57-66
• John 20: See Matthew 28
• John 20:6-7: At The Breaking Of Day (McKameys)
• John 20:7: The Garden Tomb (Primitives, John Bowman)
• John 20:11-18: The Garden Tomb (Primitives, John Bowman)
• John 20:24-29: My Lord and My God (Inspirations)
• John 20:26-28: I Don’t Have to See the Tomb (Inspirations)
• John 20:30: Story Untold (McKameys)
• John 21:1-6: The Other Side (McKameys)
• John 21:15: Lovest Thou Me (pretty much everyone)
• John 21:15: Feed My Sheep (Primitive Quartet)
• John 21:15: My Jesus, I Love Thee (pretty much everyone)
• John 21:15: More Than You’ll Ever Know (Kingdom Heirs, Mark Trammell Trio)

Where a song is inspired by something in multiple Gospels, I’ve listed it under the parallel passage in Matthew.

What others come to mind?

The Great Commission calls us to make disciples—not just converts. Last night, I heard a presentation from a missionary heading back to Malawi. He reflected on this point, observing: ”The church cannot live on converts alone. Converts will not multiply themselves. Disciples will.”

Tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—have been converted at Southern Gospel concerts. Some of these have moved forward from the point of conversion to discipleship, to serious study and mentoring under a pastor or other mature Christian of what exactly it means to be a Christian. Of course, others have fallen through the cracks, but the point of this post is not to focus on the negative.

These questions are especially for readers who were converted or have a close friend or family member converted at a Southern Gospel concert—but would also apply to anyone who has observed groups in this area:

What are effective ways you have seen groups point converts to discipleship?

What about when a concert is done in a setting other than the local church?

In this Internet era, have you heard of any groups that follow up with converts online, to give them more of a grounding in the fundamentals of our faith?

Many of today’s top-tier Southern Gospel artists tour with just soundtracks, or just a piano player and soundtracks. But there are still groups carrying great live bands. Who are some of the Southern Gospel groups with at least three live musicians?

Four or more:

• Akins
• Brotherhood Quartet
• Browders
• Dove Brothers
• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
• Freemans
• Gaither Vocal Band
• Garms Family from Braham, MN
• Jason Crabb
• Knox Brothers
• New Jerusalem Singers from Springfield, IL (hat tip, Cindy S)

Three piece:

• Atonement Quartet from Westfield, IN (piano / bass / drums)
• Bowlings (piano / drums / on select songs, bass)
• Collingsworth (but only in a sense, since there are generally only three going simultaneously on some of the instrumentals)
• Diplomats (piano / bass / drums)
• Dixie Echoes (piano / bass / on select songs, guitar)
• Edwards Family from Spruce Pine, NC (piano / bass / guitar)
• Inspirations (piano / bass / utility player)
• Jeff & Sheri Easter
• Kingdom Heirs (piano / bass / drums)
• Singing Cookes (piano / bass / drums)

Of course, there also bluegrass bands like Dailey & Vincent, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Isaacs, and the Primitive Quartet; these naturally have four or move live instrumentalists.

For these lists, I’m not particularly concerned whether a group is national, regional, or local. What other Southern Gospel groups have great live bands?

Fifteen years ago, a CD review’s job was to help the reader determine if the CD, as a whole, was worth purchasing. To what extent is that still true in Southern Gospel? That depends, of course, on the extent to which you all have shifted to only purchasing an album’s strongest songs. So let’s do a poll:

If you answered “yes,” what percentage of the time do you only purchase an album’s strongest songs?

This is the forty-second 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 Luke can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• Luke 1:63: His Name Was John (Hoppers, Perrys, Dumplin Valley Boys)
• Luke 2:3-7: Between Twelve and Thirty-Three (McKameys)
• Luke 2:7: No Room at the Inn (Spencers)
• Luke 2:7: No Room at the Inn (Cumberland Quartet)
• Luke 2:7: Away in a Manger (pretty much everyone)
• Luke 2:7: From the Manger to the Cross (Blue Ridge Quartet)
• Luke 2:7: A Gift in a Manger (Kyla Rowland & Deliverance)
• Luke 2:7: One Little Manger (Bill Gaither Trio)
• Luke 2:7: A Way in a Manger (Inspirations)
• Luke 2:7: Who’s That in the Manger There? (Paynes)
• Luke 2:7: His Father’s Eyes (McKameys)
• Luke 2:8-18: Go Tell it On the Mountain (pretty much everyone)
• Luke 2:8-18: The Shepherds Found a Lamb (Greater Vision)
• Luke 2:8-18: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (Chuck Wagon Gang)
• Luke 2:9: From a Star to Stripes (Couriers, Cathedrals, Mark Trammell Trio)
• Luke 2:11: I Have a Great Savior (McKameys)
• Luke 2:14: Glory to God in the Highest (Inspirations, Brian Free & Assurance, Old Friends Quartet, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
• Luke 2:14: Glory to God (Talley Trio, Gaither Homecoming Friends)
• Luke 2:39-40: Between Twelve and Thirty-Three (McKameys)
• Luke 3:1-22: See Matthew 3
• Luke 3:22: See Matthew 3:16
• Luke 4:4: See Matthew 4:4
• Luke 5:37-38: See Matthew 9:17
• Luke 6:11-17: See Matthew 14:13-21
• Luke 6:47-49: See Matthew 7:24-27
• Luke 8:22-25: See Matthew 8:23-27
• Luke 8:41-42: See Mark 5:22-23
• Luke 8:43-48: See Matthew 9:20-22
• Luke 9:23: See Matthew 16:24
• Luke 10:2: See Matthew 9:37-38
• Luke 10:39: Sitting at the Feet of Jesus (Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)
• Luke 11:1-4: See Matthew 6:9-13
• Luke 11:9-10: See Matthew 7:7-8
• Luke 12:6-7: See Matthew 10:29
• Luke 15:3-7: See Matthew 18:11-14
• Luke 15:10: Shoutin’ Time (Hoppers, Inspirations, Kingdom Heirs)
• Luke 15:11-32: The Prodigal Son (Cathedrals, Florida Boys, Kingdom Heirs, Mercy’s Mark, Toney Brothers, Kingsmen)
• Luke 15:11-32: The Prodigal Son (Blackwood Brothers) (different song)
• Luke 15:11-32: Prodigal Son (Kingsmen, Gatlin Brothers) (different song)
• Luke 15:11-32: Prodigal Son (Kingsmen) (different song)
• Luke 15:11-32: Prodigal Son (LordSong)
• Luke 15:11-32: The Prodigal’s Father (Ricky Atkinson & Compassion)
• Luke 15:11-32: Rejoice, Rejoice (Return of the Prodigal) (Henry & Hazel Slaughter)
• Luke 15:11-32: Welcome Back Home (Bill Gaither Trio, Gaither Homecoming Friends)
• Luke 15:11-32: Welcome Home (The Brothers)
• Luke 15:11-32: Welcome Home (Dixie Echoes, Florida Boys, Happy Goodmans, Rambos) (different song)
• Luke 15:11-32: When God Ran (Kingsmen)
• Luke 15:11-32: Another Child’s Coming Home (Greater Vision)
• Luke 15:11-32: More Than I Ever Asked For (Squire Parsons)
• Luke 16:19-31: Who is Lying at Your Gate (McKameys)
• Luke 16:21: See Matthew 15:27
• Luke 16:24: Lazarus (Dottie Rambo)
• Luke 17:11-19: One Out of Ten (Freemans)
• Luke 17:26: See Matthew 24:37
• Luke 17:36: See Matthew 13:31
• Luke 18:35-43: This Is My Story (McKameys)
• Luke 18:35-43: But I Met a Nazarene (Perrys, McKameys)
• Luke 19:1-10: Guess what Zacchaeus Found (Voices Won)
• Luke 19:1-10: I’m a Brand New Man (Kingdom Heirs)
• Luke 20:38: See Matthew 22:32
• Luke 21:28: Redemption Draweth Nigh (everyone)
• Luke 21:28: Caught Up (Kingsmen)
• Luke 22:12: See Mark 14:15
• Luke 22:19: In Remembrance of Me (Cathedrals)
• Luke 22:24: It Satisfies Me (McKameys)
• Luke 23: See Matthew 27
• Luke 23:36: See Matthew 27:31-33
• Luke 23:45: See Matthew 27:51
• Luke 23:45-49: His Father’s Eyes (McKameys)
• Luke 23:51: See Matthew 27:57-66
• Luke 24: See Matthew 28
• Luke 24:12: The Garden Tomb (Primitive Quartet, John Bowman)
• Luke 24:13-32: Emmaus (Brian Free)
• Luke 24:13-32: On the Road to Emmaus (Steeles)
• Luke 24:13-32: The Road to Emmaus (Blackwood Brothers)
• Luke 24:13-35: But I Met a Nazarene (Perrys, McKameys)

Where a song is inspired by something in multiple Gospels, I’ve listed it under the parallel passage in Matthew.

What others come to mind?

In a discussion last week, a commenter posted an often-repeated observation that Southern Gospel simply doesn’t have the mega-hits it used to have. This post originated as a comment, but ended up being so long that it turned into a post of its own.

It is true that songs fly up and down the charts far faster than they did twenty years ago. Back in the day, “I Can Pray” would have been #1 for 6 months or a year, and everyone in our genre would have heard it many times before its run was done. That song, about six years ago, was the last song to even make it for TWO months!

Let’s just suppose that it had stayed #1 for about six months. What were the next five #1s?

September 2007: A Greater Yes – Whisnants
October 2007: Last Night – Karen Peck & New River
November 2007: If You Only Knew – Inspirations
December 2007: We Have a Savior – Mike and Kelly Bowling
January 2008: Get Away, Jordan – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Now “Last Night” is one of those songs that would probably have also hit #1. Take that chart back 20 years earlier, and I wouldn’t be surprised to have seen “I Can Pray” rule for about six months, and “Last Night” take a couple of months after that.

Or take 2011. “The Shepherd’s Point of View,” which is probably the single strongest song the McKameys have sent to radio in the last half-dozen or maybe dozen years, would have probably stayed #1 from December 2010 through April or May 2011. Then either “Never Walk Alone” or “Love Came Calling” (but not both) would have been #1 for two or three months. Then “Celebrate Me Home” would probably have ruled from July, when it hit #1, through October or November.

It has been correctly observed that #1 hits don’t have the impact they used to have. However, I’m inclined to think that the cause assigned—inferior songs—is incorrect. I lean toward the position that the strong songs we do have disappear from the charts before they’ve been at the top long enough to really establish themselves in the public consciousness.

Once a song has hit #1, most radio DJs will quit charting the song, to make room for the next #1. This has been par for the course for about fifteen years. But is this what is actually best for the songs, the groups, radio, and the genre? Perhaps the jury is out, but I’m inclined to think that the verdict will not be in the affirmative.

Southern Gospel radio is strongest when its DJs play the strongest songs—even if the strongest, most-played song also happened to be the strongest song last month.

This is the forty-first 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 Mark can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• Mark 1:4-11: See Matthew 3
• Mark 1:10: See Matthew 3:16
• Mark 2:22: See Matthew 9:17
• Mark 4:31: See Matthew 13:31
• Mark 4:37-41: See Matthew 8:23-27
• Mark 5:22-23: Temporary Tomb (Legacy Five, Greater Vision) (also Luke 8:41-42)
• Mark 5:25-34: See Matthew 9:20-22
• Mark 5:35-43: Come and See (Roy Knight Singers)
• Mark 6:34-44: See Matthew 14:13-21
• Mark 7:28: See Matthew 15:27
• Mark 8:34: See Matthew 16:24
• Mark 9:2: Remember the Mountain (McKameys)
• Mark 9:24: I Believe (McKameys)
• Mark 9:35: The Servant of All (also Mark 10:44)
• Mark 10:9: See Matthew 19:6
• Mark 10:27: See Matthew 19:26
• Mark 10:45: See Matthew 20:28
• Mark 10:46-52: Blind Bartimaeus (Bishops, Gaither Homecoming Friends)
• Mark 10:46-52: Blind Bartimaeus (McKameys) (different song)
• Mark 11:9-10: See Matthew 21:9
• Mark 12:27: See Matthew 22:32
• Mark 14:3-9: See Matthew 26:6-13
• Mark 14:15: In the Upper Room (Bill Gaither Trio, Blackwood Brothers, Cathedrals, Gaither Homecoming Friends, George Younce, Doug Oldham, The Rebels, The Weatherfords) (also Luke 22:12)
• Mark 14:32-40: See Matthew 26:36-46
• Mark 15: See Matthew 27
• Mark 15:6-11: Grace Was The Answer (McKameys)
• Mark 15:20-21: See Matthew 27:31-33
• Mark 15:43: See Matthew 27:57-66
• Mark 16: See Matthew 28

Where a song is inspired by something in multiple Gospels, I’ve listed it under the parallel passage in Matthew.

What others come to mind?