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Last week, I posted a list of ten all-time favorite albums and invited you to contribute yours. As I promised commenter #23, Matt Baker, here’s your chance to list your all-time favorite Southern Gospel songs.

For the purposes of this list, it is fine if the originate elsewhere (hymns or CCM imports), if they’ve been recorded by a major Southern Gospel artist.

For whatever it’s worth, here is my list:

1. It is Well with My Soul
2. Calvary Answers for Me (Perrys)
3. We Shall See Jesus (Cathedrals)
4. The King is Coming
5. I Stand Redeemed (Legacy Five)
6. Sinner Saved By Grace (Cathedrals)
7. Till the Storm Passes By (Gerald Wolfe)
8. Home Free (Roger Bennett)
9. How Great Thou Art (Kim Collingsworth)
10. Because He Lives

An interesting thread on the Singing News forums asks readers to name 10-12 songs they’d love to hear a Southern Gospel group record. I picked the Perrys–I’d love to see a Hits & Hymns 3–and named these songs:

1. God Handled it All (Gold City)
2. Hard Trials (Cathedrals)
3. Leave Your Sorrows and Come Along
4. Depths of the Father’s Love (Kingdom Heirs)
5. It is Well With my Soul - Each member on a verse, modulating up a fourth (i.e., C to F) for Libbi to sing the final verse.
6. Go Right Out
7. We Shall See Jesus (Cathedrals) - I think the time might have come for someone to bring this back…I hope the song didn’t die with Glen Payne!
8. Bound For the Land of Canaan (Kingsmen)
9. One Scarred Hand (Gold City) - It’s almost like the Perrys’ voices were made to sing Kyla Rowland songs. [EDIT: As Matt notes below, perhaps they could do this one acapella.]
10. It Will Be Worth it All
11. He Lives (Gold City)
12. I Stand Redeemed (Legacy Five) - Imagine Libbi on this one!

Obviously, the groups mentioned in the Singing News thread won’t ever record all the songs named, but there’s always the chance they might do some of them, eventually.

1. Roger Bennett passes away. If I’m not mistaken, Roger Bennett was the only person this year to successfully crash the Singing News server. While numerous performers passed away this year, Bennett was still a (recording) member of a top-tier group and had been keeping the Southern Gospel community steadily updated on his progress through his blog.
2. Florida Boys retire. While the story might not have attracted as much attention as Roger Bennett’s passing, it will go down as one of the most significant stories of the year. The Florida Boys’ 60-year tradition of fine Gospel singing came to an end. It will be interesting to watch what comes of the name next year.
3. Jim Hamill dies. Although he’d been (mostly) off of the road for several years, Hamill’s contributions to making the Kingsmen one of the top groups of their era make this one of the year’s top stories.
4. (tie) Palmetto State Quartet restructures.
   (tie) Mercy’s Mark restructures. It would be a hard call to say which was a bigger story; both groups had shown promise with previous lineups but had been struggling before (in both cases) all the group members except for the manager left. I took the easy way out and declared it a tie.
5. Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet disbands. Though they’d struggled for several years (since their founder, Robbie Hiner, came off the road) this quartet got off to a very strong and promising start, and based largely on that, I was sorry to see them go.

I think these were the top 5 (6) stories this year.

What are the most distinctive song intros in Southern Gospel? What are those intros the fans instantly recognize–the sort where they start applauding even before the first word is sung?

In compiling this list, I specifically focused on intros that were not just a repeat of the last line or two of the song–on unique riffs that added something to the song and in most cases were motifs repeated throughout the song.

Most of the songs on this list come from recent years, since I focus on intros that would be most familiar to a Southern Gospel fans today.

1. “Champion of Love” (Cathedrals, Legacy Five, Greater Vision). I’m going to go out on a limb and state that this is the most distinctive song intro in Southern Gospel.
2. “Jerusalem” (Hoppers). Although “Jerusalem” may not be the most popular song the Hoppers ever recorded (that would probably be “Shoutin’ Time,”) it is their most recognizable intro.
3. “My Name is Lazarus” (Greater Vision). The unbridled energy of the intro set the tone for Greater Vision’s breakout hit.
4. “Midnight Cry” (Gold City). Garry Jones came up with numerous distinctive intros during his time arranging for Gold City, but this is probably the one that is most recognizable today.
5. “I Know I’m Going Home” (Triumphant Quartet). I’m probably going to be criticized for putting a 2007 song on the list, but this one stood out from the pack of current songs. We don’t know whether it will stand the test of time, but it at least stands a chance.

Honorable mentions include:

• “This Old House” (Cathedrals)
• “When We All Get to Heaven” (Brian Free & Assurance)
• “For God So Loved” (live 2005 version) (BF&A)
• “Not Even a Stone” (Perrys)
• “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” (a Gold City concert opener about ten years ago)

David Bruce Murray noticed a comment I left on his blog. It concerned the best releases of 2007; I had said

The best releases of 2007–the ones we’ll still be talking about five years from now–are the Mark Trammell Trio’s Once Upon a Cross and the Perrys’ Look No Further.

To this, he said:

Daniel Mount used the phrase “still be talking about five years from today” in a blog comment. Predictions are easy to make, but what if we flipped that around and had to back it up with hard evidence? What were the greatest CDs from the 2000-2002 period that we still talk about in 2007? I’m not speaking of an initial level of product sales…I’m more interested in finding out which releases have sustained staying power.

What are the criteria used to determine staying power? A few thoughts:

• Great songs
• Great production (Those two are the entry-level minimum)
• It helps if it’s recorded either by a lineup that the group has still held together or by a lineup recognized as one of the group’s all-time best.
• It helps if the group is still selling the album.

With a few of those criteria in mind, let’s apply the DBM test and look at some of the albums from the 2000-2002 era with the most staying power, the albums we are still talking about:

1. Live at First Baptist Atlanta by Greater Vision (2002). All their live videos–and, to a lesser extent, all their projects–since have been compared to this one.
2. Are You Ready? by Gold City (2000). Some refer to this as the best Gold City album from their Parrack/Trammell days.
3. Gonna Keep Telling by the Kingdom Heirs (2002). This album featured, among other songs, “The Depths of the Father’s Love” and “I’ve Been Rescued.”
4. So Close to Home by Brian Free & Assurance (2002). While Live in NYC was the group’s finest live album, and possibly their finest album altogether, this stands out as their strongest studio effort since their reorganization.
5. Let Freedom Ring (Gaither Homecoming) (2002). Of all the Homecomings released during the appointed time frame, I’ve heard the most discussion about this one.
6. Changed Forever by the Perrys (2001). I don’t think this has quite the staying power that their 2003 follow-up, This is the Day, had (or that Look No Further will have), but based in large part on “I Rest My Case at the Cross” it deserves at least an honorable mention in the second half of the list.
7. This Stage of Grace by the Booth Brothers (2001). This one premiered “Still Feeling Fine,” a concert staple for the group.
8. Pressed Down Shaken Together Running Over by Gold City (2001). This album is still pointed out as one of Gold City’s best.
9. Everything Good by the Gaither Vocal Band (2001).
10. The Final Stand by the Happy Goodmans (2001). This is notable more for the fact that it was their final album than for its intrinsic value–they made better albums, but since this was their last, we’re still talking about it.

I gave some serious thought to limiting the list to a top 5, since I feel that the top 5 stand head and shoulders above the rest, but I decided to put five more in with this disclaimer.

I consider that Southern Gospel has been steadily improving since the beginning. But there is nonetheless quite a bit of good, forgotten music. In light of that, here are five more songs from decades past that it would be great for a group to bring back. Again, this list is in no particular order.

• Over the Silent Sea (Loy Foust, 1935). This is my favorite convention song that nobody does anymore. It would sound great with Greater Vision borrowing Glenn Dustin for a guest bass part (and including a shape-notes chorus).
• Going Home. I don’t know who wrote this song, but it pre-dates the Gaither song by the same name by decades and is not the same as the Speers song. The song, recorded by the Blackwood Brothers, the Harvesters, and the early Cathedrals, is sometimes called “Going Over Home” to distinguish it from its more recent counterparts. The Dixie Melody Boys would be perfect for the song.
• What a Morning (J.D. Sumner, ca. 1959). Quite a few groups, including Signature Sound, could really get some mileage out of this one.
• When Reville Blows in Heaven (recorded by the Inspirations in the 80s). I’d love to hear the Hoppers try this one, primarily to hear Claude singing bass!
• Whispering Hope (Blue Ridge, Cathedrals, Blackwood Brothers). I’d love to hear a Collingsworth Family rendition of this song.

Often, when I hear an excellent song on a project that never gets singled, I file it away mentally as a song I’d like to see some group re-do someday. Here, in no particular order, are ten songs recorded in recent years that deserve to not be forgotten.

• “We Will Be Changed” (Perrys, Life of Love, 2004). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Kingdom Heirs
• “Believing is Seeing” (Dove Brothers, Anything But Ordinary, 2005). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Mark Trammell Trio.
• “His Response” (Mercy’s Mark, self-titled, 2004). They did single the song, but do not perform it live anymore. An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Triumphant Quartet.
• “When Mercy Came Down” (Mark Trammell Trio, This Time, 2005). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Perrys.
• “Death Has Died” (Cathedrals, High and Lifted Up, 1993). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. (This was the song that originally got me interested in Southern Gospel.)
• “Forgave Me, Saved Me, Raised Me” (Triumphant Quartet, self-titled, 2004). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Gold City.
• “A Day that Never Ends” (Perrys, Come Thirsty, 2006). An artist that would do well with the song: Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.
• “The Voice I Could Not Resist” (Greater Vision, My Favorite Place, 2006). An artist that would do well with the song: Gaither Vocal Band.
• “A Wonderful Shepherd” (Poet Voices, This Changes Everything, 2001). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Blackwood Brothers Quartet.
• “Until I Start Looking Ahead” (Perrys, Life of Love, 2003). An artist that would do a great rendition of the song: Greater Vision.

Now, since I didn’t say that these were the best 10, I don’t expect this post to stir up any controversy. In fact, I’m not even expecting any comments. But, after all, I’m not here to stir up controversy or attract comments, but just to provide commentary on the genre and to make the blog an interesting daily read.

Recently, John Scheideman encouraged me to post a list of my favorite non-Cathedrals albums by Cathedrals members. I thought it was a good idea, but decided to think it over for a week or two before posting. I decided to focus this list on post-Cathedrals albums; pre-Cathedrals albums would be a list of its own.

1. Quartets - Greater Vision. This is, in my opinion, Greater Vision’s finest project. It was a popular project for the group, but had the unfortunate effect for them of whetting everyone’s appetite for them to add a bass singer.
2. Stand By Me Live - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. The project starts off with “Heavenly Parade”–and they had completely won the audience over before that song was over. Other highlights of the project include an acapella rendition of “Little is Much” and one of Haase’s best versions of “Oh What a Savior.” I rank this project so high since it was made before Signature Sound was fully part of the Homecoming Tour, and proves just what they could do on their own.
3. Are You Ready (Gold City) - This was Gold City’s definitive project from their Mark Trammell days. It features songs like “Get Up, Get Ready,” “More Like Jesus,” “He Lives,” “Saved,” and, of course, Jay Parrack’s signature song, “Are You Ready?”
4. Once Upon a Cross (Mark Trammell Trio) - I still stand by my initial assessment that this is one of the albums of the decade.
5. Live at Music City (Legacy Five) - It was a tossup whether to rank this or London higher, but “I Have Been Changed” gave this the edge.
6. Live at First Baptist Atlanta (Greater Vision). This is the definition of a perfectly paced concert, and features, among other songs, “Soon We Shall See” and “A Pile of Crowns.”
7. London (Legacy Five) - Legacy Five’s finest studio project from the days Roger was still with them.
8. Far Beyond This Place (Greater Vision) - This was their breakout recording, featuring “My Name is Lazarus,” a spellbinding rendition of “Redemption Draweth Nigh,” and a guest vocal from Glen Payne on “I Believe.”
9. Pressed Down, Shaken Together, Running Over (Gold City) - This project, coming on the heels of Are You Ready? a year before, cemented Gold City’s position as the Southern Gospel supergroup following the Cathedrals’ retirement.
10. Hold Forth the Light (Gerald Wolfe) - This 1988 solo project is one of Southern Gospel’s forgotten gems.

Honorable mention: Beside Still Waters (Mark Trammell Trio), 20th Anniversary Celebration (Gold City), and Feelin’ Fine and Encores (Old Friends Quartet).

This list focuses on projects within the last ten years or so, in part because these are the alumni projects with which I am most familiar, and in part because after all the projects I’ve heard, I still think these ten are the best.

Much has been made of a disappointing trend in Southern Gospel away from recording live albums. I do not refer to live videos of songs that the group has already made popular, but live albums introducing new songs, preferably with mostly live instrumentation.

In this column, I want to address another type of album I don’t want to see go away.

In the old days, groups would record table projects of two sorts: Albums of classic songs and albums with recent hits by other groups. Today, groups still record table projects with classic Southern Gospel songs and hymns. But the project of recent hits by other groups has virtually disappeared.

I’d like to see this kind of album return.

Let’s take a few minutes and think over some possibilities. Might you purchase albums with these songs?

Kingdom Heirs: God Handled it All (Gold City); We Will be Changed (Perrys); It’s Still True (Florida Boys); Overwhelming Joy (Inspirations); The Return (Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet); Damascus Road (Perrys); I Am Redeemed (Poet Voices);

Collingsworth Family: But for the Blood (Hoppers); There’ll Come a Day (Brian Free & Assurance); More Like Jesus (Gold City); The Depths of the Father’s Love (Kingdom Heirs); His Scars (Perrys); I Stand Redeemed (Legacy Five); God Wants to Hear You Sing (Greater Vision); Calvary Answers for Me (Perrys).

Prophets: I Have Been Changed (Legacy Five); Mighty Deep Well (Kingdom Heirs); He is to Me (Greater Vision); I Know I’m Going There (Kingdom Heirs); Paid in Full Through Jesus Amen (Greater Vision).

Perrys: I Don’t Wanna Go Back (Kingdom Heirs); Mighty Deep Well (Kingdom Heirs); I Have Been Changed (Legacy Five); Free to Go Home (Collingsworth Family); Forgiven Again (Signature Sound); One Holy Lamb (Poet Voices); Once Upon a Cross (Mark Trammell Trio).

Mark Trammell Trio: Walk Away Free (Perrys); The Voice I Could Not Resist (Greater Vision); I Will Find You Again (Perrys); One Holy Lamb (Poet Voices); In Time On Time Every Time (Gold City); A Wonderful Shepherd (Poet Voices); Until I Start Looking Ahead (Perrys).

All too often, the great and possibly future classic songs on a CD don’t get sent to radio as a single. This is for various reasons, one of which is that it was another member’s “turn” to have a song on which they had a solo sent out to radio.

Often when an album comes out, a song that I feel is far from the best song on the project gets sent to radio as the first single. When that happens, I just hold my breath and hope that the chief jewel on the CD makes it out later. Sometimes it happens, sometimes not.

This time it did; Adam Edwards reports that Legacy Five is sending “I Have Been Changed” to radio.

This is what Legacy Five needed to do at this point in their group history. The loss of Roger Bennett, followed by a weak single, would have hurt them perhaps too much. But even though this song was recorded while Bennett was still with the group (and even though his voice introduces the song), I think that in some subtle psychological way fans of the group who are currently wondering whether or not this group will remain a favorite will be swayed by hearing this song on the radio.
That’s just the roundabout way of saying I’m thrilled Legacy Five sent this song to radio.