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Today, we wrap up the four-part series we started on Monday. Which groups’ recordings from the 1990s stand up best to the test of time?

As before, I’ll start things off with a list. Just for fun, if you like, indicate in your list how many recordings you have by that group from that decade.

These choices need less explanation, since this is more recent history than the last three posts.

1. Cathedral Quartet (15 recordings—10 w/o compilations).
2. Gold City (5 recordings). Gold City started the decade with one of their two best lineups and finished it with the other.
3. Greater Vision (10 recordings).
4. Hoppers (2 recordings plus a compliation).
5. Kingsmen (11 recordings). Though past their peak years, the Kingsmen still put out a great live show through the ’90s, and released several solid live projects this decade.
6. Gaither Vocal Band (3 recordings plus a compilation).
7. Bishops (5 recordings).
8. Dove Brothers (2 recordings).
9. Kingdom Heirs (4 recordings).
10. Inspirations (1 recordings).

Today, let’s look at which groups’ recordings from the 1980s hold the greatest appeal today.

I’ll kick things off with my list. Just for fun, if you like, indicate in your list how many recordings you have by that group from that decade.

1. Cathedral Quartet (23 recordings). In the 1980s, he long years the Cathedrals had put in laying the groundwork paid off, and they found themselves rising to the top of Southern Gospel, where they would stay for the rest of their career.
2. Kingsmen (12 recordings). Still at the peak of their Big and Live years at the beginning of the decade, they remained at the top of Southern Gospel through the decade.
3. Gold City (3 recordings). It’s a tough call where to rank the Cathedrals, Kingsmen, and Gold City on this list!
4. Inspirations (7 recordings). The Inspirations’ enduring appeal held solid into the 1980s, and their project sound as good today as they did then.
5. Talleys (0 projects). The Talleys (not to be confused with the Talley Trio) released most of their best work in the mid and late 80s.
6. Florida Boys. I view the 1980s as the Florida Boys’ peak years artistically; their best studio work was released in this decade.
7. Masters V (2 projects). Pairing five legends together doesn’t always work, but in this case it was a perfect fit.
8. The Nelons (2 projects). This decade was probably the Nelons’ peak.
9. Bill Gaither Trio (2 projects). Though the Bill Gaither Trio’s sound was labeled “Inspirational” then, the Inspirational genre has more or less disappeared and their recordings fit solidly within today’s Southern Gospel.
10. Hoppers (2 projects). Thanks in part to some work with Lari Goss, they were just starting to develop their niche. Their sound wouldn’t fully coalesce until the end of the decade, when Kim Greene Hopper joined the group, and the lineup that has been consistent for twenty years this year (!) was in place.

Continuing the series we started yesterday, let’s look at which groups’ recordings from the 1970s stand up best to the test of time and hold the greatest appeal today.

I’m kicking things off with a list each day. Just for fun, if you like, indicate in your list how many recordings you have by that group from that decade.

1. Inspirations (13 projects). The Inspirations’ sound stands the test of time so well simply because it doesn’t change. If you like the Inspirations’ sound now, you’ll like their sound then. This was also their peak era, the era in which they won most of their awards. (That is, until this decade. I don’t know if I’ve said this in this space of the Internet before, but I am of the opinion that the Inspirations’ Fan Awards success this decade is less because they are better than they were in the 80s and 90s and more because they out-lasted their peers. If the Cathedrals with George and Glen, the Kingsmen with Jim Hamill, and Gold City with Tim Riley and either Jon Wilburn or Mark Trammell were still together, they would probably still be dominating the awards.)
2. Cathedral Quartet (25 projects). As with their work from the 60s, their 70s projects probably hold even more appeal now than they did then.
3. Kingsmen (13 projects). In this decade, the Kingsmen brought the key personnel on board that would take them to the top and started their Big and Live era.
4. Rambos ( projects). The Rambos peaked in the 70s. Their live recordings from that era (Alive at Soul’s Harbor and Live) are a “must” for anyone collecting Southern Gospel music from the 70s.
5. Happy Goodmans (9 projects). The Happy Goodmans were probably Southern Gospel’s most popular mixed group of the decade, and their projects are still captivating today.
6. Bill Gaither Trio (10 projects). In this decade, Bill Gaither went from being an unknown whose songs the big groups were cutting to being the one hiring the big groups to be his opening acts.
7. Chuck Wagon Gang (15 projects). (See explanation on #1.)
8. Florida Boys (10 projects). Thanks to the exposure of the Gospel Singing Jubilee, this was probably the era in which the Florida Boys had the most exposure.
9. Blackwood Brothers (16 projects). Though this was the Blackwood Brothers’ most awarded decade, they released their best work in the 50s and 60s. However, a number of their projects from this decade were quite solid.
10. Dixie Echoes (6 projects). This was probably their strongest decade until this one.

It’s always fascinating to contemplate how different things stand up to the test of time. In music, certain groups’ recordings have a far more enduring appeal than others—even if those others were more popular at the time.

So this week, let’s go decade by decade through Southern Gospel recording history (60s through 90s) and list which groups’ projects still hold the greatest appeal today. I’ll kick things off with a list each day.

Just for fun, if you like, indicate in your list how many recordings you have by that group from that decade.

1. Blackwood Brothers (35 projects from the 60s). Not only were they one of the decade’s most popular groups, their recordings also stand up today as well as anything out of the 60s. While you can find current versions of every good song other groups recorded in the 60s, the Blackwood Brothers recorded so much that there are dozens of forgotten gems awaiting discovery by fans of male quartet harmonies.
2. Happy Goodmans (5 projects). They went from nowhere at the start of the decade to one of the top groups by its end. Rusty Goodman wrote and introduced some of his—and Southern Gospel’s—enduring greatest songs in this decade.
3. Cathedral Quartet (10 projects). The Cathedrals had one of their best lineups vocally, but they didn’t have the momentum of years of hit songs to make them one of the top groups. They did lay the foundation for their later success this decade. As we listen to them today knowing what they would later become, their recordings might be even more appreciated today than they were then.
4. Weatherfords (3 projects, +2 from 1959). These were the Weatherfords’ peak years, featuring some of the best blends and most perfect harmonies ever seen in Southern Gospel.
5. Rambos (7 projects). Dottie Rambo wrote and introduced many of her classics in the 1960s, and those recordings have lost little of their appeal over time.
6. Imperials (1 projects, plus compilations). This Imperials’ later success in CCM shouldn’t overshadow the fact that they were one of SG’s supergroups of the 60s.
7. Inspirations (1 or 2 projects, plus compilations). The Inspirations’ sound stands the test of time so well simply because it doesn’t change.
8. Statesmen (14 projects). Okay, I put the Inspirations above the Statesmen just because I could. More seriously, it seems you just had to have been there to fully appreciate the Statesmen phenemenon. Their recordings sounded good then and sound good today—but those who were there say the group owned the live stage. That was what made them one of the greatest groups of their time.
9. Chuck Wagon Gang (15 projects). Like the Inspirations, The Chuck Wagon Gang has kept a stable sound for so long that those who like their projects today would also like their projects from the 60s.
10. Florida Boys (10 projects). The Florida Boys were great in this decade, but wouldn’t peak until the 70s and 80s.

What were the highlights of 2008 in Southern Gospel? We’ve looked at the year’s best albums and songs; now let’s look at the year’s biggest news stories.

I’ll treat a group personnel change (one member leaves, another joins) as a single story.

Here’s my top ten list

1. Dottie Rambo passes away in bus crash. If she had died of natural causes, I might not have ranked it as the year’s top story. But the suddenness of the crash sent shock waves through the SG community.
2. Jacob Kitson replaces Jason Waldroup as Greater Vision tenor.
3. Bruce Taliaferro replaces Jonathan Wilburn as Gold City lead singer.
4. Guy Penrod takes sabbatical from Gaither Vocal Band. This would be higher on the list if the story was complete. But the bigger half of the story—whether Penrod will return—belongs to 2009.
5. Shane Dunlap brings N’Harmony back.
6. Greg & Charlotte Ritchie leave Jeff & Sheri Easter. Charlotte had been with the group for twelve years and Greg had been with them about fourteen years.
7. Bryan Elliott replaces Matthew Holt as Perrys pianist.
8. Wesley Smith (formerly of Palmetto State Quartet) replaces Dallas Rogers as Dixie Echoes tenor.
9. Matt Dibler leaves the Inspirations. The only reason I didn’t rank this higher is that his replacement has not yet been named, so half the story belongs to next year.
10. Former Florida Boys / Dixie Echoes bass Billy Todd passes away.

Several other bloggers have issued lists of the CDs they think were the best of 2008. Here’s my list:

1. Always Have a Song to Sing (Mark Trammell Trio)—The group’s best yet, setting the standard to which their future releases will be compared.
2. When God Ran (Kingsmen)—While this project may not quite top the projects that made the Kingsmen legends, it is their best since Jim Hamill retired. Period.
3. Life Goes On (Talley Trio)
4. So Many Reasons (Dixie Echoes)
5. Your Ticket to Music Hall (Collingsworth Family)—All right, the video quality is part of the reason why I put the CD in the top 5.
6. NQC Live Vol. 8 (Various)—It’s the best NQC compilation since Vol. 4 (2004), and goes down that that one and NQC 2001 as one of the three strongest yet.
7. Turning Point (Cross 4 Crowns)—Among the strongest debut projects Southern Gospel has seen in recent years.
8. Not Alone (Greater Vision)—Good enough to make the top ten, but not quite topping Quartets, Far Beyond this Place, or Live at FBA.

And as for my personal favorites:

1. Always Have a Song to Sing (Mark Trammell Trio)
2. So Many Reasons (Dixie Echoes)
3. Pensacola Live (Dixie Echoes)
4. When God Ran (Kingsmen)
5. Turning Point (Cross 4 Crowns)

Edit: By the way, this is my personal 1000th post on this blog.

Southern Gospel artists recording a Christmas album typically use a mix of carols and secular Christmas songs. But there have been some excellent songs written for and recorded by Southern Gospel artists.

If you were recording a CD and chose to only use songs written or originally recorded within our genre, what songs would you choose? Are there enough that you could come out with a strong project?

Here are five that come to mind:

• Glory to God in the Highest (Inspirations, Brian Free & Assurance, Old Friends, Signature Sound / written by Daryl Williams)
• Mary, Did You Know (Gaither Vocal Band / lyrics by Mark Lowry)
• Tonight (Signature Sound / written by Gloria & Benjy Gaither)
• It’s Jesus (Mark Trammell Trio / written by Dianne Wilkinson)
• His Name Was John (Perrys / writen by Ronald Martin and Kyla Rowland)

With that, perhaps, as a start, can any of you come up with a list of ten SG-originated Christmas songs you would like to record on a SG Christmas project?

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.