• David Phelps and Michael English picked up nominations for tenor and lead, respectively. Despite what some anticipated, it looks like Southern Gospel’s more traditional wing is ready to welcome them back.
• In the favorite musician category, there are nine men and one woman, as it has been the last few years. Triumphant remains hot right now, so Jeff Stice is probably the frontrunner. A woman has never won this award, but don’t be surprised to see Kim Collingsworth pick it up one of these years.
• There seems to be this sense on various Southern Gospel message boards that “If You Knew Him” is the front-runner for song of this year. Online prognosticators haven’t always accurately represented the pulse of the print readership, of course, but don’t be surprised to see that one as the front-runner this year.
• Congratulations to the Blackwood Brothers for their first top 10 Male Quartet nomination in a long time.
• It looks like the Mark Trammell Quartet didn’t sing their first date with Pat Barker in time to be listed in the quartets category. I believe that the change was announced by the eligibility period, but apparently the first date together was the dividing line. There is really no reason not to list Pat Barker in his current group on the next ballot, though. I seem to think there may be precedent for updating group affiliation, but I can’t quite remember it right now.
• Guy Penrod is nominated in the soloist category. Could he give Ivan Parker a run for his money?
• The Horizon Individual is a wide-open category this year. Gus Gaches and David Ragan both come from perennial fan favorite groups, Pat Barker has a solid fan base of his own, and both Bryan Elliot and Brian Alvey have at least a long-shot chance.

Your thoughts?

Producer Wayne Haun picked up seven nominations, more than any other nominee from any genre. (Edit: As Chris points out in the comments, early reports were mistaken; Bernie Herms picked up one more, with eight nominations.) His nominations are mostly producer credits for various nominated songs and albums, but do include a nomination for Producer of the Year.

Jason Crabb was tied for second-most nominations (with six); most were in Southern Gospel and Country Gospel categories, but he did also pick up nominations for Male Vocalist of the Year and in the most prestigious category, Artist of the Year.

Speaking of male vocalist, the nomination generating the most buzz in our genre is Michael English’s nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year—almost certainly his first in the category since 1994. (He was a part of three awards since, two producer credits for the Martins and one for Signature Sound’s Get Away Jordan.) The male vocalist nomination is unquestionably due in part to the prodigal-comes-home narrative grabbing voters’ hearts—but musically, it’s due to his work as the lead singer for the Gaither Vocal Band. Southern Gospel is once again enough of a presence in the genre for a quartet / quintet lead singer could pick up a nomination in the overall male vocalist category. (Edit, 2/20/10: Michael English confirmed that it is his first nomination in 16 years.)

Karen Peck picked up a similarly prestigious nomination, in the Female Vocalist of the Year category.

The Gaither Vocal Band picked up a nomination for Group of the Year. While the chance that they could win is a long shot, it’s not entirely impossible.

Other Southern Gospel nominees include:

Song of the Year (overall)

• “Born To Climb”; Jeff & Sherri Easter
• “Somebody Like Me”; Jason Crabb
• “Why Can’t All God’s Children Get Along”; Karen Peck & New River

Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year

• “Because He Lives”; Gaither Vocal Band Reunited; Gaither Vocal Band
• “Born To Climb”; Expecting Good Things; Jeff & Sheri Easter
• “If You Knew Him”; Almost Morning; The Perrys
• “Life Goes On”; Life Goes On; Talley Trio

Country Recorded Song of the Year

• “Somebody Like Me”; Jason Crabb; Jason Crabb
• “Thank God For Kids”; Every Light That Shines At Christmas; Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Southern Gospel Album of the Year

• Almost Morning; The Perrys
• Gaither Vocal Band Reunited; Gaither Vocal Band
• North America Live!; The Hoppers
• Treasure; Janet Paschal
• Worth It; Brian Free & Assurance

Christmas Album of the Year

• Every Light That Shines At Christmas; Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

Reaction is mixed; some are ambivalent, many aren’t happy.

Most of this commentary assumes that Singing News was offered the same offer as in previous years, a prime-time two and a half hour time segment. But that’s not necessarily the case; a rumor holds that Singing News may have only been offered an afternoon showcase this year. If so, the move makes more sense.

Advantages and Disadvantages

There a few advantages to the move, the most notable of which is the increased spotlight on the legends being honored at the Hall of Fame inductions ceremonies. Singing News will probably also have more control over the logistics and fewer time constraints.

Two items head the disadvantages list: First, it will be harder to get the nominees to attend. For the last few decades, virtually every nominated group has been at the Fan Awards, since they spend the week at NQC anyhow. Second, this move is from a 20,000 seat area (that typically had at least 80% of those seats filled) to an arena that seats approximately 3,260 people.

Who is risking more?

It is unlikely both events will come out ahead. With the events two or three weeks apart, non-wealthy Southern Gospel fans (and that’s about 95% of us) will have to choose one or the other.

Will the fans and artists still come to the Fan Awards?

Will the fans and artists still come to the National Quartet Convention?

The National Quartet Convention is almost guaranteed to see a 10%-20% decline in attendance. But it isn’t risking much more than that. In this context, its greatest strength is the number of groups with strong fan bases who will be on main stage but not among the top ten performing at the Fan Awards. If these groups had to choose, many would select the NQC over an event where they don’t perform and probably don’t sell product.

For the Fan Awards to succeed, nominees (especially those without a top 10 song) have to be willing to do both events.

So it would seem that Singing News is risking more. But attempting to fill a 3,200-seat theater is a much smaller task than filling a 20,000-seat arena. They should be able to pull enough fans from the area that they aren’t really risking a half-full venue. Their risk is that the event could lose its prestige and that the nominees won’t come. However, their 40-year history gives them a momentum that should sustain the event for a few years, long enough to see if this arrangement works.

Suggestions

In light of this move, what changes should the Fan Awards and NQC make?

The one thing that could leave the Fan Awards stronger than before would be a free online stream. Loss of ticket sales shouldn’t be an issue, since the theater is small enough that they should be able to easily fill it. Suppose nominees heavily promote the live stream to their email lists; 10,000 online viewers wouldn’t be a surprise, and 4-5 times that is possible. Releasing the e-audience numbers would help ensure that the event retains enough prestige to draw the nominees.

In all likelihood, the NQC board is trying to think up another event that will hold people all day Saturday. (Moving the Fan Awards from Thursday to Saturday several years ago was an attempt to do just that.) But the last few years suggest that this is a losing battle. Perhaps NQC should bite the bullet now and scale down their Saturday program. Most exhibitors, artists and otherwise, have torn down by 8 PM; they want to be packed and rolling in time to catch a Sunday date. Even artists featured on main stage frequently have their booths torn down by the time they’re off stage. Though some fans stay the night, most aren’t in the exhibit hall.

NQC would do well to borrow a page from their Sunday pre-concert playbook, and close the event with a bonus concert featuring three or four marquee groups, each for an hour. Each group could have a table out in the lobby, freeing up exhibitors to tear down. But for those who can only attend on Saturday, the entire exhibit hall could be open from 4-6. With a time frame this short and a closing time early enough to allow plenty of time to tear down afterwards, most booths would stay up and the exhibit hall could go out with a bang instead of a whimper.

This parting of ways is not ideal, but with a few adjustments, all parties involved can make it work.

Two other nominees in the best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album with ties to Southern Gospel were Jason Crabb’s eponymous solo debut project and a recording called In God’s Time by former Perrys lead singer Barry Scott and his group Second Wind. Scott also sang with the Gospel bluegrass group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver for several years.

So let’s do something entirely different and post our guesses as to the final winners in each category. Mine are below. (Just to be perfectly clear, this isn’t the same as the list of who I voted for in each category!)

Favorite Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Triumphant Qt

Male Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Triumphant Qt

Mixed Group
Collingsworth Family
Hoppers
Isaacs
McKameys
Perrys

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Mark Trammell Trio
Whisnants

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Parker, Ivan
Parsons, Squire
Paschal, Janet
Ritchie, Charlotte

Male Singer
Booth, Ronnie     Booth Brothers
Fowler, Scott     Legacy Five
Parker, Ivan     Soloist
Rice, Arthur     Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Female Singer
Easter, Sheri     Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck     Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda     Greenes
Hopper, Kim     Hoppers
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys

Horizon Individual
Barker, Pat     Dixie Echoes
Crist, Breana     Crist Family
Easter, Morgan     Jeff & Sheri Easter
Kitson, Jacob Greater Vision
Taliaferro, Bruce     Gold City

Horizon Group
Austins Bridge
Ball Brothers
Crabb Revival
Crist Family
Soul’d Out Qt

Young Artist
Collingsworth, Brooklyn     Collingsworth Family
Easter, Morgan     Jeff & Sheri Easter
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Kitson, Jacob     Greater Vision
Thompson, Amber     Nelons

Tenor
Booth, Michael     Booth Brothers
Free, Brian     Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie     Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Phillips, Eric     Mark Trammell Trio
Sutton, David Triumphant Qt

Lead
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dove, McCray     Dove Brothers
Inman, Clayton     Triumphant Qt
Shivers, Bill     Brian Free & Assurance
Wolfe, Gerald     Greater Vision

Baritone
Brady, Jim     Booth Brothers
French, Steve     Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney     Greater Vision
Inman, Scott     Triumphant Qt
Trammell, Mark Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric Triumphant Qt
Duncan, Tim     Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn     Legacy Five
Holcomb, Mike     Inspirations
McCune, Aaron     Gold City

Soprano
Fortner, Connie     McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck     Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda     Greenes
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Talley, Lauren     Talley Trio

Alto
Easter, Sheri     Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie     Hoppers
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra     Talley Trio
Woodard, Carol     McKameys

Musician
Collingsworth, Kim     Collingsworth Family
Mote, Gordon
Parton, Tim     Legacy Five
Stice, Jeff Triumphant Qt
Webb, Roy

Songwriter
Bishop, Mark
Brady, Jim
Griffin, Rodney
Hinson, Ronny
Wilkinson, Dianne

Album
Everyday     Triumphant Qt
God’s Been Good     Legacy Five
Not Alone     Greater Vision
Room For More Booth Brothers
When God Ran     Kingsmen

Song
Hello After Goodbye     Legacy Five
I Know It Was The Blood     Perrys
I Want To Know That You Know     Greater Vision
I Want To Thank You     Karen Peck & New River
Jesus Made A Believer Out Of Me     Kingdom Heirs
Loving The Lamb     Mark Trammell Trio
The Old White Flag Triumphant Qt
The Rose     Inspirations
What Salvation’s Done For Me     Booth Brothers
When God Ran     Kingsmen

The design has been under development for months (and perhaps even a year), and it looks like the design time was worth it.

One interesting thing—to be precise, the word “currently”—jumped out to me when I was browsing the Fan Awards page. It says: “Currenly,[sic] only active subscribers of the Singing News Magazine are allowed to vote.” Could that mean some other method might be under consideration?

• I CAN PRAY Nathan Markee Asheville Music Publishing Chris White Music Dove Brothers Sonlite Records
• I’VE BEEN CHANGED Earl Galloway Jeff Steele Christian Taylor Music OSMR Songs Sunset Gallery Music Legacy Five Daywind Records/Daywind Music Group
• LAST NIGHT Marcia Henry Christian Taylor Music Marcia Henry Music Karen Peck Gooch & New River Daywind Records/Daywind Music Group
• NO DOUBT SALVATION Jeff Weeks Pisgah Ridge Music Palmetto State Quartet Sonlite Records
• THE ROCK’S BETWEEN A HARD PLACE AND YOU Dianne Wilkinson Niles Borop Music Kingdom Heirs Sonlite Records

Oddly enough, none of these were Singing News #1s in 2008, but “I Can Pray” was #1 in June/August 2007  and “Last Night” was #1 in October 2007. “The Rock’s Between the Hard Place and You” peaked at #7 in December 2007.

This suggests that, at least according to BMI’s measuring methods, singles have more staying power on Southern Gospel radio than the SN chart reflects.

Interesting food for thought: I find the winners (and, for that matter, the nominees) in the Traditional song and album categories to be rather interesting. If I was to suggest nominees for a “traditional” category, it would include albums and songs from groups like the Chuck Wagon Gang, the Dixie Echoes, the Dixie Melody Boys, the Melody Boys Quartet, the Inspirations, and possibly certain table projects from groups like Greater Vision and the Kingdom Heirs. I define traditional Southern Gospel is basically music that sticks to the classic arranging styles and instrumentation from the 20s through, say, the mid-70s, before influences from other styles of music brought in more heavily instrumented tracks.

Much as I love groups like the Perrys, Legacy Five, Triumphant, Greater Vision, and the Dove Brothers, I classify their recording style as middle-of-the-road. Though some tracks are still based on the classic styles, the instrumentation for a number of tracks on each project brings in orchestrated elements that would have classified as song as “Inspirational” in the ’80s.

If a group would have been called “Southern Gospel up to the mid-70s or so, I classify them as traditional. If their big ballads and other tracks bring in more elements from ’80s Inspirational music (Bill Gaither Trio, Steve Green, etc.), then I classify them as middle-of-the-road. And if their music (at least the tracks) would have been classified as 80s or 90s CCM / Adult Contemporary, then I classify them as progressive.

While this is not articulated as well as it could be with weeks of drafts, perhaps it will help illuminate why someone like Chris Unthank and I can talk past each other in the comments section, going around in circles because we define our terms differently.

So how would you define traditional? progressive? and middle-of-the-road?