SouthernGospelBlog.com

An infected/inflamed finger is to a blogger what laryngitis is to a singer.

At least that’s what I’ve been concluding the last few days. I’m not sure what exactly is wrong. All I’m praying is that it’s nothing that requires a doctor’s visit that could eat up my NQC fund.

A big thanks goes to Sony (who regularly contributes a Sunday devotional) for pinch-hitting and doing yesterday’s post. My finger felt so bad that I really didn’t feel up to typing at all. Great job!

There have been all sorts of stories I meant to get caught up on on Saturday, and the longer I wait, the longer the list grows. Since this one is in the spirit of my Saturday news roundups, I’ll categorize and number it with them.

• Legacy Five has audio clips up from their upcoming release, Just Stand. This could finally be their breakout project. More thoughts once I hear the whole thing. One other thought for now: They bring in several fellow groups on the song “Statement of Faith,” and Jacob Kitson’s solo at the end of verse two is unequivocally awesome. Listen to that, if nothing else.
• Aaron Swain is building his contacts as a blogger, and he’s been able to obtain a sneak peek of the new Cross 4 Crowns CD. It sounds good but rather different than their last project.
• Joseph Habedank has a video clip up from a new song he’s written with Matthew Holt, “That’s What I Love About Him.” It sounds like his songwriting skills keep getting better and better. Hopefully the Perrys will see fit to put a hold on this song before someone else jumps on the chance to cut it.
• On a lighter note, check out another video Habedank posted of Bryan Elliott paying tribute to Libbi Perry Stuffle.
• Via Burke’s Brainwork, Mike LeFevre’s Priority Quartet has a new website out, http://prioritymusic.net/.
• The Blackwood Gospel Quartet (Mark Blackwood’s group) has hired Dale Evans as their new tenor singer.
• Via Musicscribe, Johnny Minick has a fascinating video up about a singing duo in the Minick Family, the Minick Brothers.
• The Mike Bowling Group recently lost Chris Whitaker. In his place, they’re hiring Terah Crabb Penhollow and taking on the name of The Bowlings.
• And, for the record, I love it when performers bring their children out to sing a song or two. It’s even better when those children are great singers. (I was going to link to YouTube videos of Andrew Brown of the Browns and Olivia Collingsworth of the Collingsworth family, but I can’t seem to find videos of either right now.)

Just a couple of quick items worthy of note this morning:

• Southern Gospel tenor singer Matt Felts (Cross 4 Crowns, Monument Quartet, and one or two other groups) and his wife Jennifer had a daughter, Abigail, born on Tuesday. Abigail had an infection and is in intensive care; the Felts family would appreciate prayers for her recovery.
• Kyle Boreing has a fascinating post on if Mark Trammell is the smartest singer in Southern Gospel. It’s an interesting case.

Upcoming Reviews:

• August 3: Pickin’ Praisin’ Singin’: Songs From the Mountain (Cody Shuler and the Pine Mountain Railroad)
• August 7: Classic DVD Review: Celebrating 50 Years (Melody Boys Quartet)
• August 10: Classic CD Review: One Nation Over God (Dave, Duane and Neil)
• August 14: Hold On (Dove Brothers)

In the news / worth reading:

• The Collingsworth Family announced that they will be releasing a new studio CD, The Answer, on August 15. The project, produced by Wayne Haun, will be their first studio project in over two years. Songwriters with cuts on the project include Chris Allman, Dianne Wilkinson, Kyla Rowland, Gerald Crabb, Darryl Williams, and Marty Funderburk. Phil Collingsworth will also have a song on the project; if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time (at least since the group has started on the professional Southern Gospel circuit) that they cut one of his songs. There are fourteen songs on the project, including two instrumentals.
• Wes Hampton posts his thoughts about the Gaither Vocal Band video taping in San Antonio earlier this week.
• Dan Keeton announced that his disbanded group, the Dan Keeton Quartet, is “re-banding for a three day weekend we will not soon remember.” Could he have meant “not soon forget”? At any rate, they will be doing three concert dates in Georgia this weekend.

Upcoming Reviews:

• July 27: This Must Be Glory (Shiloh Mountain Trio)
• July 31: Louisville Live (Booth Brothers)
• August 3: Pickin’ Praisin’ Singin’: Songs From the Mountain (Cody Shuler and the Pine Mountain Railroad)
• August 7: Classic DVD Review: Celebrating 50 Years (Melody Boys Quartet)
• August 10: Classic CD Review: One Nation Over God (Dave, Duane and Neil)
• August 14: Hold On (Dove Brothers)

I’ve updated my “Looking For…” page, pulling a number of projects I’ve found and adding individual Perrys titles I’m still looking for (now that I’ve found enough past Perrys titles to make it a decently short list.)

Video of the day: Southern Gospel soloist Brandon Andrews posted a video of Speer Family members Ben, Mary Tom, and Rosa Nell singing together in a recent rare appearance.

For the next few weeks, I will have to increase the frequency of the CD reviews to twice a week. Even with faithfully posting a review each Friday, I had built a backlog of over a dozen titles waiting on a review. So for now, unless a major story bumps them to the following day, you can anticipate reviews on Mondays and Fridays. (I chose Mondays since they’re typically slow news days.)

Here’s the upcoming review schedule:

• July 20: Songs From the Journey (Howard and Vestal Goodman)
• July 24: Timeless (Roy Webb)
• July 27: This Must Be Glory (Shiloh Mountain Trio)
• July 31: Louisville Live (Booth Brothers)
• August 3: Pickin’ Praisin’ Singin’: Songs From the Mountain (Cody Shuler and the Pine Mountain Railroad)
• August 7: Classic DVD Review: Celebrating 50 Years (Melody Boys Quartet)
• August 10: Classic CD Review: One Nation Over God (Dave, Duane and Neil)
• August 14: Hold On (Dove Brothers)

In the News:

• According to a live concert report here, Terah has left Crabb Revival to spend more time with her family. Adam Crabb is carrying on the group.
• The Mike LeFevre Quartet / LeFevre Quartet announced that they will be renaming the group Priority. There was another Southern Gospel group in the early ’90s with that name. Insight and discussion can be found in this thread.
• Greater Vision has a 20th Anniversary  live recording in the works. They put up a poll of some of their best songs, asking their fans’ help in selecting songs for the recordings. They also had a write-in spot on the ballot and recently announced the top 5 write-ins: 1. Til The Storm Passes By; 2. Champion Of Love; 3. He Is To Me; 4. There Is A River; 5. O Holy Night. I was happy to note that my write-in pick was #1, which means, I suppose, that my personal tastes aren’t that far from those of the average Greater Vision fan.

Worth Reading:

• John Scheideman reviews a Phil Cross & Crossing concert here. Particularly of note is his mention of their rendition of “Jerusalem.” Has anyone caught that on video yet?

Upcoming Reviews:

• June 26 – Book Review: Mighty Lot of Singin’ (Gerald Williams)
• July 3 – A Wonderful Love (Melody Boys Quartet)
• July 10 – DVD Review: 1951 1958 Live (Blackwood Brothers)

Worth Reading:

• Nate at Burke’s Brainwork found a demo of Carrie Underwood of “Jesus Take the Wheel” fame singing “For God So Loved” in her pre-American Idol days. It’s pretty good, with a strong ending.
• Cody McVey is now officially the pianist for the Kingsmen. He’s been with them for months, but it was on a trial basis at first.
• Aaron Swain has the scoop: Cross 4 Crowns has a new tenor, their fourth in two years, Marcus Faulknor. Does anyone know if he’s related to the Faulknor brothers that comprise a fellow Crossroads group, the trio Voices Won?

Upcoming Reviews:

• June 5 – Almost Morning (The Perrys)
• June 12 – When You Look at Me (Kingdom Heirs)
• June 18 – Keep Travelin’ On (Chuck Wagon Gang)
• June 26 – Book Review: Mighty Lot of Singin’ (Gerald Williams)
• July 3 – A Wonderful Love (Melody Boys Quartet)
• July 10 – DVD Review: 1951 1958 Live (Blackwood Brothers)

In the news:

• A more complete list of Dove Awards in categories of interest to Southern Gospel fans:
  • Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: “Reason Enough” by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
  • Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year: “They’re Holding Up The Ladder” by Jeff & Sheri Easter
  • Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Lovin’ Life, Gaither Vocal Band
  • Bluegrass Album of the Year: We Are Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter
  • Musical of the Year: God Bless the USA by Sue C. Smith, Brentwood/Benson
• The Dills have a funny post and video up about how they were helped out by a spontaneous audience member during a recent rendition of “Tired of Running.”

Video of the Week:

The Video of the Week definitely comes from Wes Hampton, who gives us an inside peek inside the studio during the recording of the next Gaither Vocal Band album:

If the songs we hear samples from—”He Touched Me,” “I  Believe in a Hill Called Mt. Calvary,” “These are They,” and a tune featuring Michael English discussing the universal (catholic with a small c) church—are representative, it looks as though the recording might focus on five-part renditions of familiar GVB songs. It does make sense in a way, since having tracks available for their most popular songs, newly customized for five-part harmony, is probably more urgently needed for their stage presentation than new material. But hopefully new material will also be forthcoming.

Also worthy of mention: Matt Paasch caught a recent video of King’s Gold in action, joined by Nick Trammell (in the red coat) on baritone and Gold City pianist Josh Simpson on bass!

Upcoming Album Reviews:

• May 1 – Classic CD – Love’s Sweet Story (Poet Voices)
• May 8 – Worth It (Brian Free & Assurance)
• May 22 – Classic CD – Pilgrim Song (Poet Voices)

(This list may be updated later in the day if I have time to write reviews for a couple of CDs sitting on my desk…or, as is more often the case these days, mp3s without liner notes. Those can prove to be an interesting challenge to review!)

Prayer Requests:

• Earlier this week, Dove Brothers’ pianist Jerry Kelso’s 22-year-old son Brandon was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. Wet road conditions were believed to contribute to the accident. Funeral arrangements are pending and the Dove Brothers will be posting additional information on their website. UPDATE: From the Dove Brothers’ newsletter: Sunday visitation will be at Kerr Funeral Home in Lexington, KY from 3pm – 7pm. Monday visitation will be at Gross Funeral Home in Arden, North Carolina from 5pm – 8pm. Tuesday funeral will be at Gross Funeral Home in Arden, North Carolina at 2pm. The gravesite service will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Candler, North Carolina immediately following the funeral service.
• Songwriter Jerry Salley’s father, Jerry D. Salley, Sr., passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. The viewing will be at the Ware Funeral Home in Chillicothe, Ohio, from 6-8 Monday evening, and the funeral will be at 1 PM on Tuesday. Chillicothe is the family home town, though Salley had moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee during the last part of his life.

Worth Reading:

• David Bruce Murray’s account of a day in the studio with the Dove Brothers.
• Wes Burke’s post on groups that need a career-making song.

Upcoming Reviews:

• April 10 – Story of a Lifetime (Dills)
• April 17 – 09 (Booth Brothers)
• April 24 – Classic CD – Mountain Praise (Isaacs)
• May 1 – Classic CD – Love’s Sweet Story (Poet Voices)
• May 8 – Worth It (Brian Free & Assurance)
• May 22 – Classic CD – Pilgrim Song (Poet Voices)

Consider the comments section to be an open thread. Discuss whatever Southern Gospel-related topics you have on your mind (within the grounds of propriety of course).

Worth Reading:

• Wes Burke interviews Triumphant Quartet’s Scotty Inman.
• Adam Edwards enthusiastically agrees with my 5-star rating of the Song of a Lifetime DVD.
• David Bruce Murray discusses drum patterns in Praise Music and Southern Gospel.

Upcoming Reviews:

• April 3 – Decade (Legacy Five)
• April 10 – Story of a Lifetime (Dills)
• April 17 – Classic CD – Mountain Praise (Isaacs)
• April 24 – Classic CD – Love’s Sweet Story (Poet Voices)
• May 22 – Classic CD – Pilgrim Song (Poet Voices)

Consider the comments section to be an open thread. Discuss whatever Southern Gospel-related topics you have on your mind (within the grounds of propriety of course).

In the News:

• Hissong is releasing a project with Christian Davis singing bass; though he’s not being billed as a full member of the group, he is expected to do at least one concert per month with them. (Hat tip, Adam.)
• Ernie Haase has postponed the Cathedrals Tribute taping from June to an indefinite future date.
• The Talley Trio launched a new website design. It looks great, definitely a step up from their last one (though the black and white version of their current album’s cover photos seems a little odd to me).

Upcoming Reviews:

• 2/6/09: Sunday Morning Ivories (Kim Collingsworth)
• 2/13/09: Bill Gaither’s 12 All-Time Favorite Homecoming Hymns (Cracker Barrel)
• 2/20/09: DVD: Why? (Aaron Wilburn)

Housekeeping announcement:

I’m in the process of a server migration right now. Right now, I’m transferring domains; I’ll transfer hosting some time tonight or next week. The site may be down for a few hours at points. If you think of it, I’d appreciate prayers that everything goes smoothly!