As multiple online sources have reported, Roger and Kirk Talley’s father R.C. “Red” Talley passed away this afternoon. He had been ill for some time. He was preceded in death by his wife, Connie Talley, in 2010. The visitation and funeral will be on Monday.

It’s never a good time for a parent to pass away, but some are decidedly worse than others. Debra Talley is currently in a Nashville hospital with a concussion. Her chair fell off the back row of the stage at yesterday’s Gaither Homecoming video recording.

Please keep the Talleys in your prayers!

UPDATE (5/23): Debra has been released from the hospital and is on the mend.

George Beverly Shea’s family confirmed that he passed away yesterday evening. He was 104, and had been hospitalized with a stroke earlier this week.

He began his recording and radio performance career in the 1930s. He joined the Billy Graham crusade team in 1947, and would remain associated with Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for the next fifty-five years. Through his singing career, it is estimated that he sang to more than 220 million people live and in person. He has held the Guinness Book of World Records title for performing to more people live than any other person.

His impact on Southern Gospel is extensive; among other things, he co-wrote “I’d Rather Have Jesus” and popularized both “How Great Thou Art” and “To God Be the Glory.”

Two years ago, I attended a Gaither Homecoming taping. Shea was there, and, at 102, he got the strongest response of the night. 

UPDATE, 4/17/13, 8:45 PM: Shea’s funeral will be this Sunday at 3 P.M. at Anderson Auditorium in Montreat, North Carolina. It will be open to the public.

Worth Knowing

• Greater Vision is doing a going-out-of-print sale for Faces, Quartets, and Live at First Baptist Atlanta here. The titles will undoubtedly remain in print digitally.
• An Oklahoma newspaper has an article on Lily Fern Weatherford’s retirement.
• NQC has updated their 2013 mainstage schedule, adding The Sneed Family on Monday, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound on Tuesday, The Bowlings and The Nelons on Friday, and the Down East Boys on Saturday.
• Former Jordanaires tenor Gordon Stoker has passed away.
• Former LeFevres soprano Teresa McNeill Burrell passed away on Thursday.
• Canton Junction is discontinuing their debut recording, which we reviewed here, and replacing it with Show Me Your Way, releasing May 21. Eleven tracks will be from the discontinued debut, and will apparently be re-cut with new vocalist Shane McConnell. There will be three new tracks, live renditions of “Just a Little Talk with Jesus/Jesus on the Main Line Medley” and “In God We Still Trust,” and a new studio track, “Back On My Feet Again.”
• Worth Reading: John Mathis’s column Southern Gospel Music – the 10% and the 90%. 

Worth Watching

Here’s a video of Gerald Williams’ Melody Boys Quartet in their prime:

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

ORIGINAL POST, SUNDAY, 10:04 P.M.: Several Southern Gospel performers, including Jeff & Sheri Easter, Karen Peck Gooch, and Shawn Degenhart (who performed with Hill in the Heritage Harmony Quartet), are reporting that soloist Stephen Hill passed away suddenly today after a heart attack. He was in Lumberton, North Carolina for a concert at Antioch Baptist Church (Wesley Pritchard’s home church) (UPDATE: Early reports that it was Pritchard’s home church appear to be incorrect.)

Hill was best known for his Gaither Homecoming appearances as a soloist. He was also on the Heritage Harmony Quartet’s debut recording, which we gave a five-star rating here.

UPDATE, 7 AM 8/6/12: The Gaither organization has officially confirmed Stephen Hill’s passing. He suffered a massive heart attack during soundcheck for yesterday evening’s concert. They added:

Stephen was a “gentle giant” with a kind, soft-spoken nature and a tenor voice as versatile as it was beautiful. He had a sincere heart for people and for sharing the hope of Christ with audiences throughout his career. He was dearly loved by his friends, family and the music community. 

Stephen is survived by his wife, Kathy, and their three children, Melody, Miriam, and Caleb.

UPDATE, 8:58 AM, 8/7/12: Funeral plans, via Woody Wright on Facebook:

I hope everyone will make plans to be with us on Monday August 13 at Grace Church of the Nazarene near Opryland in Nashville at 1 PM. Kathy, Melody, Miriam and Caleb appreciate your prayers as they deal with the shock and grief of this sudden, unexpected tragedy. They have asked for a great celebration of Stephen’s extraordinary life.

UPDATE, 9:25 PM, 8/7/12: Updated time for service: The funeral will be at 3:00 pm Monday, August 13; visitation will be (before) 1:00-3:00pm.

Mark Trammell posted on Facebook that his mother, Elizabeth Trammell, passed away at 1 AM Central Time:\

At 1 AM central time… Mom quietly and peacefully walked thru the gates of pearl….No more broken hip, no cancer, no arthritis, no heart problems. She made it…..because Jesus said that she would!!!!!!! Yay MOM!!

Please keep the Trammell family in your prayers.

UPDATE: Singing News posted funeral arrangements: “Huson Funeral Home in Sherwood, Arkansas, will be handling the arrangements for Ms. Trammell. The visitation will be Sunday, August 5, 2012 from 12 – 2 p.m., with the celebration of life service at 2 p.m.”

Lily Fern Weatherford posted on her Facebook page today that Maude Aimee Humbard has passed away. Maude was the wife of Rex Humbard, the televangelist at the Cathedral of Tomorrow who launched the Weatherfords’ career and formed the Cathedral Trio/Quartet.

Elaine & Jackie Wilburn

Jackie Wilburn passed away this morning at age 74. The patriarch of the Wilburn clan was vacationing with his family in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Sanderson Funeral Home in Carthage, Tennessee.

Jackie married Elaine Wilburn in May 1959. By the mid-1970s, he became an ordained preacher. They also started touring and singing with their three sons as The Wilburns. The group launched to national prominence in the late 1980s, retiring in 2004. Though they would have several hit songs, including “Outside the Gate,” “When Dust Shall Sing,” and “Resting Place,” their largest legacy is in the careers they launched. When their son Jonathan moved from The Wilburns to Gold City, the rest was history, and Gold City was on its way (back) to the top. 

But that was just the beginning. The list of prominent Wilburns alumni includes, in fact, most of their members: Tony Gore (Tony Gore & Majesty), Loren Harris (Perrys), Ricky Atkinson (songwriter / Ricky Atkinson & Compasson), Troy Peach (Steeles, First Love, Perrys), Michael Helwig (Dixie Echoes), and the list goes on. Rounding out that list are two members of the final (2004) Wilburns lineup, Gary Casto and Josh Singletary, who continue to perform together in their own group, Tribute Quartet.

Jackie Wilburn’s legacy continues today through his family: His son Jonathan and grandson Jordan Wilburn, the second and third generations of the Wilburn clan, recently launched the duo Wilburn & Wilburn, carrying the legacy forward.

Several weeks ago, in what may have been his final concert appearance, Jackie appeared with Elaine, Jonathan, Jordan, and Ricky Atkinson for a Wilburns Reunion concert. SGConcerts’ Diana Brantley was on the scene and posted several videos. Here’s an acappella song featuring Jackie, “The Old Story Will Never Grow Old”:

From the same evening, here are all five singing “Resting Place”:

Other videos from the night include Coming Out of the Wilderness, Let the First One Be Me, and Through it All.

For those new enough to the genre to not have grown up around Wilburns music, check out several more videos of the group in its prime: Coming Out of the Wilderness (1988, featuring a very young Jonathan Wilburn), When Dust Shall Sing (1992), Outside the Gate (1993).

As “When Dust Shall Sing” says:

Since Jesus died, the grave has lost its victory
And if you’re in Christ, death has lost its sting
You see, Christ conquered death, so He opened up the chorus
With voices raised, and shouts of praise, dust shall sing

When dust shall sing, on Resurrection morning… 

This morning brought death, not resurrection. Yet this morning, in the presence of the King, dust is singing.

UPDATE: Here are some comments from Jonathan Wilburn about his father’s last day.

Janice Brashear, mother / pianist for the Brashears, passed away on Monday, the 26th. (Hat tip, DW.) She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Jarrell Brashear, three children, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandson. She had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Funeral arrangements are listed here.

Numerous national media sources are reporting that Jessy Dixon, long-time soloist and Gaither Homecoming fixture, passed away Monday morning. He was 73. He is survived by a brother and a sister.

His sister informed the national media that he had been ill, but declined to elaborate.

Charlie Burke passed away this morning in Winston-Salem North Carolina, after suffering a likely brain aneurysm last night.

For several decades, Burke was a behind-the-scenes member of the Southern Gospel industry, through owning the Singing Americans, owning Tape Corporation of America (with his son, Michael Burke), and as a co-owner and board member of the National Quartet Convention. Under his leadership, the Singing Americans brought singers like Danny Funderburk, Ivan Parker, Clayton Inman, Rick Strickland, and Michael English to the forefront of Southern Gospel music. He also helped launch the Whisnants, the Reggie Sadler Family, and the Dove Brothers.