In the News

• The Dixie Melody Boys signed with Song Garden and plan a 50th Anniversary recording.
• The live Gaither Vocal Band reunion at NQC will be Thursday afternoon from 1:15-3:15. Can Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, and Michael English draw more than Sarah Palin?
• Worth reading: Brian Crout’s take on Greater Vision’s It’s Just Like Heaven. My, do I wish I had thought to ask him before Adam did!

Video Highlights

Here’s a video that has been making the rounds, of a young Scott Fowler with The Sound.

In the news:

• About a week back, I passed the one-year-mark with Crossroads. It’s been a great year! Occasionally, I find that I say everything I have to say in a blog post or album review on the Crossroads site, and thus simply forget to mention it here. (Take, as a great case in point, the album summary for the Talley Trio’s Stories and Songs.) Lest I be entirely remiss in this area, let me catch up on two newsworthy stories here. First, Mark Bishop, who has been recording with Crossroads/Sonlite Records since 2002, just signed a publishing agreement to be on the Chris White Music / Asheville Music Publishing songwriting roster.
• Second, Crossroads recently rolled out an innovative website feature, the Crossroads Video Vault. Currently, several exclusive concert tapings are available, as are song-by-song downloads of several current DVDs (like NQC Vol. 9 and NQC Vol. 10). The part that excites me the most is the plan to release out-of-print videos through this format—videos you can’t get elsewhere.
• Singing News is conducting an online poll to determine readers’ all-time favorite cover.
• Soloist Jessica King has returned to Southern Gospel and has signed with Daywind.
• Don Butler, a Southern Gospel Hall of Fame member who was a member of the Sons of Song, and then became an industry executive, working in booking with Sumar Talent, passed away on February 3 (Thursday) at age 80.
• Fellow Asheville-area Southern Gospel blogger Adam Edwards made a move I wish I had thought of making, signing up Brian Crout as a contributor to his blog. Brian, I hope you won’t be a stranger in the comments here! We’d certainly miss you if you were! Either way, though, we wish you the best of success!

In the press:

• TampaBay.com / The St. Petersburg Times featured a nice interview with Phil Collingsworth and an area host pastor, announcing an area concert.

Featured video:

Word has it that early in the Signature Sound Cathedrals Tribute project process, Ryan Seaton was slated to sing “Champion of Love.” Of course, the plan had to change when he left, but now that the soundtrack has come out, he has started singing it. Here, he sings it with the Ryan Seaton Quartet – Toby Hitchcock, Andrew Goldman, and Aaron McCune – an ensemble solid enough so as to leave assorted observers hoping that they will go farther than merely making occasional appearances.

Also, correspondents have been sending in more videos of the Kingdom Heirs’ new lineup. Via Bryan, here’s a video of Look for Me and He Locked the Gates, and via J.C., here’s He Lifted Me / Fire Away.

In the News:

• According to individuals on her email newsletter list, TaRanda Greene stated there that she will be launching a solo career in March.
• Tim Greene announced, via a press release posted on the Singing News website, that he will be returning to the Southern Gospel circuit after a decade off the road. He will be launching an all-male trio, the Tim Greene Trio. (No link is posted because the Singing News website is apparently down as of the drafting of this post.)
• Former Wilburns / Gold City lead singer Jonathan Wilburn announced on his Facebook page that he has left Ronnie Watkins Ford, where has been a car salesman for the 2 1/2 years since he left Gold City. (Has it only been 2 1/2 years? Wow!) He is launching a full-time ministry, Wilburn & Wilburn, with his son Jordan.
• Steve Eaton and David Bruce Murray have launched a fascinating new series, a Must Buy or Not? series of album reviews. Here’s the first.

It has been a crazy week in Southern Gospel—the first week in over a month so busy as to require a news roundup post to wrap up the week. Of course, the headline news stories over the past week were Ian Owens replacing Tim Duncan with Signature Sound and ongoing discussion about Tim Parton leaving Legacy Five to be a music minister at the Seventh-Day-Adventist TV network 3ABN.

Other News Stories:

• Tribute Quartet’s bus was totally destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon. A right passenger back tire blew out and caught the bus on fire. The group was unable to put the fire out; they were able to save some important documents, products, and equipment, but lost their personal belongings, including suits and casual clothing.
• All personal belongings were lost, but there were no injuries.
• AbsolutelyGospel announced the nominees for their 2011 Ovation awards. [EDIT, 2/21/13: Broken Link Removed.] The Gaither Vocal Band and Wayne Haun led the group and individual nominations. Voting begins February 1. 
• Mary Lester, wife of the late Herschel Lester and mother of Brian Lester of the Lesters, passed away on Thursday; an obituary is here.  (Hat tip, LP.) [UPDATE, 5/3/13: Broken link removed.]
• The Gospel Chicken House, a Southern Gospel concert venue for decades in Montpelier, Virginia, has closed. (Hat tip, CH.)

Also, welcome Adam Edwards back to the Southern Gospel blogosphere. His review of the Perrys’ Blue Skies project is well-done—and Adam, please make sure it doesn’t take another WordPress upgrade and new theme design before we see you around again! [EDIT, 2/22/13: Broken link removed.]

In the News

• Mansion Entertainment has signed Allison Durham Speer to an exclusive distribution agreement. Her first recording with Mansion will be The Holy Hills, an project consisting at least partially of cover songs. The project will include a tribute to Dottie Rambo (“I’m Gonna Leave Here Shoutin’) and at least one radio single, “Tell the Storm.”
• Past Chuck Wagon Gang tenor Clyde Edward Carter (“Eddie”) passed away on Monday morning at age 91. He was the last living son of Mom and Dad Carter. He is survived by his wife, Carrie; they had recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Eddie joined the Chuck Wagon Gang in 1955, after his father retired from the road. He did not stay on the road long, but he returned in the early 1970s for some concerts and for all of the group’s Columbia sessions from 1971-1975. His final recorded session with the group was in 1978; it was also his sister Anna’s final recorded session. He made some live appearances with the group in 1993-94 and was one of the group members present when the group was inducted into the GMA Hall of Fame in 1998. The funeral was Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.

In the News

• Karen Peck Gooch announced on her Facebook page that she will have a bit role in a movie, Joyful Noise, starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. She will be the lead vocalist in a choir and will have one spoken line.
• After 4 1/2 years with the Melody Boys Quartet, baritone/pianist Caleb Matheny is leaving. (EDIT: 8/5/2011: Broken link removed)  This is more notable than some of their other personnel changes, as through the 4 1/2 years of sometimes frequent change, his face was the only constant besides owner/bass singer Gerald Williams’.
• Mike LeFevre Quartet drummer Jordan LeFevre got engaged yesterday to his long-time girlfriend Carly Dixon. They plan to be married on May 28, 2011 at the Union Grove Congregational Holiness Church in Cleveland, Georgia.
• Yesterday morning, the Men of Music were leaving Jackson, Mississippi for a Houston, Texas concert. A female driver, who according to police reports did not possess a valid driver’s license or insurance, and was talking on a cell phone and not paying attention, rear-ended the group’s equipment trailer. The group escaped with minor injuries and plans to fulfill the weekend’s concerts through alternate transportation.

Worth Reading

• Absolutely Gospel features Devin McGlamery. [EDIT, 2/21/13: Broken link removed.]
• Anderson, SC’s IndependentMail features Bill Shaw. Former Blackwood Brothers tenor Shaw, now 86, can regularly be found singing at nursing homes in his area—for residents younger than he is. The article is filled with fascinating facts that must have come from a first-hand interview. Shaw was born in Abbeville County, SC in 1924 and moved to Anderson at age 2. He went to Anderson College to study music, particularly the bass fiddle, until a voice teacher told him “that he would make more money as a singer than he would playing an instrument.” Shaw, who married Wilma Pickens (the two are still married), started singing with her brothers in the Harmonights Quartet. He then sang for five months with Illinois’ All-American Quartet, before joining the Blackwood Brothers.

Site Updates

Migrating the old CathedralsTribute.com site into this site’s reference section has proven to be a great move on all counts; the Cathedrals section of the reference area is now consistently the most viewed section of the site, after, naturally, the home page itself. This week, I posted personal discographies for Scott Fowler, Ernie Haase, and George Younce. Additions / corrections to those and any help on the others is, naturally, always welcome.

In the news:

• Christianity Today’s review of new Christmas music featured the Isaacs’ new project, speaking highly of “simple sibling harmony . . . between this brother and three sisters.” Brother and three sisters, indeed. Though Lily could take that as a compliment, one would think a major national publication of its caliber might check the group’s website bios when writing a review.
• EMI has posted song lists and cover art for the next two Gaither Homecoming Releases, Alaskan Homecoming and Majesty. Song samples have not been made available yet.
• David Bruce Murray has made an (excellent) decision to move his Musicscribe blog to the main domain, www.musicscribe.com [EDIT, 3/16/13: Broken link removed]; it had been on a subdomain since its launch.

Site updates:

• Due to expanding plans for the future of the Documents section, it has been renamed Reference: http://www.southerngospelblog.com/reference.
• A complete, current list of Singing News Fan Award winners has been added to the reference section.

In the news:

• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound’s Tribute to the Cathedrals DVD hit the #1 spot on Billboard’s music videos chart, an all-inclusive chart covering acts from every genre. The audio CD was #1 on the Southern Gospel chart and #3 on the Contemporary Christian (!) chart, placing at #72 in Billboard’s all-inclusive Top 200 CDs chart.
• On Thursday night, as the Nelons were performing on stage in Chillicothe, Ohio, a stage curtain caught fire. Members of Beyond the Ashes spotted the fire before the Nelons did and helped them to safety. They were treated for smoke inhalation but resumed their tour the next day.
• Longtime Melody Boys Quartet tenor Mike Franklin, who sang with the group from 1987-2004, returned in September to fill in after Tim Williams’ departure. As of November 1, he has officially re-joined the group.

Worth Reading:

• Post of the Week: David Bruce Murray’s “Hypothetical Group Finances Explored” [EDIT, 6/6/12: Broken link removed.]
• Two reviews worth reading: MN SG Fan on Signature Sound’s Cathedrals Tribute project and SG Review on Tribute Quartet’s Hit Replay.

Recently Updated:

• As a part of the ongoing development of the Reference section, the list of songs Joseph Habedank has written (originally published in February 2009) has been moved to the documents and freshly updated. Toward the end of the list, there’s a surprise co-writer—but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised!

In the news:

• Revelation, the Northern Irish trio who came to the U.S. in early August to record their national debut project, is doing the debut concert for that project tonight (in Northern Ireland). Blogger Phil Boles will be there and reviewing it; watch his blog for the review.
• The Southern Baptist publication Baptist Press featured the Fire in the Choir NQC showcase here. (Hat tip, CH)
• The Greenes’ third vocalist, Jeff Snyder, will be coming off the road, pursuing a career as an insurance agent.
• The Ball Brothers have the most awesome CD title/cover in a long time. Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=488744371423&set=a.182648371423.155918.30990261423&ref=nf

Video of the week:

In the news (other than the major headlines of the week, Troy Peach leaves the Perrys, Jerry Martin leaves the Dove Brothers, and Matt Dibler leaves the Diplomats):

• The Men of Music, a group founded by original Cathedrals tenor Bobby Clark and several other quartet veterans in the mid-90s, are back after a three-year hiatus. This week, they signed to Homeland’s Riversong label. The group, originally based in Texas, now makes its home in Jackson, Mississippi. Their recent radio single, “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be,” made it to #7 on the SoundClick Country chart, and #3 on the Christian Country chart, in mid-September.
• Legacy Five pianist Tim Parton is putting up daily blog posts covering the group’s trip through Canada. If you don’t follow the Legacy Five blog yet, check it out here.

Post of the Week

Music Think Tank, a blog on the music industry, published a thought-provoking column earlier this week, asking whether the music created at the end of a recording session is the music the artist dreamed of creating. It draws a comparison to novels, quoting from another writer, who admits: “Many novelists, if they are pressed and if they are being honest, will admit that the finished book is a rather rough translation of the book they’d intended to write.” It’s a fascinating insight into the limits of recorded creativity, well worth the read.

Tweet of the Week

Dean and Kim Hopper’s teenage daughter Karlye has maintained one of the most consistently entertaining Southern Gospel-related Twitter accounts. Take, for example, her tweet Wednesday night: “Mom just discovered YouTube. It’s gonna be a long night.”

And in conclusion…

I plan to travel out to the Inspirations’ Fall Colors sing in Franklin, NC this afternoon/evening at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin, North Carolina. Several other groups, including the Perrys and Dove Brothers, are also appearing. Former Perrys pianist Matthew Holt is back on the bus for the weekend, playing piano and singing baritone, and this will either be Jerry Martin’s final concert with the Dove Brothers or former Singing Americans tenor Phil Barker will be filling in. It promises to be quite a night, so this is a must-see concert if you are within driving distance of Franklin.