SouthernGospelBlog.com

I recently did a post with an update on Mack Taunton. His son Stephen has posted in the comments several times; one comment in particular caught my attention:

Actually, On the original recording of “Uncloudy Day”, that was Bobby Clark… I am awear that my dad is on the cover of the album, but it is Bobby singing on that whole album. I asked my dad about that years ago. He said, “That’s just the way things worked back then” You released what you had and promoted the group that was working.
That’s why on the reunion video, my dad says “eat your heart out bobby” in the middle of his solo break.

steve

That prompted me to revisit several Cathedrals albums with Mack Taunton and George Amon Webster on the Cover.

First, though, another comment from Steve:

Point of interest, there a few albums from Th Cathedrals that has my dad on the cover yet has Bobby singing… I’m not sure, but I believe that “The Family Album” is another one. I think the first album my dad sang on with The Cathedrals was “Focus on Glenn Payne”.

Focus on Glen Payne was released in 1968; I’m Nearer Home (with “Unclouded Day”) was released in 1970, thus showing that several of the Cathedrals albums with Mack Taunton on the cover but Bobby Clark on vocals were released out of order.

Family Album (1968). There are no baritone solos on this project; the only tenor solo is “God Will Take Care Of You.” It does sound like Bobby Clark.

Focus on Glen Payne (1968). There is only one song that features a solo from the baritone and a solo from the tenor, “Something Within” (which featured all four members). It’s still unmistakably Danny Koker on the baritone, but this time it does sound like Mack Taunton on tenor.

I Saw the Light (1968). Danny Koker is unmistakably the baritone on this project; he has solos on “Cheer the Weary Traveler,” “I Saw the Light,” and “Will the Lord Be With Me.” The tenor has several solos, most notably on “Who am I,” “Mama’s Teaching Angels,” and “Cheer the Weary Traveler.” Based largely on “Who am I,” I’m suspecting this might be another album with Bobby Clark on vocals but Mack Taunton on the cover. Can anyone confirm this?

Jesus is Coming Soon (1969). George Amon Webster contributes the baritone vocals to this album, which leads me to think that Mack Taunton is both the cover and actual tenor. (Webster joined after Mack Taunton was already tenor).

I’m Nearer Home (1970). Danny Koker contributes baritone vocals to “In the Shelter Of His Arms,” “Does Jesus Care,” and “Jesus Use Me.” So this album is clearly material recorded at least a few years before the release date. It does sound like Bobby Clark, particularly on “Down From His Glory.” Can anyone confirm this?

It’s Music Time (1970). I didn’t catch any baritone solos on this project, so it’s harder to place definitively. I’m guessing it’s Mack Taunton on the vocals, though.

A Little Bit of Everything (1970). George Amon Webster is on this project (which makes it Mack Taunton on tenor). It would stand to reason that this was recorded with the current lineup, since it was a Canaan release, making it the group’s first major-label release in several years (I believe).

Everything’s Alright (1971). Again, George Amon Webster on baritone vocals. This is another Canaan release.

Request Time (1971). This is a compilation of songs from the Danny Koker and Bobby Clark era, even though the current lineup at that time appeared on the cover.

Right On (1971). Though I believe it is George Amon Webster at the baritone part, I’m not certain who is singing tenor. The two songs featuring the tenor are “Redemption Draweth Nigh” and “After All.” It could be Mack Taunton, but it could also be Roger Horne, who sang briefly with the group in 1972 (and possibly 1971).

Somebody Loves Me (1971). George Amon Webster sings baritone on this project. The tenor has three solos, on “Eastern Gate,” “Because He Lives,” and “I Should Have Been Crucified.” I am thinking (but not certain) it’s Mack Taunton.

By Welcome to Our World (1972), Roger Horne was definitely singing the tenor part.

I know of at least several readers of this blog who have some or all of these projects. Could you take a listen to them and either confirm or challenge my observations in the comments?

With permission, I’ve borrowed an idea from Burke’s Brainwork (Hidden Gems). Every now and then, when there isn’t a pressing story, I’ll do a post on a song that perhaps hasn’t received the attention it deserved.

Most of my entries will probably be serious cases for re-examination of tracks that didn’t really receive the attention they deserved. But this first entry is about an odd moment. I may have mentioned it before, but now I have the opportunity to provide a link, so I thought the moment was worth revisiting this moment. It comes from the Down By the Tabernacle Gaither Homecoming; for the next few days (till Monday), the Gaither TV special with highlights can be viewed for free online here.

“The Old Country Church” was the second song on the recorded version (and on the special). James Blackwood, Jack Toney, and Squire Parsons all had solos on the the second and third verses. On the fourth verse, the Cathedrals (minus Scott Fowler, with Ben Speer filling in) came forward and sang the verse:

Now the years have gone by and so many have died
At that old country church
Now they’re on the other shore, where they’ll sing forevermore
As they did at that old country church

Now I’ve been told (by someone who was there) that despite its placement on the recorded version, the song was actually recorded toward the end of the event. The Cathedrals hadn’t been featured all night, and when they did come on, the audience was so excited to finally see them that they burst into enthusiastic applause.

Of course, the energy with which the Cathedrals sang that verse didn’t hurt. The song was uptempo to start with, and when they started that verse with their trademark tight harmonies, it was simply an exciting moment for a Cathedrals fan.

There was only one problem. Like the hapless church member who says “amen” at the wrong point in the sermon, the audience applauded at the wrong line. Specifically, the applause starts after the line “Now the years have gone by and so many have died,” and builds to its peak as the line is completed, with the words “at that old country church.”

It’s an exciting but odd moment, to be sure, and for the next few days, you can watch it here.

The Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet put a novelty song on their debut project (The Lamb is King) entitled “The Dream.” Without giving any spoilers, let’s just say that it deals with a fatal car wreck and a bass-singing contest between Christian Davis and Tim Riley.

I first heard this song in summer 2003. A few days after that, I was a passenger in a nearly fatal rollover crash in a big van. I was unconscious during the crash itself, but shortly before and immediately after the crash, this song was on my mind.

Once, I was talking to Robbie Hiner, and I told him that if I had indeed passed away during that car crash, the song “The Dream” would have been basically the last thing on my mind before entering eternity.

His response was (approximately): “Of all the songs I’ve written, that would be the last one I’d want…”

I guess this little story has a moral: If you wouldn’t want a song to be the last thing on someone’s mind, don’t publish it.

(Don’t get me wrong, I really like the song. I have listened to it and enjoyed it dozens of times since. But it was a few months before I could bring myself to listen to it again.)

I have a question to which, perhaps, a reader will know the answer. Was Greater Vision’s live rendition of “Till the Storm Passes By” recorded on the evening of September 11, 2001?

Greater Vision has typically had a Tuesday evening appearance in recent years. Did they in 2001, and was the song recorded then?

Gerald Wolfe has a reputation for being a master at reading an audience and timing his jokes and placing his songs perfectly. This must have been no exception.

The song keeps building until the second verse. When he sings the line “But I know Thou art with me, and in the morrow I’ll arise,” he hits the last words of the phrase with a fervor and a voice quality that builds the emotional intensity as high as you would think it can go. But then, with the phrase “Where the storm never darkens the sky,” the intensity goes past the bursting point, and the audience responds with what had to have been a standing ovation.

Greater Vision has had other great live moments, among which we find “Soon We Shall See” and “He’d Still Been God.” But their name has never been found on a more compelling “moment” captured on a live project. If it was indeed recorded on September 11, 2001, that would have to go down as one of the all-time most timely performances in Southern Gospel music.