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The Primitive Quartet is celebrating their 35th anniversary as a group. Singing News has a story here (only accessible to SN subscribers). However, the YouTube video of the plaque presentation was posted publicly:

Although I notice that Brian Franklin’s YouTube account does have two other videos, I believe this is a first for Singing News–the first time they uploaded a YouTube video to accompany a news story.

On Saturday, Singing News posted the top 5 ballot for the Singing News Fan Awards. If you are a Singing News reader, you can click here to view the ballot and cast your vote.

I am in contact with enough of the nominees that I am reluctant to post my specific votes. But I will note that except voting for the Perrys in five categories, I spread out my votes fairly widely: Signature Sound (3), Mark Trammell Trio (2), Kingdom Heirs (2), Greater Vision (2, including Favorite Artist), and one each to the Hoppers, Collingsworth Family, Mark Bishop, Soul’d Out, Dixie Echoes, and Kyla Rowland.

Things to watch this year:

• Favorite Pianist: Since it’s been Roger Bennett’s award for years, it’s wide-open this year. Jeff Stice is the only previous winner on the ballot, but any of the five could feasibly win. Both of my favorite pianists (Kim Collingsworth and Stewart Varnado) are in the top 5, and I’d be delighted if either won.
• Favorite Artist: The Booth Brothers were the only trio nominated last year, and won. This year, there are two trios and three quartets. Could having two trios in the top 5 change the dynamics a little?
• Member Changes: Will either Jason Waldroup or Jonathan Wilburn take home farewell awards? My take: Jason Waldroup stands a better chance than Jonathan Wilburn, since Bruce Taliaferro has had more time to make his own mark with Gold City and to start building his name ID as Gold City’s lead singer.
• Will Greater Vision’s tenor change help or hurt them in the Favorite Artist and Favorite Trio categories?

Let’s wait to post our final guesses as to who will win until we’re closer to the Fan Awards, for the decidedly prosaic reason that the post will be easier to find to compare our guesses with the results.

Singing News has posted the top 5 nominees in the 2008 Fan Awards. I am posting the top 10, displaying the top 5 winners in bold, so that it can be clearly seen who did and did not advance to the final five.

Let’s save guessing the winners until the final ballot comes out; enough could change in two months that it could substantially impact the choice of winners.

Favorite Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gold City
Greater Vision
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Parker, Ivan
Perrys
Triumphant Qt
Wolfe, Gerald

Mixed Group
Browns
Collingsworth Family
Diplomats
Freemans
Hayes Family
Hoppers
Isaacs
Lesters
McKameys
Perrys

Male Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Down East Boys
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Gold City
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Legacy Five
Triumphant Quartet

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
Greenes
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
Mark Trammell Trio
Pfeifers
Poet Voices
Talley Trio
Whisnants

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Combs, Michael
Crabb, Jason
Ford, Larry
Lee, Cricket
Lowry, Mark
Mote, Gordon
Parker, Ivan
Parsons, Squire
Paschal, Janet

Male Singer
Bishop, Mark Soloist
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Parker, Ivan Soloist
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Female Singer
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Paschal, Janet Soloist
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Horizon Individual
Barker, Pat Dixie Echoes
Browder, Matthew Browders
Crist, Breana Crist Family
Crist, Jackie Crist Family
King, Sharron Kay Soloist
Kitson, Jacob Tribute Qt
LeFevre, Jordan LeFevre Qt
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
Paschal, Daryl Down East Boys
Rivers, Justin Austins Bridge

Horizon Group
Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Austins Bridge
Browders
Crabb Revival
Crist Family
Old Paths
Shiloh
Soul’d Out Qt
Spoken 4 Qt
Tribute Qt

Young Artist
Fortner, Eli McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Holt, Matthew Perrys
McGlamery, Devin Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Simpson, Josh Gold City
Sweatman, Dustin Mark Trammell Trio
Thompson, Amber Nelons
Trammell, Nick Perrys

Tenor
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Hodges, Billy Kingdom Heirs
Ladd, Steve Gold City
Martin, Jerry Dove Brothers
Seamans, Frank Legacy Five
Sutton, David Triumphant Quartet
Waldroup, Jason Greater Vision
Watkins, Archie Inspirations

Lead
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Dove, McCray Dove Brothers
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Inman, Clayton Triumphant Quartet
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Shivers, Bill Brian Free & Assurance
Wilburn, Jonathan Gold City
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Baritone
Anderson, Doug Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Brady, Jim Booth Brothers
Campbell, Melton Inspirations
Dove, Eric Dove Brothers
French, Steve Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney Greater Vision
Howard, Scott Legacy Five
Inman, Scott Triumphant Quartet
Selph, Derrick Brian Free & Assurance
Trammell, Mark Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric Triumphant Quartet
Chapman, Jeff Kingdom Heirs
Duncan, Tim Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn Legacy Five
Hester, David Dove Brothers
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
McCune, Aaron Gold City
Reese, Ray Dean Kingsmen
Stuffle, Tracy Perrys

Soprano
Brown, Jessica Browns
Crabb, Amanda Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Fortner, Connie McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda Greenes
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs
Ritchie, Charlotte Jeff & Sheri Easter
Starkel, Tami Crist Crist Family
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio

Alto
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Brown, Michaela Browns
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie Hoppers
Jackson, Susan Peck Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Musician
Collingsworth, Kim Collingsworth Family
Cook, Martin Inspirations
Fortner, Roger McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Holt, Matthew Perrys
Murphy, Dennis Kingdom Heirs
Ollis, Eric Whisnants
Parton, Tim Legacy Five
Stice, Jeff Triumphant Qt
Varnado, Stewart Dixie Echoes

Songwriter
Atkinson, Ricky
Bishop, Mark
Brady, Jim
Crabb, Gerald
Cross, Phil
Griffin, Rodney
Hinson, Ronny
Inman, Scott
Rowland, Kyla
Wilkinson, Dianne

Album
Carry On Booth Brothers
Everyday People Greater Vision
Know So Salvation Legacy Five
Look No Further Perrys
Never The Same Dove Brothers
Once Upon A Cross Mark Trammell Trio
Real Faith Brian Free & Assurance
Things Are Different Now Inspirations
True To The Call Kingdom Heirs
You Gotta Love It Triumphant Qt

This post is for the procrastinators. The voting in the second round of the 2008 Singing News Fan Awards closes in two days, on May 9. If you are a Singing News subscriber and have not yet voted, click here to view and cast your ballot. If you are not a Singing News subscriber, click here to subscribe. (Hat tip: I was reminded by an email that the Old Paths sent out.)

Out of curiosity, I went back to see which of the top 10 Albums of the Year I’d reviewed. It looks like I reviewed five. (I was thinking I had done a sixth, the Kingdom Heirs’ True to the Call, but it seems I didn’t review it.)

• Everyday People by Greater Vision
• Know So Salvation by Legacy Five
• Look No Further by the Perrys
• Once Upon A Cross by the Mark Trammell Trio
• You Gotta Love It by Triumphant Quartet

Now is also a good time to remind you to post your top 5 guesses, if you have not done so yet.

Yesterday, Singing News posted their top 10 Fan Awards ballot online. The link might only work for logged-in subscribers.

This move could have long-lasting implications. This could lead to a higher percentage of Singing News subscribers voting, and could also lead to a higher percentage of young readers voting. It could just be my experience, but younger people seem to be more likely  to go forward with something if it involves filling out a web form rather than addressing and stamping an envelope.

Of course, long-term, Singing News could save out on a massive amount of printing and tabulation costs if they moved the poll to be web-only. This would almost certainly hurt the Fan Awards strength of more traditional groups like the Inspirations and the McKameys.

With the Singing News Fan Awards top 10 voting coming soon, I decided to make the unusual move of letting you know about a couple of upcoming reviews:

• Old Paths - Today
• Spoken 4 - That’s My Boy
  
• Diplomats - Live in West Virginia

The first two groups are nominees in the Horizon Group category; the Diplomats have moved straight to being considered in the mixed group category.

I will aim to have at least one review up this Friday, and at least one up next Friday. If there are any takes you’d particularly hear before voting, and you will be voting within the next week, comment here and I’ll prioritize that review.

The top 10 nominees are in, and the ballot for the top 5 is in this month’s issue of Singing News. Who do you think will make it into the top 5?

Here are the nominees:

Favorite Artist of the Year
Booth Brothers
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gold City
Greater Vision
Inspirations
Legacy Five
Parker, Ivan
Perrys
Triumphant Qt
Wolfe, Gerald

Mixed Group
Browns
Collingsworth Family
Diplomats
Freemans
Hayes Family
Hoppers
Isaacs
Lesters
McKameys
Perrys

Male Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Down East Boys
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Gaither Vocal Band
Gold City
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Legacy Five
Triumphant Quartet

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
Greenes
Jeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
Mark Trammell Trio
Pfeifers
Poet Voices
Talley Trio
Whisnants

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Combs, Michael
Crabb, Jason
Ford, Larry
Lee, Cricket
Lowry, Mark
Mote, Gordon
Parker, Ivan
Parsons, Squire
Paschal, Janet

Male Singer
Bishop, Mark Soloist
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Parker, Ivan Soloist
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Female Singer
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Paschal, Janet Soloist
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Horizon Individual
Barker, Pat Dixie Echoes
Browder, Matthew Browders
Crist, Breana Crist Family
Crist, Jackie Crist Family
King, Sharron Kay Soloist
Kitson, Jacob Tribute Qt
LeFevre, Jordan LeFevre Qt
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
Paschal, Daryl Down East Boys
Rivers, Justin Austins Bridge

Horizon Group
Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Austins Bridge
Browders
Crabb Revival
Crist Family
Old Paths
Shiloh
Soul’d Out Qt
Spoken 4 Qt
Tribute Qt

Young Artist
Fortner, Eli McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Holt, Matthew Perrys
McGlamery, Devin Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Simpson, Josh Gold City
Sweatman, Dustin Mark Trammell Trio
Thompson, Amber Nelons
Trammell, Nick Perrys

Tenor
Booth, Michael Booth Brothers
Free, Brian Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Hodges, Billy Kingdom Heirs
Ladd, Steve Gold City
Martin, Jerry Dove Brothers
Seamans, Frank Legacy Five
Sutton, David Triumphant Quartet
Waldroup, Jason Greater Vision
Watkins, Archie Inspirations

Lead
Booth, Ronnie Booth Brothers
Dibler, Matt Inspirations
Dove, McCray Dove Brothers
Fowler, Scott Legacy Five
Habedank, Joseph Perrys
Inman, Clayton Triumphant Quartet
Rice, Arthur Kingdom Heirs
Shivers, Bill Brian Free & Assurance
Wilburn, Jonathan Gold City
Wolfe, Gerald Greater Vision

Baritone
Anderson, Doug Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Brady, Jim Booth Brothers
Campbell, Melton Inspirations
Dove, Eric Dove Brothers
French, Steve Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney Greater Vision
Howard, Scott Legacy Five
Inman, Scott Triumphant Quartet
Selph, Derrick Brian Free & Assurance
Trammell, Mark Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric Triumphant Quartet
Chapman, Jeff Kingdom Heirs
Duncan, Tim Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn Legacy Five
Hester, David Dove Brothers
Holcomb, Mike Inspirations
Lile, Jeremy Brian Free & Assurance
McCune, Aaron Gold City
Reese, Ray Dean Kingsmen
Stuffle, Tracy Perrys

Soprano
Brown, Jessica Browns
Crabb, Amanda Aaron & Amanda Crabb
Fortner, Connie McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda Greenes
Hopper, Kim Hoppers
Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs
Ritchie, Charlotte Jeff & Sheri Easter
Starkel, Tami Crist Crist Family
Talley, Lauren Talley Trio

Alto
Bean, Peg McKamey McKameys
Brown, Michaela Browns
Easter, Sheri Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie Hoppers
Jackson, Susan Peck Karen Peck & New River
Penhollow, Terah Crabb Crabb Revival
Stuffle, Libbi Perrys
Talley, Debra Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan Whisnants
Woodard, Carol McKameys

Musician
Collingsworth, Kim Collingsworth Family
Cook, Martin Inspirations
Fortner, Roger McKameys
Free, Ricky Brian Free & Assurance
Holt, Matthew Perrys
Murphy, Dennis Kingdom Heirs
Ollis, Eric Whisnants
Parton, Tim Legacy Five
Stice, Jeff Triumphant Qt
Varnado, Stewart Dixie Echoes

Songwriter
Atkinson, Ricky
Bishop, Mark
Brady, Jim
Crabb, Gerald
Cross, Phil
Griffin, Rodney
Hinson, Ronny
Inman, Scott
Rowland, Kyla
Wilkinson, Dianne

Album
Carry On Booth Brothers
Everyday People Greater Vision
Know So Salvation Legacy Five
Look No Further Perrys
Never The Same Dove Brothers
Once Upon A Cross Mark Trammell Trio
Real Faith Brian Free & Assurance
Things Are Different Now Inspirations
True To The Call Kingdom Heirs
You Gotta Love It Triumphant Qt

Several weeks ago, I promised an analysis of your guesses about who would get top 10 nominations in the Singing News Fan Awards. Examining the guesses, I did notice several interesting things.

• The most accurate guess (Toshiba) averaged 7.45 correct guesses per category. Interestingly enough, the least accurate was surprisingly high, too, at 6.05. The accuracy of the nine entries, in posting order, were 7.45, 7.3, 7.2, 7.05 (me), 7.3, 6.05, 6.55, 6.55, and 6.8. The average accuracy was just under 7 per category (6.92). Probably just about anyone who follows the industry closely can guess, on average, over half the nominees in each category. I was also surprised that all the guesses were within a 15% (1.5 guesses/category range), with most being within a 10% range (6.5-7.5).
• The most predictable category seems to be bass. Donna and I both guessed all ten nominees correctly, and all(!) the other posters correctly guessed nine of the ten, for an average of 9.22 correct guesses.
• The top ten most accurately guessed categories were Bass (9.22 average correct guesses), Male Quartet (8.67), Tenor (8.33), Lead (8.11), Trio (8.11), Mixed Group (7.78), Alto (7.78), Album (7.67), Baritone (7.56), and Female Singer (7.56).
• The five least accurately guessed categories were Horizon Individual (2.33), Soloist (5.11), Horizon Group (5.22), Soprano (5.78), and Song (5.78). Of course, with song, “I Can Pray” being disqualified took just about everyone’s guess down 1 point.
• Remarkable guesses: Donna and I guessed all 10 bass singers correctly, Seaton got a perfect score in the tenor category, and Donna also guessed all 10 male quartets correctly. (Not bad for a trio fan–a category in which she didn’t do too badly, either, guessing eight.)

It was a fascinating project, and thanks to all who provided guesses for the analysis.

Singing News posted the top 10 nominees in the 2008 Fan Awards yesterday. Unfortunately, I’m on the road and can’t access the Singing News website for a direct link. But GVfan posted the nominees on the Singing News forums here.

The only notable problem with the list is that only nine names are mentioned in the Female Singer category. This will, of course, hold up the promised comparison with and statistical analysis of your guesses in this post. But that will hopefully be coming soon!

EDIT: Lauren Talley was the missing name on the female singer category. Thanks to a reader for clearing that up!

Singing News posted on their home page today that they are now offering a digital version of the magazine to print subscribers. They are also offering digital-only subscriptions for $5 less per year ($15 instead of $20).

This is a fascinating move that could have long-term significance for the genre. Singing News was purchased by Salem Communications several years ago. Salem is a Christian media conglomerate that owns and publishes, among other magazines, CCM Magazine and Gaither’s Homecoming Magazine.

Why does any of this matter?

It matters because Salem has been shifting its focus to web-based content. In fact, CCM Magazine, the flagship magazine in its genre, just mailed its final issue. Could the same fate be in store for Singing News?

I doubt that it will happen in the immediate future. Too many Southern Gospel fans are older and either (a) have no Internet access or (b) only know how to use email to get the emails and pictures from the grandkids. Singing News and Salem have to know this fact, and I doubt that they would phase the print magazine out precipitously. That said, offering digital downloads of the magazine to print subscribers, as well as web-only subscriptions, marks the first two steps in that direction.