SouthernGospelBlog.com

SoGospelNews has posted an interview with Daniel Riley, baritone and emcee for Gold City, about the group’s future in the light of several recent lineup changes. The full interview is here; a couple of highlights:

• He said that while Tim Riley has made guest appearances and may make others, he’s not coming back on the road.
• He addressed the recent stream of personnel changes: “Danny can’t explain why individuals might feel God is leading them in different ways, but it happens. Gold City tries to take care of their people as good as or better than anyone else in the industry. Daniel says he hates to call it an attack of Satan, but he doesn’t know what else to call it. They have had more testings of their faith in the last three years than they care to talk about. The attacks on the group and individuals in the group has been very hard, but they are weathering the storms.”
• And he said he isn’t sure where Gold City will be heading in the future, but “to be honest, I’m not real sure where God is leading us, but I know that it is going to be somewhere exciting and good for us. Every one of us who is a part of Gold City loves every aspect of what we do and look forward to where God is taking us.”

After roughly a year of waiting, Guy Penrod’s next step is a little more clear. He’s launched a new website at www.guypenrod.com, complete with sound clips from his new country CD, Breathe Deep.

Most of the songs seem to have no specifically Gospel lyrics, but five of the thirteen are exceptions (”Every Saint,” “The World Goes Round,” “Maker Of Them All,” “Broken Ones,” “Knowing What I Know About Heaven.”) Particularly interesting is Penrod’s cover of the Talley Trio’s “Broken Ones”; even in the Talley’s able power-Gospel-harmony arrangements, it felt like a country song, and Penrod’s version has a ring of raw authenticity that seems to fit the lyric perfectly.

For something like two months, a persistent rumor has been making the rounds that Aaron McCune is leaving Gold City and Tim Riley is returning. A press release today confirms that the first half is true: Aaron McCune is indeed leaving. Or, perhaps, he’s already left, judging by the past tense wording in the press release—”following the departure of Aaron McCune.”

According to the press release, though, Gold City is seeking auditions for another bass singer, so the second half of the rumor (that Tim Riley is returning) may not be true. So the jury is still out on that one.

Last weekend was pianist Josh Simpson’s final weekend with the group before returning to college, and it’s been less than a month since Chris Cooper was announced as the replacement for departing tenor Steve Ladd.

With turnover at three of the five positions in the group within the past month, a Tim Riley return would be just the boost Gold City needs right now. His return—even if only for a year or two—would generate enough buzz to give the new lineup time to get on its feet and become established.

For the past four and a half years, Doran Ritchey has been the baritone/pianist for Liberty Quartet. He moved toward focusing more on his piano role (with some occasional vocals) several months ago, when Jordan Cragun (a nephew of Kim Collingsworth) joined Liberty as their baritone.

Ritchey has accepted a position to join the Crossing trio with Southern Gospel songwriter / vocalist Phil Cross. Both Doran and his wife, Diane, will be joining the group. Rotchey said: “The last four and a half years have provided a wealth of experiences while singing with Liberty.  The friendships that I have made are deep and lasting.  I’m grateful to Royce and the opportunity he provided to travel with Liberty.  While I’m going to miss traveling with the guys, I’m also looking forward to the chance to minister with my wife, Diane.  Thank you for your support and prayers as we make this transition.  We love you guys!”

Ritchey will be staying with the group through both their annual Family Fest event in Idaho and through NQC. Liberty Quartet has a CD scheduled to come out in a few weeks; he was a producer for the project, and his feature song will still appear.

For the time being, Liberty Quartet’s office confirms that they will be sticking with the four-man vocals-only lineup, though they have not ruled out bringing a new pianist on down the road.

SGConcerts.com’s Diana Brantley, affectionately dubbed the “Queen of Southern Gospel Concert videos” by her fans, went to Eric Phillips’ final performance with the Mark Trammell Trio last night. She compiled this video of highlights from the concert as a tribute to him:

She has also posted a video of the group’s new tenor singer, Joel Wood, here.

Several years after leaving the Imperials, Southern Gospel patriarch Armond Morales started a group variously known as the Classic Imperials, Crown, The Artists Formerly Known As The Imperials, and Still Standing. Their website has a number of different names on it, but their Facebook page lists them as the Classic Imperials, so that’s the name I’ll go by for this post.

Until recently, former Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet member / Thomas Road Baptist Church worship leader Robbie Hiner sang tenor for the group. He recently left; yesterday (hat tip, Wes), the Classic Imperials announced that former Imperials member Paul Smith would be rejoining the group. Smith is currently serving as minister of music at a Baptist church in Texas; more information about him is here.

The Blackwood Gospel quartet announced yesterday that group manager Mark Blackwood’s nephew, Daniel Childs, will be coming off the road. They said:

We regret to announce that Daniel, our tenor singer, has decided to leave life on the road due to health reasons. With the uncle/nephew relationship between Mark and Daniel, parting wasn’t easy. There was always the possibility of him carrying the Blackwood heritage into the next generation, and that possibility was just beginning to flourish. It’s true that Daniel’s heart has always been in music, but his passion is in church worship, rather than quartet music.

Paul Lancaster will fill in while they seek for a new tenor.

While one should never say never, Childs was the only fourth-generation Blackwood on the road, and (as the press release mentioned) was the one most likely to carry on the Blackwood heritage into the next generation.

The Mark Trammell Trio announced yesterday that their new tenor will be Joel Wood. His first official date with the group will be July 10 in Sikes, Louisiana.

Wood had performed with Georgia’s Daybreak Quartet for four years. Joel and his wife Melissa have four boys—Tyler (10), Brayden (7), Jaxon (3), and Cameron (9 months). He just had his 29th birthday.

Joel had been with Daybreak since May 2005 and owned a landscaping business, Mac’s Landscaping in Columbus, Georgia. Before joining Daybreak Quartet, he sang with several other groups, most recently the Damascus Road Quartet. He also occasionally sings with Men of Grace, a group based in his home church, Grace Baptist Church of Columbus, Georgia. His brother David is also in that group.

He enjoys golf, and according to Daybreak’s biographies page, at one point made plans to attempt to go professional.

The quartet has posted a number of complete songs on their ShoutLife page. Wood has a solo on “Nothing But the Blood” and a brief lead on “The Cross Speaks Louder.” Via Daybreak’s Facebook page, a number of other songs are available for listening here. Wood has a solo on “Sing Oh Sing,” “God Bless the USA,” and “My Country Tis of Thee.” Wood’s voice quality reminds me of Liberty Quartet’s Keith Waggoner (and, though Waggoner isn’t a household name yet, I say that as a compliment to Wood).

The Mark Trammell Trio has named Daybreak Quartet’s Joel Wood as their new tenor.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Brian Free & Assurance lost their baritone singer recently when Derrick Selph announced his departure. A familiar face will be returning; Randy Crawford, who has also performed with the Toney Brothers and with the Carolina Boys / Kingsmen, will be their new baritone singer. During his earlier stint with Brian Free & Assurance, Crawford sang with the group on hit songs such as “Who Is This King” and “What A Difference A Day Makes.” His first official concert will be on July 16th in Jackson, Tennessee.