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mlive.com has a fascinating interview with Lynda Randle, Gaither Homecoming Tour soloist. In the interview, she shares little-known facts about her life, such as the fact that she originally wanted to sing soprano like Sandi Patti:

“When I started singing, I tried to emulate Sandi Patty — go figure,” Randle said of the high-soprano, inspirational artist. “But the principal at my school told me to stick with the lower register — that would be my ticket. And now that I’m doing it … he was exactly right.”

For the rest of this fascinating interview, check out the mlive.com story.

For whatever it’s worth, I noticed that Southern Gospel blogger Martin Roth has the same story. I’ve noticed that he tends to run the same news stories I do, to the point that it’s almost weird. In fact, for this story, like several others, I decided to run it before I knew Martin had the story. But I decided to stop by his blog, as I usually do, to see if he’d run the story first. Not only did he have the story first, but he had also picked the same quote from the article which I thought would best draw your attention to the article and make you want to check it out.

Grant Barker, of Winterville, North Carolina will join the Kingsmen as their bass guitarist. He will replace Jason Selph, who left at NQC.

I honestly don’t know how long this story has been out there (or if I’m the first to run the story) but I just noticed it this afternoon. I was looking at the Kingsmen website–which seems to be re-designed every two months but is never completed. (Some of the pages have been “coming soon” for most of the year!) A new design seems to be posted every time Nick Succi writes a column, and I noticed this story in Nick’s column.
Anyhow, back to topic, Nick has a fascinating column. Check it out.

(And can anyone tell me which band he is referring to concerning the April 1977 Freedom Hall appearance? Is Nick Succi a Beatles fan?)

The next Mark Trammell Trio project, Once Upon a Cross, is set to be released on February 20, 2007. Here is the album’s (provisional) song list:

1. Once Upon A Cross
2. However I Go
3. Moving The Hand Of God
4. Let Me Bring Your Children Home
5. I Still Believe
6. Won’t It Be Wonderful There
7. Weary At The Well
8. You Can’t Hold Back The Flood
9. Heaven Can’t Be Far Away
10. Even Thomas Couldn’t Doubt It
11. America The Beautiful

David Staton, lead singer for the LeFevre Quartet, has made another blog post, attempting to clear the air with ways in which his original post could have been (and was) misunderstood. Essentially, this post argues that it is simply a bad business decision for the NQC not to put the LeFevre Quartet on the main stage. He explained the following on his myspace blog:

My comments about LeFevres not being included on the mainstage next year was not directed as a slam against the NQC board. As a business person, I think that it’s not a good business decision to exclude the artists that have enough of a following to cast a winning vote in any fan award category. I can name several other names that have won fan awards and not been included on main stage and my opinion on excluding them is the same. It’s business 101. Find out what the market wants and give it to them. It’s just good business across the board. In my previous blog, I simply opened it up to invite those who voted for us to let NQC know that they would like to see us in the evening line up. To me, it’s the only diplomatic thing to do.

But Dale Embry, a former radio station DJ who posted a comment on the SG Blog News story (link added by express request), has an interesting–and different–take on the importance of winning a Fan Award:

When I had my radio station it took about a hundred votes to win DJ of the year. I was talking to a HIGH official this week, and the Horizon award was probably won by less than 300 votes. So, its a big deal to the artist to have 300 folks like them. But, to NQC they are trying to draw 30,000 people. So to them it didnt mean a whole lot.

Very interesting. We’ll see where all of this falls out.

On the main page of the Singing News website, a poll has been posted letting the readers pick the cover of the January 2007 issue of Singing News. The Jan. 2007 issue will evidently feature Signature Sound.

Check out the covers and vote! I voted for #3 and would encourage you to do the same; I think it is the most classy design of the three.

Something I’ve noticed is that the top trios tend to have a greater personnel stability than the top quartets. I don’t really know why. I guess it’s just the case that the more people you add into the mix, the more likely you will find two who will rub one another wrong.

Several things got me thinking about this, one of which was the recent meltdown (to borrow averyfineline’s term) of CCM trio Second Mile. Of course, this typically wouldn’t be Southern Gospel news, but Donny Henderson’s years with Poet Voices and Channing Eleton’s years with Gold City have given the group a somewhat peripheral “where are they now?” interest to their Southern Gospel fans. At any rate, Eleton and Buddy Mullins both left the group, Eleton taking the bus with him, and Henderson is considering re-starting from scratch.

But Second Mile is a CCM trio, not a Southern Gospel trio, and even if it was a Southern Gospel trio, it would be the exception. (Continue Reading >>>)

I was sent the following press release to post:

Bladenboro, NC - The Dove Brothers Quartet “appeared” on a recent airing of the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS television.  In a segment of the program devoted to Small Town News, a promotional poster of the group was shown.  In typical David Letterman style, of course, the joke was presented as to how it is that FIVE people make up a quartet.

“I guess there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” McCray Dove stated with a chuckle.  “This does, however, present a way to help spread the news about Southern Gospel music to a broader audience.  Wouldn’t it be great if folks from across the country logged on to the CBS.com website and let them know they want to see Southern Gospel really featured?  What better place is there for a song like “Get Away Jordan” to be performed?”

The Dove Brothers have recently released two new projects and will be kicking off their “I Can Pray” tour in 2007.  For more information about the tour and the Dove Brothers, please visit www.dovebrothersquartet.com.

From all I am hearing, Greater Vision might be making an important announcement at some point in the next few weeks. I won’t say what it is, but I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything official.

When Bill Traylor appeared on a recent edition of Paul Heil’s The Gospel Greats, he announced that he was going to bring Homeland Records back. Homeland had been a major label for eighteen years until Todd Payne, another of the major players in the label, left to form Cathedral Records and took several of Homeland’s biggest artists (including Legacy Five and the Florida Boys) with him.

Traylor announced that Homeland is coming back and should have several albums out early next year. He did not, however, announce which artists he has signed.

Crossway will be appearing on the Grand Ole Opry this evening at 7 PM Central Standard Time. This live performance will be broadcast on WSMOnline, both at 650 AM for those who live in Nashville and on the radio station’s website.

The Dixie Melody Boys are presently finishing up three albums, all of which will release in January. The press release states:

Fayetteville, NC - Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame member, Ed O’Neal and his talented Dixie Melody Boys have been in the recording studio in recent weeks, working on vocals for not one, but three, new recordings. The popular quartet plans to have all three new projects available shortly after the first of the new year. “I’ve been wanting to do this for 40 years,” states veteran Dixie Melody Boys’ leader, Ed O’Neal. “Two of the recordings contain classic quartet songs, and one recording is all hymns. Two of the projects have just the four-part harmony with the piano and bass guitar accompaniment, but the hymns recording has the four vocals with a piano only, just like we used to sing them in church. I think the folks who love traditional, quartet singing will really enjoy these recordings.”

All three recordings are being produced by talented producer/vocalist/musican Wesley Pritchard, who admits that he’s never heard The Dixie Melody Boys sound any better. “This is the best quartet Ed O’Neal has ever had, and that’s a major statement,” Pritchard states. “Some of the finest singers in Gospel Music have, at one time or another, been a part of The Dixie Melody Boys. I’m talking about guys like Rodney Griffin, Devin McGlamery, Harold Reed, McCray Dove and Ernie Haase. He’s had some fantastic singers, and has always had a good quartet, but this group is the best combination he’s ever had.”

The current group of young men joining O’Neal, which Pritchard is referring to, includes tenor Dan Keeton, baritone Andrew King and the newest member of the quartet, lead vocalist Bryan Walker. Although Walker has only been a member of the group for a brief period of time, he has close ties to the quartet. Walker’s dad, David, traveled with The Dixie Melody Boys in the mid-1980s, and later with The Anchormen and The Kingdom Heirs.

According to O’Neal, Dixie Melody Boys’ fans can look for these three new releases in January, just in time for the group’s annual trip to the West Coast. Visit www.dixiemelodyboys.com to view the group’s touring schedule and to pre-order your copies of the Dixie Melody Boys at their finest.