SouthernGospelBlog.com

Much has been made of a disappointing trend in Southern Gospel away from recording live albums. I do not refer to live videos of songs that the group has already made popular, but live albums introducing new songs, preferably with mostly live instrumentation.

In this column, I want to address another type of album I don’t want to see go away.

In the old days, groups would record table projects of two sorts: Albums of classic songs and albums with recent hits by other groups. Today, groups still record table projects with classic Southern Gospel songs and hymns. But the project of recent hits by other groups has virtually disappeared.

I’d like to see this kind of album return.

Let’s take a few minutes and think over some possibilities. Might you purchase albums with these songs?

Kingdom Heirs: God Handled it All (Gold City); We Will be Changed (Perrys); It’s Still True (Florida Boys); Overwhelming Joy (Inspirations); The Return (Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet); Damascus Road (Perrys); I Am Redeemed (Poet Voices);

Collingsworth Family: But for the Blood (Hoppers); There’ll Come a Day (Brian Free & Assurance); More Like Jesus (Gold City); The Depths of the Father’s Love (Kingdom Heirs); His Scars (Perrys); I Stand Redeemed (Legacy Five); God Wants to Hear You Sing (Greater Vision); Calvary Answers for Me (Perrys).

Prophets: I Have Been Changed (Legacy Five); Mighty Deep Well (Kingdom Heirs); He is to Me (Greater Vision); I Know I’m Going There (Kingdom Heirs); Paid in Full Through Jesus Amen (Greater Vision).

Perrys: I Don’t Wanna Go Back (Kingdom Heirs); Mighty Deep Well (Kingdom Heirs); I Have Been Changed (Legacy Five); Free to Go Home (Collingsworth Family); Forgiven Again (Signature Sound); One Holy Lamb (Poet Voices); Once Upon a Cross (Mark Trammell Trio).

Mark Trammell Trio: Walk Away Free (Perrys); The Voice I Could Not Resist (Greater Vision); I Will Find You Again (Perrys); One Holy Lamb (Poet Voices); In Time On Time Every Time (Gold City); A Wonderful Shepherd (Poet Voices); Until I Start Looking Ahead (Perrys).

For this summer (at least), Gaither Vocal Band / Gaither Homecoming tour pianist Gordon Mote will play piano for Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. Haase announced this in an email blast sent out today.

I am cautiously optimistic about this. I say “cautiously” because I have only one reservation: I would like to see Signature Sound continue the traditional Southern Gospel configuration of naming the pianist as a full-fledged member of the group, rather than just as a member of a band that may change every week.

I would not be disappointed to see Mote named Signature Sound’s permanent pianist; I just hope that they will ultimately end up with a permanent pianist as a full-fledged group member.

Roy Webb’s decision to leave Signature Sound earlier this week will probably make the top ten list of biggest news items in Southern Gospel this year. Ernie Haase & Signature Sound is a supergroup that crosses subgenres readily, being a favorite headliner group in the Gaither Gospel world with their progressive appearance while still maintaining a strong presence in the Singing News Gospel world with their mostly traditional sound. I doubt this change will harm Signature Sound’s popularity as much as the departure of any of the four vocalists would, but Webb’s comedic irreverence formed a major part of the group’s banter in between songs.

Probably the biggest question Haase will face is whether to hire a pianist who is also a comedian or just a pianist. (I doubt he will find anyone who will try to replicate Webb’s style, word for word; it was so original that anyone who tries that would probably come off as a cheap imitator.)

Who are some of the pianists who could be under consideration, and what would they bring to the group?

Andrew Ishee is currently a free agent (to borrow baseball terminology). He’s taken some time off the road, but his decision to join up with Tony Peace for an occasional concert might be an inkling that he’s beginning to get the Southern Gospel performer’s itch to get back on the road again. I think the comparisons of Ishee to late legend Anthony Burger are valid and have a lot to them, and his unique flair would enhance the group’s appeal.

Speaking of Anthony Burger disciples (even though disciples from afair), Matthew Holt also comes to mind. I’d hate to see him leave the Perrys, but from everything I’ve heard (not having seen him live yet) he could hold his own and wouldn’t take the group down any.

Averyfineline’s pick would probably be Justin Ellis, Crabb Family keyboardist–who is probably looking for a job right now. His often subdued–I think Avery may have even called it “understated” style–would pretty much keep him out of the vocalists’ way. I have to admit that I’d rather see a bring-them-out-of-their-seats-after-a-fast-solo traditional Southern Gospel pianist get the job. But Ellis could undoubtedly do the job competently.

Everyone who reads this online column often knows that I couldn’t let a post like this one go by without mentioning Stewart Varnado. I have every reason to believe he’s happy in Florida, but I would love to see what his style would bring to the group. Watching him do a piano solo is an “experience” that would be entirely new to Gaither Gospel audiences–but I think they would love it. His facial expressions when mimicking one of the vocalists more akin to Roy Webb’s than any other pianist I’ve ever watched. Plus–and this is completely off the wall–Stewart is one of very, very few Southern Gospel pianists as tall as I am (6′) or taller, and his height would fit right in with the giants of Southern Gospel, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound.

Now if I put Stewart Varnado last, everyone would think I was writing this to advocate that he be hired. This is especially because I can’t write about him without superlatives! So I will close with another pianist: Adam Harmon, now a free agent after leaving the Kingdom Heirs. He’s a great pianist and would also be a good addition to Signature Sound. (Apropos of nothing in particular, it occurred to me this morning that there’s an outside chance that Roy Webb is heading for that vacant piano bench in the Showstreet Palace in Dollywood.)

Quite obviously, some of the top pianists in Southern Gospel–Kim Collingsworth, Jeff Stice, Darrell Stewart, and Brad White (of the Blackwood Brothers)–have gigs that they’re quite unlikely to leave (though in White’s case, I’d love to see him with Signature Sound). But for no reason in particular, I thought it would be fun to list five of the best / most likely pianists who might be considered for the job.

All too often, the great and possibly future classic songs on a CD don’t get sent to radio as a single. This is for various reasons, one of which is that it was another member’s “turn” to have a song on which they had a solo sent out to radio.

Often when an album comes out, a song that I feel is far from the best song on the project gets sent to radio as the first single. When that happens, I just hold my breath and hope that the chief jewel on the CD makes it out later. Sometimes it happens, sometimes not.

This time it did; Adam Edwards reports that Legacy Five is sending “I Have Been Changed” to radio.

This is what Legacy Five needed to do at this point in their group history. The loss of Roger Bennett, followed by a weak single, would have hurt them perhaps too much. But even though this song was recorded while Bennett was still with the group (and even though his voice introduces the song), I think that in some subtle psychological way fans of the group who are currently wondering whether or not this group will remain a favorite will be swayed by hearing this song on the radio.
That’s just the roundabout way of saying I’m thrilled Legacy Five sent this song to radio.

Last week, I reported here and here on Roy Webb’s absence from the Signature Sound live DVD taping. Today, Ernie Haase announces that Webb has left the group.

I’ll probably be posting further reflections tomorrow, but suffice for now to say that my thoughts and prayers are with Webb as he deals with his father’s health issues, and with Ernie Haase as he seeks a replacement.

Yesterday, I posted a link to a story about Dennis Murphy’s impersonations of country singer Kenny Chesney.

The article mentioned how Murphy is sometimes stopped at an airport and asked for an autograph under the assumption he is Chesney. I realized yesterday that since I listen to no secular music and had not previously heard of Chesney, if I was at an airport, I could well stop Chesney and ask for an autograph, ending up disappointed that it was not Murphy!

The Perrys aren’t a regular Gaither Homecoming Tour act, but Gaither has been inviting them to selected concerts and to a recent Homecoming video taping.

Why?

Does he like their Happy Goodmans-style sound?

Nope. To all who like bashing Joe Habedank, check out this post, and especially this quote:

A lot of folks thought the Goodman sound was the reason Bill Gaither wanted the Perrys on his stage but ‘I Wish I Coulda Been There’ was the song he had them open with and encore. It turns out that after being recommended to Bill by Mark Lowry and the Easters to tape the last video, Bill fell in love with that song and has become a Joseph fan. That was the song he wanted done.

Well, to all who think that adding Joseph was a step down for the Perrys, give that some serious thought.

In my Internet wanderings, I came across this article on the Collingsworth Family from a year or two ago. It has quite a few interesting nuggets, such as this one:

Right now, all of the children hope to continue with their singing careers into adulthood with the family, rather than leaving to pursue solo careers. The family’s plan for the future includes adding in-laws and grandchildren until they have a full family choir.

And this one, with Phil Collingsworth explaining how they make time for family:

Collingsworth said they’re trying to spend every minute they can having fun with their children.

“We only get one shot at raising the children and making them first priority is very important to us, so making fond memories and talking a lot is where we place our emphasis,” he says. “Fortunately, we have a booking agency that understands this and they work very well with us in only booking the number of dates we want to sing.”

The Collingsworths don’t perform as many concerts as many of their peers in the gospel music industry do. Sometimes this creates a backlog of concert requests, but their agent has been able to work through these problems, allowing the Collingsworths appropriate time for family.

Check it out; it’s fascinating reading.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has an interview with Bill Gaither on the Homecoming phenemenon. It seems that in every Gaither Vocal Band member interview in a local paper, there is always a fascinating tidbit, and this is no exception:

Last year the Gaither Vocal Band released “Give It Away,” and Gaither said his summer break, which begins right after the concert in Worcester, will likely include a little work in the studio for another project. And Gaither assured that his recording projects are much more than toss-offs to the faithful.

“I find it a challenge to be able to put something down on record that 40 or 50 years from now when a young person comes along and says, ‘Tell me something about this music,’ someone will pull out this record and say, ‘These guys were good,’” Gaither said.

Another article worth checking out is a Beckley, West Virginia story on Dennis Murphy’s impersonation attempts of Kenny Chesney.

There had been some speculation over whether the Booth Brothers would sign with the newly revived Canaan Records. That speculation has ended with their signing to another label, Daywind Records–the modern-day Canaan, if you will.

I think the case could well be made that Daywind is today’s Canaan, with a fairly high percentage of the most popular Singing News Fan Award-Winning artists on its roster: Perrys, Brian Free & Assurance, Crabb Family, Greater Vision, Karen Peck & New River, Legacy Five, Mark Trammell Trio, Mercy’s Mark, Triumphant, and now the Booth Brothers. Six of this year’s top 10 groups (and three of the top 5) are all Daywind artists. Two other labels each have one artist in the top 5.

Three of the top five bass singers, four of the baritones, three of the leads, and four of the tenors are with Daywind groups, and six of the top 10 songs are from Daywind albums. So I think that if you measure a label by its artists’ popularity, it’s safe to say that joining Daywind was a pretty good move for the Booth Brothers.