Albums of Current Hits 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...

Gordon Mote joining EHSS…for summer, at least 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...

Roy Webb and the Future of Signature Sound 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...

Singling the Right Song: “I Have Been Changed” 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...

Roy Webb leaves Signature Sound 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...

Denny as Kenny 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...

Why Bill Gaither wants the Perrys on his stage 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...

Collingsworth Family: An old article 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...

Southern Gospel News Roundup 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...

Booth Brothers sign with Daywind 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,...