SouthernGospelBlog.com

My first National Quartet Convention was one of the most amazing events I’ve ever been a part of. It would be hard to improve something this good, but I did keep an eye out for ideas throughout the week. Here are a few ways in which NQC could possibly be improved:

• Move the vendors’ hall closer. Fortunately, they’re already doing that next year.
• Close the vendor’s hall at midnight on Friday. That way, the groups who leave for a Saturday evening date (and there were several) can do that, and all the exhibitors that do not can pack out Freedom Hall for the big finale.
• Do more special lineups like the Eric Phillips / Joseph Habedank / Scott Inman /Jeremy Lile / Josh Singletary quartet. If you put a lineup that strong together, give them a whole set (and make and sell a video, too!)
• In that same light, I’d like to see a trio with some genuinely young artists on the stage. Just imagine what kind of a response a trio with Olivia Collingsworth, Andrew Brown, and Avery Wolfe (with Josh Pope on piano) would get! All three are vocally capable enough to handle a few serious songs; they don’t just have to sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
• Every year, there are always a couple of artists who deserve to be on the main stage but aren’t. This year, the top three in my opinion were the Collingsworths, Jimmy Blackwood’s Blackwood Brothers, and the Browns.
• There have been complaints about lack of draw after Thursday’s Fan Awards, probably the highlight of the convention. The Hoppers’ 50 Anniversary celebration sparked the idea that NQC could schedule a group reunion for a favorite group each year, offering the incentive of giving them a full hour and making a videotape for them to sell. Just imagine the draw a Gold City, Kingsmen, Dove Brothers, or Cathedrals reunion would have.

I just put these ideas out there for whatever they are worth. There is no way that all of them would (or even should) be adopted, but perhaps out of the list, there will be one or two worth using.

I’ve acquired the domain name SoGospelBlog.com, since it was pointed out that some people type that domain when trying to get to this blog. It should now refer you directly. Many of you bookmark the site or use RSS feed, and you don’t need to change anything, since I will keep both the SouthernGospelBlog and the SoGospelBlog domains active. But for those of you who type it in every time you visit, feel free to use the shorter domain and save yourselves the time of typing the longer domain.

I’ve also acquired the .net and .org versions of each domain name, so now you can type in six different domains and get here!

Once in a while, I post about my writing and speaking here in addition to my daily Southern Gospel posts. Some of you may be interested to hear that I’ll be doing quite a few radio interviews on my most book (The Faith of America’s Presidents) over the next couple of weeks. I believe that all of these will be streamed online, so here are the links and times if you have any interest in listening in:

(Today) September 18, WTLN, Orlando, FL (1:05 PM EST-30 min.)
(Tomorrow) September 19, KMBI, Chicago, IL (9:05 AM EST-15 min.)
September 27, WWJC, Duluth, MN (11:35 AM EST-25 min.)
October 1, KPDQ, Portland, OR (7:30 PM EST-30 min.)
October 8, KBJS Radio, Tyler/Jacksonville, Texas (8:35 AM EST-40 min.)

One year ago today, I launched SouthernGospelBlog.com with this post:

Other bloggers have considered that their position as a commentator gives them the platform to post harsh criticism or unsubstatiated malicious rumors. I disagree. This blog is to inform Southern Gospel artists and fans about current happenings, and perhaps to encourage you, too!

This blog’s mission is to look beyond the headlines to provide analysis and commentary on current Southern Gospel happenings. I plan to comment on Southern Gospel news, review CDs and live concerts, and perhaps conduct interviews industry professionals. That’s what I have in mind as things I’d like to see.

I won’t say I’ve done a perfect job. I’ve slipped up once in a while and mentioned a topic I should have avoided or said something that has misinterpreted. But for the most part, I’ve been able to keep it positive, and fans and artists alike seem to like that.

By the way, I am giving this blog a birthday present. I was talking with Billy Hodges at NQC and he suggested reserving the domain name sogospelblog.com. I decided that was a good idea, and while I was at it, I also reserved sogospelblog.org, sogospelblog.net, southerngospelblog.org, and southerngospelblog.net. So a little later this morning–once configuration is complete–you should be able to type in any of those variants and still reach this blog!

During the first year, this blog was visited 295,641 unique times (413,921 page views). It had 4,442 unique visits in its first month. As of the last full month–August–this blog was visited 30,609 unique times. I think at least part of the reason you keep coming back is that I put something new up six days per week. I’m the only Southern Gospel blogger crazy enough to try to find something new to say each day. It’s a massive amount of work, but if you enjoy it, then it has paid off!

As I recall, having a few things to say about NQC 2006 was the final straw that led to me starting this blog. Last year, I was sitting in a room by myself at my house listening to the live feed. One year later, I was there in person with a media pass, and to my utter astonishment a couple dozen people–fans and performers alike–recognized me. Needless to say, it’s been quite a ride. Thank you for coming along!

Has anyone noticed that the first and third lines of the verses of “God Leads Us Along” and “I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone” are virtually identical?

Here’s the Louisville Courier-Journal NQC article. I was happy to see that my friend Sony Elise was quoted.

I didn’t care for the article’s ending, but at least there were no pick suits this time!

Courtesy of Aaron Crisler, here are two photos from the 2007 NQC Bloggers’ Conference. He has many more NQC Photos posted at Gospel Music Update.

From left to right: Kathy Jackson, Paul Jackson, Adam Edwards, Aaron Swain, Lottie Squires, Doug Harrison, Daniel Mount, Kyle Boering, Daniel Britt, Chuck Peters, and David Bruce Murray.

Photos by Aaron Crisler/GospelMusicUpdate.com for the National Quartet Convention.

I intentionally wrote my blog posts before reading what other commentators said, so that my opinions were genuinely my own. (I did talk a few things over with Adam Edwards, but I still wrote my posts before reading his.)

With that in mind, with an event of the magnitude of NQC, there are untold dozens of details I didn’t catch. Here’s a round-up of some of the most notable highlights I didn’t cover:

• Adam Edwards has a funny story about being mistaken for an artist.
• One of the highlights of the Singing News Fan Awards was when Eric Phillips, Joseph Habedank, Scott Inman, Jeremy Liles, and Josh Singletary sang a song together. They were an excellent lineup with an even better blend, and in that light Danny Jones’ post mentioning a rumor that they’re thinking of hitting the road is interesting. I’d hate to see them leave their respective groups, since several of them are their groups’ strongest vocalists, but there is really no reason why they couldn’t record a CD and perform ten or fifteen dates per year. I figure if Jones mentions the possibility, it’s either certain not to happen or nearly a done deal. But a special-event group (like the Five Broke Single Boys of a few years back) would be a happy medium.
• Here’s a Musicscribe post with one of the photos from the bloggers conference; I plan to post more later, once I can get my hands on them!
• Line of the night: Doug Harrison of Averyfineline described Kim Collingsworth as “a tasteful, able, prettier, classier Dino.”
• Gospelmusicfan has some good ideas for the exhibit hall, namely to expand the hours during the daytime, and close it at midnight on Friday. Having all the exhibitors (who stay) in the main hall for the final night would almost ensure a packed house. As it is, many people, including me, look for any group we can possibly miss on Saturdays to catch up on those last few purchases.

And finally, the highlight of the week: There were many things I enjoyed, such as the Mark Trammell Trio / Perrys finale on Thursday and the Singing News Fan Awards. But the highlight was Friday’s Artist Spotlight showcase that featured the Collingsworths, the Browns, and a couple of other groups. I already knew how good the Collingsworths were, but the Browns took me by surprise and absolutely blew me away. I was incredibly impressed and purchased everything on their table–hardly my typical reaction on hearing a group for the first time.

After songs from the winners of the solo and group talent contests, Kim Collingsworth got the final night of the convention under way with a rendition of what appears to be becoming her signature song, “How Great Thou Art.” She received a standing ovation.

The Perrys came on a little later, starting their set with “He Will Hide Me.” They sang the Rodney Griffin / Chris Binion song “Every Question Will Be Answered,” getting an enthusiastic response even before they said (after the song) that Griffin had co-written it. Their rendition of the Mosie Lister convention song “Come and Get Me” prompted me to look at the friend I was sitting with and say, “Find another mixed group that can do that.” They slowed the pace down a bit for the mid-tempo ballad “The Potter Knows the Clay,” before closing with the power anthem “Look No Further.” They dedicated that song to Mike Holcomb, who was in the audience, since he had apparently preached the sermon that prompted Kyla Rowland to write the song.

The Chuck Wagon Gang turned in a nice no-soundtrack set, singing “Church in the Wildwood,” “The Son Hath Made Me Free,” “I’ll Meet you in the Morning” (featuring a guest performance by former member Shaye Truax), “Heaven’s Really Gonna Shine,” “Gettin’ Ready to Leave This World,” “On the Jericho Road,” and “Echoes From the Burning Bush.”

The Inspirations sang “Overwhelming Joy,” “Two Shoes,” “My Lord is Walking on the Troubled Sea,” “If You Only Knew,” and “I Have Not Forgotten.” Matt Dibler introduced “I Have Not Forgotten” with a thought provoking line, “The price of freedom has always been blood.”

The Florida Boys came on stage to a prolonged standing ovation. They sang “When He Was On the Cross (I Was On His Mind)” with the lineup that introduced the song–tenor Terry Davis, lead Les Beasley, baritone Glenn Allred, bass Buddy Liles, pianist Darrell Stewart, and possibly instrumentalist Tim Lovelace. I couldn’t see Lovelace on stage, but I heard that he was supposed to be on stage from members of his family who had come in where I was sitting (near the back) to catch his appearance.

Les Beasley then surprised most of the audience by asking whether they wanted the Florida Boys name to go on. Some of the audience–I’d guess about one-fourth–clapped. Then he announced that Charlie Waller had bought the name, and that Waller, Buddy Burton, Joshua Pope, and others yet to be announced were going to carry on the name. Darrell Stewart pulled out a pair of red socks and gave them to Pope, who put them on.

Oddly enough, when the old Florida Boys and the presumptive Florida Boys left the stage, there was only light applause, and no standing ovation. It shocked me; my reaction was, “This isn’t the way things are supposed to be.” I suppose the audience was just so shocked at the turn of events that they didn’t know exactly what to do. It was announced on the program as a “Florida Boys Tribute and Farewell,” and when it turned out to not be a farewell the audience was too confused to do anything.

I left to browse the vendor’s hall for a while, ducking back in to catch the end of the Dixie Melody Boys set and the complete Dixie Echoes set. Dixie Melody Boys tenor Dan Keeton sang “Oh, What a Savior” before the group closed their set with a rousing rendition of “When I Cross to the Other Side of Jordan.” The Dixie Echoes joined for a final encore of the song before starting their own set. Their set featured “Praise the Name of God,” “Roll Away Troubled River,” “Longing for Home,” “Last Mile of the Way,” “Little is Much,” and “An Old-Fashioned Meeting.” After one encore (with the audience on its feet), the Dixie Melody Boys came back up on stage for a joint encore of the song. Then, as they started to leave the stage, Michael Booth, who had played drums for both groups’ sets, resumed playing the song’s rhythm pattern on the snare drum. After the audience joined in clapping the rhythm, the groups did a final encore of the song.

I went back to the Vendors’ Hall for my final conversations and purchases of the convention, heading back in time for the Triumphant Quartet’s set. They sang “My God Will Deliver Again and Again,” “Terrible Time Down There / Wonderful Time Up There,” “The Great I Am Still Is,” and “Someday I’m Going Home.” If I recall correctly, the Booth Brothers joined for an encore of the final song.

The Booth Brothers then stayed on stage for their own set, “Thank Him for the Miracle,” “Crucified with Christ,” “The River Keeps Rolling,” and “Look for Me at Jesus’ Feet.” Their rendition of “Look for Me at Jesus’ Feet” was performed with Roy Webb playing piano as the sole accompaniment; Michael Booth introduced the song by mentioning Webb’s new solo career and telling some of what had happened in Webb’s life over the last several months.

The Talley Trio sang “Mountain Mover,” “I Don’t Understand it (But it Does),” “Orphans of God,” “Too Much to Gain to Lose,” and “That’s Enough.” Michael Booth was supposed to join them for “Too Much to Gain to Lose,” but only arrived in time to run up to the stage as the song was finishing and to take a bow at the end.

The Dove Brothers started their set with their current radio hit, “I’m Gonna Make it.” They sang several other songs, including their previous hit (”I Can Pray”), before closing their set with “Get Away Jordan” and “Didn’t it Rain.” After each song, McCray Dove said that the audience surely didn’t want any more of that song. After one encore of “Didn’t it Rain,” he acted as though he was genuinely done, and about to leave the stage. Then Tracy Stuffle, who was sitting near the stage in preparation for the finale, stood up and threw a $20 bill on stage in Dove’s direction. Dove noticed and said (approximately) “Okay, for $20 I’ll sing it again.” The crowd erupted with one of the most enthusiastic cheers of the night, and the Dove Brothers did the encore. Stuffle offered another $20 for another encore, but Dove said that the NQC board would fine him far more for over-running his time than the $20 would cover, and so the Dove Brothers left the stage.

Needless to say, they were a tough act to follow. So Legacy Five probably chose the right course by starting with one of the slowest songs in their repertoire, “Something About That Name,” before moving back into mid-tempo / up-tempo territory with “I Have Been Changed” (which, to my disappointment, they did not encore.) They sang “His Name is Wonderful” before bring Jim Brady of the Booth Brothers on stage to join them for their rendition of a song Brady co-wrote, “Truth is Marching On.”

The finale featured Legacy Five singing “Strike Up the Band,” the Booth Brothers singing “He Saw it All,” the Perrys singing “I Wish I Could Have Been There,” Greater Vision singing “My Name is Lazarus,” and the Talley Trio singing “Testify.” All the groups who took part in the finale came on stage to join the Talleys for a final encore.

This year marked Gerald Wolfe’s first time to moderate the Pianorama / Parade of Pianos, a position previously held by Roger Bennett and by Anthony Burger. He did a superb job during the first half; Dino moderated the second half.

The first half of the program had songs by several of the most notable Southern Gospel pianists. Jeff Stice performed the Cathedrals’ “Jesus Saves” as a tribute to Roger Bennett.

Joshua Pope performed a no-soundtrack rendition of “New Born Feeling.” It was well received by the audience; the couple next to me looked at one another after his solo, and one of them said, “That kid’s good.” Their reaction seemed to be par for the course.

Channing Eleton performed a complex but rousing arrangement of Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, also without soundtracks.

Darrell Stewart introduced his piano solo, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” by saying that he wanted to play the song in such a way that the audience actually recognized it.

Stewart Varnado surprised me slightly by playing his solo, “Gloryland Way,” with a soundtrack. During the Dixie Echoes’ live performances, he typically performs without a soundtrack, and in my opinion is at his best in that setting.

Tim Parton performed a fairly mellow and pleasant rendition of “In My Heart There Rings a Melody.”

As I tried to come up with an adjective to describe Roy Webb’s “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the word that kept coming to mind was “rollicking.” At certain points in the song he used his hands as drumsticks and the piano as a drum, keeping rhythm. He had at least three rounds of applause in the course of the song, one of which occurred after Gerald Wolfe came out and improvised some choreography. (I believe that last phrase may be an oxymoron, but I could not come up with anything better.)

On the spur of the moment, after Stan Whitmire came to the piano and was about to begin his solo, Gerald Wolfe asked him to play a Christmas song; Whitmire obliged with “Winter Wonderland.”

Josh Singletary performed a solo next; I was unable to determine the song title.

Kim Collingsworth performed “When They Ring those Golden Bells” without a soundtrack. She built the song to a climax before ending on a more subdued note.

The second half of the Pianorama featured Dino. Wolfe, the announced emcee, went behind the pianos and said nothing for the rest of the show except when called upon by Dino. Dino performed several solos, including several movie theme songs that had no evident connection to Southern Gospel. One medley from the segment stands out as a highlight of the show; Dino performed a medley of Onward Christian Soldiers, at Calvary, and Standing on the Promises, sharing the keyboard with Gerald Wolfe, Josh Singletary, and Kim Collingsworth, respectively.

A video of Roger Bennett singing “It is Well” promised to end the Pianorama / Parade of Pianos on a high note, but a long product pitch followed and closed out the program.

I’m not sure whether the program was called Pianorama or Parade of Pianos this year, and the performers themselves seem to be not quite positive themselves. Either way, the Parade of Pianos was a mixed bag containing mostly highlights and a few forgettable moments. It would be improved next year by limiting Dino–if he comes back–to one song, the same as the other pianists, and using the time freed up to feature a few more top-notch Southern Gospel pianists such as Matthew Holt, Andrew Ishee, Brad White, and Brian Elliot.

I will observe briefly that I also attended the Hoppers’ 50th Anniversary Celebration. The modern-day Hoppers sang “Freedom Band,” “Yaweh,” “How Great Thou Art” (featuring the Jackson Sisters string ensemble), “Yes I Am,” “I’ve Come Too Far,” and Jerusalem.” The original Hopper Brothers–tenor Will Rogers Hopper, lead Steve Hopper, baritone Claude Hopper, and bass Monroe Hopper–sang “Try a Little Kindness,” “Everybody Ought to Know,” “I’m Bound for that City” (featuring Steve), “More like Jesus,” “Already Mine” (with Connie singing a fifth part), and “Where We Ever Shall Be” (featuring Steve). The modern-day Hoppers came back on to sing “I’ll See Him When He Comes Down” and “Shoutin’ Time.” It was an excellent production, but I don’t have enough original observations to merit giving it a post of its own.