SouthernGospelBlog.com

Yesterday, Doug Harrison at Averyfineline broke the story that Singing News is revamping its airplay chart. They are cutting their list of reporting stations from over 200 to 75, and making a point of apportioning slots on the reporting stations list to locales where there is a heavy Southern Gospel presence. David Bruce Murray comments on the story here.

My reaction is far more optimistic than either Harrison’s or Murray’s. Recognizing that there is a problem is the first step, and sometimes the hardest to take. Making the chart reporters more selective is also a good move; this will lead them to take their role more seriously.

If stations value the privilege of being included, this will lead them to take Singing News more seriously when SN moves to the next point on the plan, mandating tracking software if they want to keep that privilege.

I view this as a promising first step that could lead to even better things in the future.

XM Radio’s enLighten 34 announced that it is going to broadcast an expanded version of the Singing News Fan Awards program, featuring additional commentary from Singing News editor Danny Jones and show producer Phil Brower. The three-hour program will be aired Monday, November 5th at 8 PM ET and will be re-broadcast Saturday, November 10th at 1 PM ET and Sunday, November 11th at 5 PM ET.

I have hesitated at the thought of producing a list of the best Cathedrals lineup that never was. The Cathedrals had so many distinct and unique sounds over the years that it would be hard to pin down one lineup and say that these singers could reproduce any Cathedrals sound. This especially holds true at the tenor slot.

• Tenor: John Rulapaugh. His vocal intonation is especially comparable to Roy Tremble’s, from the 1970s lineups. He could also sing most of the Talley and Haase repertoire.
• Lead: Rodney Griffin. Griffin can sing a Glen Payne-style lower lead at least as good as any other singer on the road.
• Baritone: Doug Anderson. Though his voice doesn’t sound quite like any previous Cathedrals baritone, I have often wondered what the Cathedrals would have sounded like with Anderson should Scott Fowler have left to form Legacy Five before the Cathedrals retired.
• Bass: Christian Davis. George Younce has deeply influenced so many bass singers that it is challenging to name just one. David Hester, Jeff Pearles, Tim Duncan, and Christian Davis were the four that I most seriously considered. I ended up settling on Davis due to his demonstrated ability in performing several of Younce’s signature songs on his (Davis’s) recent solo project, Make it Real.
• Piano: Stewart Varnado. The Cathedrals relied heavily on the piano and used few soundtracks in their programs. Less than ten years later, hardly any groups on the road do this anymore, so while numerous Southern Gospel pianists no doubt could carry a program without soundtracks, I selected Varnado because he has demonstrated that he can, and does every night.

This closes out the series. I’m glad I did it, and I gather some of you are glad I’m done. Whether or not that is true, I’ve enjoyed making it.

Since a friend suggested this, and since I’ll be out for the day at another seminar, I decided to start an open thread posing this question: Is it wrong for one group to borrow another group’s arrangement of a song without giving credit or paying royalties?

Does it make any difference if the group has retired (even if their arrangements are still under copyright)?

Does it make any difference if the two groups had the same producer, and it was the producer’s call?

Paul Jackson is live-blogging a Prophets recording session today here. I cannot recall any previous instance where a member of a professional group has live-blogged a recording session, so this is providing an interesting read for its novelty if for no other reason.

Author unknown (I adapted this)

A well-worn one dollar bill and a similarly distressed twenty dollar bill arrived at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired.

As they moved along a conveyor belt to be burned they struck up a conversation. The twenty dollar bill reminisced about its travel all over the country.

“I’ve had a pretty good life,” the twenty dollar bill proclaimed. “Why, I’ve been to concerts by Luciano Pavarotti, Britney Spears, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.”

“Wow!” said the one dollar bill. “You’ve really had an exciting life!”

“So tell me,” says the twenty dollar bill,”where have you been in your lifetime?”

The one dollar bill replies, “Oh, I’ve been Southern Gospel concerts–groups like the Perrys, Greater Vision, and Mark Trammell Trio.”

The twenty dollar bill interrupts, “WHAT’S SOUTHERN GOSPEL?”

I’m scheduled to be interviewed on a nationally syndicated radio program this afternoon, Janet Parshall’s America. Some radio stations will carry it live at 3:30 EST; others will play it on a time delay.

A recent thread on the Dove Brothers got sidetracked by a political discussion. This topic deserves its own thread.

What role should politics play in Southern Gospel?

Do the political inclinations of a musician influence your view of his music?

Some time ago, I came across the words to the old hymn “I Am Not Skilled to Understand,” and in the process of checking out the song, I came across a modern CCM rendition by Aaron Shust. If nothing else, at least his new melody has at least served the purpose of reawakening interest in the lyric.

I came across a video clip of his appearance on the Logan Show. He was asked about how he got signed to a major label. He said that while he was recording his debut project, his producer gave a CD with some of the songs to the leader of the secular label Brash. He added: “He [the label exec] put it in his disc changer, and eventually it popped up in the mix. And I guess as the story goes, McHugh got to about track 3 or 4 before he realized, ‘This guy’s singin’ about God, I think!’ So he rewound it, listened to it again, and liked [it].” Shust was the first Christian artist signed to the label.

Somehow I cannot imagine the same thing being said of the Hoppers or the Mark Trammell Trio.

I’m going to be out at a conference Tuesday through Thursday next week, so I’ve saved a couple of posts for tomorrow and Monday that will hopefully keep you talking till I get back.

I know, skipping three days is no big deal on most blogs, but since I’ve made a commitment to do daily posts, I don’t want any of you to get concerned about my well-being next week. So enjoy talking to one another and I’ll look forward to catching up with you next Friday!

(I may be able to log into my email to clear posts and reply to comments, but I can’t promise just yet.)