SouthernGospelBlog.com

The Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet announced this morning that they are disbanding. Lead Singer Wyatt Wilson, the only original member remaining, stated:

God is leading me in a different direction after 31 years of singing. The group had a wonderful ministry for eight years. We saw hundreds of people accept Christ and many more be called to ministry. In the past two years alone we saw over 500 people accept Jesus as their personal savior. Gospel music is a special calling and reaches people that other ministries may never reach. I will always be thankful for God s hand on the Old time Gospel Hour Quartet. It was a wonderful experience to have been a part of a tremendous ministry with such outstanding men. We have enjoyed the support of the best fans and friends in the world. There are not sufficient words to truly express our thankfulness to the people who supported us throughout the years.

When founder Robbie Hiner left a few years ago, it was a loss for the group. Although the stated reason for the group’s retirement was Tony Jarman’s departure last month, Dr. Jerry Falwell’s recent death was probably also a factor, since the OTGHQ was the home quartet at his home church.

Their original lineup–Robbie Hinner, Wyatt Wilson, Jeff Stanley, and Christian Davis–had one of the best blends in Southern Gospel music. Each of the lineups since brought other things to the table as well, but I will remember the original one particularly warmly.

Prophets Quartet lead singer Paul Jackson will be live-blogging another vocal session today at his blog, here. The Prophets have definitely done a great job keeping up a buzz online, despite what is approaching a year-long delay in the release of their debut project.

The Dove Brothers have announced music downloads of their first several albums made available on their website for 99 cents per song. Thus far, they have posted tracks from two of their early projects, Born Again and Every Time I Feel the Spirit. It looks like they have plans for posting tracks for several more projects. Once again, the tech-savvy Dove Brothers are on Southern Gospel’s cutting edge.

Crossroads, one of Southern Gospel’s major labels, recently launched their redesigned website. They are still working on adding more titles, but this is a promising start.

One item in their press release particularly caught my attention:

Also in the coming months be looking for special “online only” specials. We are looking at bringing back “out of print” items to be available only on our site as well as for digital downloads. Please stay tuned.

Many Southern Gospel labels have quite a back catalog, some of which is difficult to find used. So this move is commendable and promising, and shows the kind of outside-the-box thinking that will move Southern Gospel forward.

Improving digital download selection was one of the items discussed in the Bloggers’ Conference earlier this year, the one in the spring which Crossroads hosted (not the fall conference hosted by NQC). It’s nice to see them acting on this suggestion.

While I suspect this is more common than some fans think, it’s not often that a professional Southern Gospel group comes out and says that they have other jobs or business interests on the side. Thus I found this SoGospelNews interview interesting, because of this comment from Garry Jones:

SoGospelNews: If tomorrow, Mercy’s Mark had sang your last song, what would each of you be doing to keep food on the table?

Jones: Good question. We all have other business interest and don’t totally rely on MM for our living. I suppose everyone would continue working within those interests.

The number of groups that actually earn what an average fan would call a decent living from their music is far lower than most fans would guess. This makes it all the more important to support groups by purchasing their product and avoiding the temptation of music piracy.

Song list:

1. Giver, Creator, Savior (Rodney Griffin) - **** - This is a strong opening cut to kick the project off.
2. You Gotta Love It (Marty Funderburk, Jerry Kelso) - ***
3. Smack Dab in the Middle of His Will (Chris Binion, Scott Inman) - **** - This track has a country feel, a rather interesting effect, but one that Triumphant pulls off well.
4. He Will Be (Dianne Wilkinson, Ann Downing) - **** - A nice slow ballad featuring tenor David Sutton.
5. Let it Be Me (Ronny Hinson) - **
6. The Great I Am Still Is (Phil Cross, Twila LeBar) - **** - A nice big ballad featuring baritone Scotty Inman.
7. The Old White Flag (Dianne Wilkinson) - ***** - This is Triumphant’s first bluegrass song; they pull it off well.
8. He Rescued Me (Chris Binion) - ***** - A fast-paced quartet song that was a good choice for Triumphant’s first single.
9. Delivered Again (Dianne Wilkinson, Ann Downing) - **** - Another nice ballad featuring tenor David Sutton.
10. The Holy Hills of Heaven Call Me (Dottie Rambo) - **** - A well-done rendition featuring Clayton Inman. Both the Perrys and Triumphant released renditions of the song this year, and I think the Perrys rendition has a slight edge over this one. But both are well-done.
11. I Know I’m Going Home (Jeff Stice) - ***** - This song could potentially define Triumphant’s sound, could be a sugar stick for them in upcoming years. If they send it to radio, they do need to cut the encore out; while it goes over well live, it would seem just a bit repetitious on radio.

Triumphant inserted some variety, in the form of a country track and a bluegrass track, while still remaining true to their sound. This project is probably Triumphant’s best yet–and considering the consistently high caliber of their projects, that is no small feat.

Rating: Highly Recommended.

***** Somewhat related: Does anyone have any idea why Triumphant’s website still prominently proclaims on the front page that Triumphant is “Southern Gospel’s newest quartet”?