SouthernGospelBlog.com

This is not the first time Dan Keeton has thought outside the box, but it is decidedly one of the most innovative. His most recent newsletter (reprinted by permission) states:

Hey Everyone!

I’m listening to the President explain the loans given to the U. S. automakers. I am well aware of the financial struggles we are all facing. The steel plant here in the area closed till after the 1st of the year, leaving many without jobs during Christmas.

Driving home a couple days ago I heard the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard from a “Christian” radio station. A pitch for money and donations was fronted by, “we know times are hard and some have lost jobs and some can’t even put food on the table, but the Bible says, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God”…so, consider giving a donation to us.” A almost hurled right there in the car. I AM ASHAMED of what we have become. This is the exact reason we cannot reach people and we are not compelling ANYONE! I even know of groups raising cd prices to $20 or more. But I am realizing our problem…are you ready….?

NEED BREEDS MORE NEED! The automakers need more, so they charge us more, The gas companies need more, so they charge more, the price of everything goes up so we need more, we need to work more, make more, more, more, more! IT’S GOT TO STOP!

This past weekend a long trip to Branson on Saturday, yielded us a grand total of $15. Not $15 after expenses but $15 minus gas, food and expenses. A good crowd in attendance, but they were bombarded every 15 minutes by “give a donation” for this book and cd or this video and package. People were simply drained dry. Then $100 on Sunday morning and not much more on Sunday evening.

So, I am praying asking God, what do you want me to do? I hear, “Give and it shall be given unto you”, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

So here’s God’s plan for me. Our CDs are currently $15 each plus $2 shipping. I refuse to follow the world’s direction. I am turning around and swimming upstream. Just a test of God’s word. It’s faith, I guess.

Until further notice all Keeton CDs on the web site are $5 each plus $2 shipping. even if you already have some. Give some away. We can even ship them as a gift to whomever you wish.

Then (read carefully now) if you are laid off or in any financial stress but, you really would like to have a cd or give one as a gift, KEEP YOUR MONEY, pay your bills. send me an email at dan@dankeeton.com and simply tell me you really want to but you cannot afford to, and I will ship you or your loved one a cd and you can return to the web site and pay when you can. Am I crazy? Well, maybe a little, but I believe, this upward spiral has got to stop before someone CRACKS!

I only have a limited supply on hand and I do not know for sure if I can get them to anyone before Christmas. If everyone would step back take a breath and re-evaluate, and drop prices to what people can afford, we will make it thru the terrible storm.

Dan Keeton
The Keeton Ministry
www.keetonsong.com

Rating: 4.5 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4 stars (of 5)

Song List: Glory To His Name; Anywhere With Jesus; Tell and Sing the News; The Ninety and Nine; Amazing Grace; Rescue the Perishing; Does Jesus Care; When the Roll is Called Up Yonder; Near the Cross; When We All Get to Heaven; Tis So Sweet; The Star Spangled Banner.

Available from: Crossroads, Artist.

* * *

The Hayes Family has been singing mountain harmonies for nearly fourty years. The group’s members are husband and wife Howard and Lucy Hayes and their three children, Janet Hayes Haas (soprano / piano), Sharon Hayes Hodges (alto / piano), and Mylon Hayes (bass guitarist / vocalist).

The group’s projects typically have a mix of old-fashioned four-part convention songs and orchestrated ballads. This hymns project shows the influence of each style; “Tell and Sing the News,” “When the Roll,” and “When We All Get to Heaven” show the influence of convention songs, while “The Ninety and Nine” is arranged as a powerful orchestral ballad. “The Ninety and Nine” has a particularly interesting move in its arrangement; the song moves from a major to a minor key and back to the major. (If there will be any singles from this song, the song would be a good pick.)

“Amazing Grace” and “The Star Spangled Banner” are performed acapella.

The Hayes Family’s sound is distinctive enough that it can be hard to come up with a good comparison; the closest I can come up with is the Chuck Wagon Gang with two pianos and a bass guitar. Their traditional harmonies and arrangements will delight both their current fans and fans of classic Southern Gospel introduced to their music through the project.

Amazon is offering a free download of a David Phelps track, “Silent Night” from O Holy Night: A Live Holiday Celebration.

The odd thing: It’s just an audience sing-along.

Much like Wes Burke (by the way, hat tip to Wes) and the reviewers on the Amazon page, one wonders what the individual who selected this track was thinking (and whether that individual was Phelps, someone at Word, or someone at Amazon). If the purpose was to promote the album, this is quite unlikely to be representative of the whole project.

Would it be a good idea or a bad idea for local Southern Gospel stations to have an amateurs hour?

Would it cause even less professional acts than some stations currently play to get aired? Or would it have a positive effect of isolating amateur acts in that segment?

“And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

What would it have been like to be a shepherd that evening, minding his own business, trying to stay awake and suddenly to see a light all around him like he’d never seen before? No wonder the shepherds were so afraid. Yet the angel’s first words were “Fear not.” This angel had great news to deliver and He needed their full attention and confidence that the message He was getting ready to deliver was really true.

In a way, that same message is being delivered today. “Fear not. For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.” Our Saviour is no longer a babe in a manger but He is still just as alive and just as real and He still desires our unwavering faith and trust in Him.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let’s keep in mind that this holiday is not the gifts; it’s not the food; it’s not the tree and the decorations. It’s about our Lord. He is the Reason we can celebrate. Because of Him, we can have peace on earth and good will to men and we truly have no reason to fear (Luke 2:14).

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 3.6 (of 5)

Producer: Nick Bruno.

Song List: All Aboard We’re Glory Bound; Little By Little; Oh Broken Heart; The Stone Was Rolled Away; The Lamb He Died to Save; Come To the Water; Sinners Plea; Lonesome Road; Glory Bound; Give Me Jesus; I’ve Made it Home; Heaven, the Place of My Dreams.

Available from: Artist.

* * *

The Southern Gospel genre encompasses many styles—to name a few, country, bluegrass, Appalachian, and ’80s Inspirational. One part of the genre far more successful than many elsewhere in the genre is the classic Southern Gospel circuit, groups that sing Southern Gospel the way it was sung 40 or 50 years ago. Some of the best groups on the classic Southern Gospel circuit are the Blackwood Brothers, Chuck Wagon Gang, Dixie Echoes, Dixie Echoes, and the Melody Boys Quartet.

Yes, the Dixie Melody Boys and the Melody Boys are two separate groups. Ed O’Neal runs the Dixie Melody Boys and has for decades; SGMA Hall of Famer Gerald Williams heads this group. He joined the group in 1949 and sang with them for several years before singing with other groups in the 1960s and 70s. He reorganized the Melody Boys in the 1980s. By around 2000, the group had built quite a following. In recent years, it has suffered from fairly quick turnover. Probably the most recognizable name to go through the group in the past few years was Ryan Seaton, who sang with the group for a little under a year before getting the call to join Signature Sound.

The current lineup is Gerald Williams (bass), Tim Williams (tenor), Steven Hickinbotham (lead), and Caleb Matheny (baritone/pianist). Hickinbotham and Tim Williams both joined this year; Tim Williams is no apparent relation. He joined the group after singing with and being a co-owner of the west coast-based Golden State Quartet for several years. Caleb Matheny, though the youngest member, is also the second most senior in the current lineup; he has been with the group since 2006.

Several of the tracks are classic or classic-sounding songs recorded in the four-guys-and-a-piano style that the group has been best known for. Gerald Williams turns in an enjoyable rendition of “Lonesome Road,” resisting the temptation to show off his lowest notes. Tim Williams is featured on “Oh Broken Heart,” the Melody Boys classic “Sinner’s Plea,” and the Neil Enloe-penned “Give Me Jesus.” Steven Hickinbotham takes the lead on the convention song “I’ve Made It Home.” The new Dianne Wilkinson song “Heaven, the Place of My Dreams” is a perfect fit for the Melody Boys’ sound, and for Gerald Williams’ voice on the solo.

Several other tracks are recorded with more orchestration. Perhaps the standout among these is “The Lamb He Died to Save.” The song was penned by Joseph Smith and was recorded by both the Booth Brothers (sound clip here) and the Mark Trammell Trio during Smith’s years with those groups. Baritone Caleb Matheny turns in an excellent rendition of the song. Juxtaposing ballads with songs like “Heaven, the Place of My Dreams” is something found often on recordings by other groups but was more outside the box for this group. However, they pulled off the ballad sound well enough that it would not be surprising to see more of this in the future.

The project is enjoyable, and this lineup shows great promise if it can stay together long enough to realize its potential.

The National Quartet Convention has posted their 2009 schedule here. I’m delighted to see that four of the groups I named in this post as deserving to be on the mainstage made it on, including my # 1, 2, and 4.

Worth noting:

• The Blackwood Brothers are on the Monday schedule.
• The Chuck Wagon Gang is back, on Tuesday. (I seem to think the Roarks might also be new.)
• The Collingsworth Family is on on Wednesday and Saturday, which I guess means they’ll be staying for the week.
• Ricky Atkinson & Compassion is on on Thursday. If they’ve managed to keep Gene McDonald at bass (no word from that camp lately) that will be one set definitely worth catching.
• The Couriers are on the Friday schedule. I’m thinking this might mean the current group (which, oddly enough, seems to be a duo, at least for now), but it would be interesting if it was Dave, Duane, and Neil.
• The Gaither Vocal Band and Signature Sound are back, on Friday.
• The Diplomats have a set on Friday evening.
• The Hunters are added to the Saturday schedule. Was this the group that did a highly praised morning devotions hour with the Hoppers a few years back?

The bigger news is often who’s not there. No Mike & Kelly Bowling, Crabb Revival, Ball Brothers, Crossway, Browns, or Imperials. The Dixie Melody Boys are still there, but are cut to one set (perhaps till they establish a more predictable lineup.) It seems as though the NQC is generally taking a more traditional slant this year, and that’s quite fine by me. Perhaps they’ve found out that’s what the fans want.

Should God be given our best or the best?

Suppose there’s a little country church where not a single member can carry a tune. Should they skip singing?

And suppose there isn’t a person in the church who can do a decent job studying the Word and bringing it forth. Should they skip preaching?

Should the church just disband and join a mega-church which can afford to hire talented musicians and preachers?

(Before anyone says this: Of course I know there’s a great difference between singing at your local church and on the mainstage at NQC. NQC is a showcase for the absolute best in Gospel music. But my original question still stands.)

A couple of weeks ago, Mark Lowry posted two videos from the upcoming Gaither Vocal Band Reunion DVD. Now Bill Gaither has posted an official preview for the films:

Rating: 3.5 stars (of 5)

Producer: none listed on pre-release.

Song List: In the Sweet By and By; In the Garden; Since Jesus Came Into My Heart; Blessed Assurance; Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; Oh How I Love Jesus; When the Roll is Called Up Yonder; Without Him; Are You Washed in the Blood; Farther Along; Softly and Tenderly.

Available from: Artist.

* * *

The Chigger Hill Boys & Terri was founded in 2001. Shortly thereafter, they were signed to Thoroughbred Records, a division of Daywind. This six-member bluegrass ensemble includes five musicians (two of whom also do background vocals) and lead singer Terri Argot Gore.

This project is a collection of eleven hymns arranged in a bluegrass style. Lead singer Terri Gore sings the lead (melody) on nine of the eleven songs. (”Blessed Assurance” and “Without Him” are both led by male vocalists.) Though common in other genres, someone used to the Southern Gospel practice of different group members having solos on different songs may find it a little repetitive.

The instrumentals are folk-influenced bluegrass. (Since these are hymns, and many of the hymns are slower tempo, there are few of the driving uptempo bluegrass licks that distinguish other bluegrass projects.) This mellow collection is a good choice to play during quiet times of reflection.