SouthernGospelBlog.com

Gaither.com staff member Emily Sutherland posted this video of Bill Gaither discussing the new Gaither Vocal Band and offering his advice to young artists:

I’ve been part of a group discussion with other Southern Gospel industry members—artists, record label types, etc. One of the things that came up was: What one thing do your fans (or, in this case, readers) most look for from your CDs/blog/etc.?

So I thought I’d ask. Is it…

• news
• commentary
• a certain perspective
• consistency of posts

…or something entirely different?

The free Ball Brothers mp3 download, announced here, ends tonight at 9 PM. Don’t miss your chance to get their latest single, free!

(The download has ended.)

Brian Free & Assurance lost their baritone singer recently when Derrick Selph announced his departure. A familiar face will be returning; Randy Crawford, who has also performed with the Toney Brothers and with the Carolina Boys / Kingsmen, will be their new baritone singer. During his earlier stint with Brian Free & Assurance, Crawford sang with the group on hit songs such as “Who Is This King” and “What A Difference A Day Makes.” His first official concert will be on July 16th in Jackson, Tennessee.

Gerald Williams, bass singer for the Melody Boys Quartet and other Southern Gospel groups for the last sixty years, had no particular desire to write an autobiography. But his daughter, Judy Cox, persuaded him that it would be a shame not to preserve the heritage for his children and grandchildren. Judy Cox is listed as the book’s co-writer; she collected his stories on tape and assembled them into a book.

Since oral recollections are frequently more episodic (i.e., retelling a specific story) than chronological, a co-author working from oral recollections can easily lose continuity. But Cox did an admirably good job of telling his life in chronological fashion and weaving stories in at the appropriate points.

Obviously, the main reason most readers would purchase this autobiography is that they are a fan of the Melody Boys’ music and want to know more about Williams’ life story. But this book is also the most frank and detailed description of the challenges of life on the Southern Gospel circuit during the 1940s and 1950s that I have read. Williams frankly states what his weekly salary was in different groups—and why, on several occasions, financial issues led him to leave groups. He even frankly discusses the one time he was fired from a group. (It had to do with doctrinal differences with the group’s leader.)

The one area where the book could be improved would be by adding several appendices that would be difficult to compile without Williams’  input. It would be helpful to historians years down the road to have a complete Melody Boys discography, listing of group personnel, and a complete listing of the recordings Williams has been on with the Melody Boys and other group. Perhaps this could be added in a second edition.

This fascinating first-hand account of our genre’s early days is must reading for any Melody Boys Quartet fan and worth reading for any fan of the genre.

According to a story posted on the Singing News website yesterday, Southern Gospel legend Derrell Stewart, former pianist for the Florida Boys, is in intensive care in West Florida Hospital in Cantonment, FL. According to his wife Revé, he had been blacking out and is currently in cardiac intensive care.

On a lighter note, to my fellow blogger Wes Burke: You might want to brush up on your studies of the Florida healthcare system. I mean, I’m sure they’re struggling with the economy and all that, but still, “the hospital in Florida” is a little much.

The Ball Brothers will be releasing their first major label project, Breakthrough, with Song Garden in early July. The project will premiere on the Daniel Britt and Friends show on Sirius/XM the week of July 13, 2009.

The project’s first radio single, “Glimpse of Your Glory,” will be available through Saturday night as a free download on this site.

Glimpse of Your Glory (The download has ended.)

A discounted pre-order of the CD is available here.

(A big thank you goes out to the Ball Brothers for offering this free download! I love doing this sort of thing!)

Via Katie, who is L5girl-N-TX on SouthernGospelForums.com:

I got to talk to Frank Friday night. I just told him that I’d heard some rumors going around about him leaving the group and I wanted to hear from him if he was.

He said that in several weeks Frank Jr is going to have to be in the hospital for a month. He said that him staying depends on how Frank Jr is after that. He said if he is gets good results and he’s doing alright he’ll stay, but if something happens his son needs to be his #1 priority. As much as I don’t want him to leave, I completely understand. He told me that he just felt like he had to be honest with Scott about it, because if something happened with his son and he was still with the group he didn’t want to have be in the position where L5 needed him and he also needed to be with Frank Jr. He said that they had checked in to some possibilities of either a temporary or replacement tenor.

So as of right now he’s not leaving. They just have to keep in mind the possibility of needing another tenor. He said they’re just praying and waiting on what God leads them to do. But he did tell me that unless something happens where he has to leave or unless God leads him to do something else, he would NEVER leave! He said he loves what he does and really believes this is what God has lead him to do.

So definitely keep Frank and Frank Jr. in your prayers!

For those of you who happen to notice this within the next hour or so, you can catch a Perrys concert being streamed live here.

Tip: Right click, select zoom, and select full screen. At least on my Vista desktop, it works.

Here’s a set list being updated live:

• I Love to Tell, featuring Tracy Stuffle. The Perrys brought back this classic quartet song on their new CD, Almost Morning. It’s a great concert opener.
• I Know it Was The Blood. This started off their last album, Look No Further, and they had been using it as a concert opener for a while.
• He Will Hide Me, featuring new baritone Troy Peach. Peach was solid on this Perrys classic.
• Did I Mention, featuring Libbi Stuffle. This has been such a showstopper for them that I’m a little surprised they’re pulling it out this early. (Update) I’m still surprised. The Spirit is definitely moving, and the altar is definitely full. Other than encoring this song all evening, how can follow this?
• If You Knew Him, featuring Joseph Habedank. (Comment 1) Tracy is making the right call transitioning to this song, certainly the only song from their new project that could follow “Did I Mention.” He’s taking his time setting this song up, which is probably the only way to transition. (Comment 2) Joseph is hitting a home run. (Comment 3) Looks like it was a short concert! There’s going to be a sermon and then perhaps another song or two at the invitation. No wonder they sang those two at the end.

After the sermon:

• I Surrender All. Piano and vocals—simple but powerful.
• Did I Mention. Again powerful, a power ending.

I have been checking YouTube periodically to see if anyone has posted clips of the new Inspirations lineup in action. It looks like that day has finally arrived:

I Have Not Forgotten

The Rose

Amazing Grace

My immediate reaction: The new Inspirations lineup is similar enough to the old lineup to have everything I liked about it, while different enough to make me sit up and pay attention.

Also:

• If You Only Knew
• Martin introduces the Inspirations
• 30 Pieces of Silver