Worth Knowing

• The Southern Gospel Music Association has announced the 2013 inductees to the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame. They are John T. Benson, Jr. (deceased), Thomas A. Dorsey (deceased), Polly Lewis Copsey, “Little” Roy Lewis, Duane Nicholson, and Tim Riley.

Worth Watching

What do children in a Southern Gospel group do as they spend hours upon hours on the road? Well, if you’re the children of the Mylon Hayes Family, you might just make a video about the funny things you see on the road!

Here’s a video of Michael Helwig in his (relatively) new role as Blackwood Brothers lead singer:

Diana Brantley, who took that video, has posted more videos and a concert review here.

Meanwhile, Ellen Gerig—the Diana Brantley of the West Coast—has posted a number of videos taken last weekend of Liberty Quartet, with Tim Parton filling in on baritone and piano.

A number of other videos from that concert are visible on her YouTube channel.

Finally, here’s a video of Robert Fulton singing tenor with Gold City (hat tip, Aaron).

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Worth Knowing

• Following the Melody Boys Quartet’s retirement at the end of the year, two to-be alumni, lead singer Jason Tapley and baritone singer Chris Walton, will be launching Next Chapter Quartet. [EDIT, 2/21/13. Broken link removed.] They will release two recordings in or around next January, a mainline project titled God’s Not Finished and a project called Tribute to Gerald Williams and the Melody Boys.
• Pianist Mike Hammontree has returned to the Blackwood Brothers, after recovery from a quadruple-bypass heart surgery.

Worth Reading

• Wayne Haun and Joel Lindsay are launching a songwriting blog, http://www.youwritesongs.com/.
• Top ten reasons to share musical opinions humbly.
• Not musical, but relevant: Christian author Randy Alcorn urges Christians to never give up hope that family members will come to know the Lord by sharing the story of how his own father finally surrendered to the Gospel at age 84.

Worth Watching

• The Dills have a video taken underneath their bus, amidst an air valve repair.
• Aaron Swain has videos of the new Blackwood Brothers lineup live in concert.
• The Mark Trammell Quartet had a homecoming celebrating their 10th Anniversary on the road last weekend. Here’s a video of Mark, tenor Eric Phillips, and Eric’s daughter Carli; Carli is singing “I Love to Tell the Story.”
• SGConcerts’ Diana Brantley posted a concert review with videos of a recent concert featuring the Old Paths, Gold City, and a new group called Resurrection. [EDIT, 3/16/13: Broken link removed.] Resurrection is a trio consisting of Inspirations alumni Matt Dibler, Melton Campbell, and Mike Clark. (Clark filled in for Archie Watkins.) Here’s one of the Resurrection videos:

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

3:1 Reviews offer three highlights of an album and one area that could have been improved.

1: Musical Balance: Groups which have been on the road for decades often struggle to transition the distinctives that made them great into the modern era. Sweet Songs About Heaven does a remarkably solid job at striking the right balance between modern recording techniques and the classic Blackwood Brothers sound. 

2: “Sweet Songs About Heaven”: This song is easily the album’s standout track (and to skeptical observers on the sidelines, I’d already made up my mind on this point prior to knowing that it was a Dianne Wilkinson / Rebecca Peck co-write). Blackwood Brothers fans aren’t looking for the passionate intensity of a Kyla Rowland testimony song. Many current fans have followed the group for decades and gravitate toward songs in exactly this vein: Mid-tempo songs where they can lean back, tap their toes, and reminisce about the good old days.

3: Songs that fit the Blackwood Brothers’ sound: Few writers still employ the musical and lyrical idioms that distinguish the greatest hits in the Blackwood Brothers’ repertoire. Group members have told me that it is actually quite hard to find new songs that have that classic sound and would fit alongside the songs they already stage. For Sweet Songs About Heaven, they have found several songs—“I’ve Heard About a City,” “That’s What Was Good About the Good Old Days,” and “That’s What Heaven Will Be”—that would have been right at home on one of their 1960s RCA Victor records. Of course, there are remakes, like “Swing Down Chariot,” “Someone to Care,” and “The Devil Can’t Harm a Praying Man,” but the new songs are strong enough to be the star of the show.

:1: Song Selection: It’s not that the song selection was poor; tenor Wayne Little, in particular, had a strong handful of solos—”Sweet Songs About Heaven,” “That’s What Heaven Will Be,” and a remake of the Ernie Haase & Signature Sound song “Goodbye Egypt (Hello Canaanland).” (Sadly, that last track is a straight solo, losing the tenor/bass duet that made the original so fun.) It’s hardly that the rest of the songs were weak; it’s more that, had each member been featured on three songs that strong, the album would have been a five-star project.

The Blackwood Brothers announced the hire of Butch Owens as their new bass singer. [EDIT, 6/18/12: Broken link removed.] Owens commented:

I am excited to be a part of The Blackwood Brothers Quartet. It is a dream come true for me. The Blackwood Brothers Quartet is the most well-known name in gospel music with a great history of pioneering and influence in this industry. I am so proud to be able to help continue that great tradition. I look forward to meeting many new friends as we travel around the country and around the world.

Owens has performed with the Stamps Quartet, Anchormen, and Florida Boys, and is the father of Signature Sound bass singer Ian Owens. He has already spent two days in the studio, recording vocals for the group’s upcoming release. His first live concert with the group will be next Saturday, June 9.

“How about your heart? Is it right with God? That’s the thing that counts today.”  ~ The Blackwood Brothers

This weekend, we were at a convention and I had the blessing of talking with a man who had a heart for God. Instead of assuming he was where he needed to be, he was asking God to show him the areas in his life that needed to change. He wanted to make sure there was nothing that would keep him from eternal fellowship with his Creator. I rarely meet people who understand the importance of this but this Brother’s at the place that all Believers should be.

I’ve been at a place lately where I’m asking God to show me the things in my life that displease him or that hinder the closeness I could have but I don’t always take time to listen. Come to think of it, that would be a good place to start. I need not to talk to God just to hear myself talk or to make myself feel like I have a relationship with Him. I need to listen so that I KNOW I have a good relationship.

When my Father looks at me, I want Him to see a daughter listening and ready to hear His voice and to obey anything He desires to speak. I want a heart totally open to Him where nothing matters but His pleasure. When His pleasure becomes my pleasure, true fellowship begins and, when that happens, my life becomes so intertwined with His so that it’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.

How about YOUR heart? Is it right with God? THAT’s the thing that counts today.

The Blackwood Brothers just announced:

The Blackwood Brothers Quartet announces that Randy Byrd, bass singer for the last seven years, is leaving the group.  Jimmy Blackwood said, “Randy’s personality has won him many friends across the country. He was a good friend, a hard worker and we will miss him. We wish him well in his future endeavors.” Auditions are underway and you can get in touch with the quartet at: jimmy@blackwoodbrothers.com

I grew up in the world of Contemporary Christian Music, where stars were off at unapproachable distances. Randy was the first Southern Gospel performer to reach out to me and start to build a friendship. He convinced me that Southern Gospel singers are real people, and his graciousness played a role in starting me down the path that led to launching this website. He will be missed!

(UPDATE, 3/21/12) Randy Byrd commented on Facebook:

I want to thank the Blackwood Brothers Quartet for letting me live my dream for the last 7 yrs. I hope and pray that God will work it all out so that maybe one day I can return to doing what I love to do with guys that I love! Praying God’s richest blessings on the ministry.

Worth Knowing

• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound: EHSS’s 2/7/12 release Here We Are Again will be released by Stow Town, not Gaither Music Group. [EDIT, 6/7/12: Broken link removed.]
• Triumphant Quartet: Clayton Inman’s brother Phil is recovering from the massive heart attack he had last week; he is now breathing on his own.
• Jeff & Sheri Easter: Jeff & Sheri are collecting Christmas memories on their Facebook page, entering names in a drawing for a ten-CD giveaway of their music.
• In the Vine: Daniel Childs announced that he will be launching a solo ministry in 2012. [EDIT, 6/7/12: Broken link removed.] He added that he was not able to pull off juggling the schedules to make the time needed for In the Vine in addition to his regular Blackwood Legacy dates. He wishes Joe and Kurtis Kitson the best as they carry on the group.
• Blackwood Brothers: Former Blackwood Brothers pianist Mike Hammontree had emergency heart bypass surgery earlier this week. He is still on a heart pump today, but is on the mend.

Worth Watching

Merry Christmas Eve!

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide! Are there any Southern Gospel-related presents you’re either giving or hoping to receive?

The Blackwood Brothers have just announced (on Facebook) that pianist Mike Hammontree is leaving the group. [EDIT, 6/18/12: Broken link removed.] He had toured with his family prior to joining the Blackwood Brothers, and continued to tour with them on days the group was off.

Prior to Hammontree’s joining the group, baritone Billy Blackwood played piano on a few numbers, so the Blackwood Brothers do have that option, should they continue with the four members for now.

3:1 Reviews offer three highlights of an album and one area that could have been improved.

1. Simplicity: If piano and four voices is your cup of tea, and not, as Gerald Wolfe likes to say, “all that racket,” this is your sort of hymn project. Side bonus: Now that the group has a full-time piano player, there is very little on this project which they couldn’t do live. (An organ does make an appearance on the final track.)

2. Sweet Hour of Prayer: Tenor Wayne Little and bass Randy Byrd trade off at the solo microphone. It’s one of Little’s most pleasant solos, and Byrd’s bass tones are as warm, rich, and confident as always.

3. Softly and Tenderly: A tasteful piano solo from Mike Hammontree is expertly woven into group and solo vocal segments. I have heard so many monotonous renditions of this hymn that I am tempted to hit the skip button when it comes up. This rendition makes me like the song again.

:1. One thing I would change: Song Selection: Yes, table projects need to have some of the hymns that everyone knows and requests. The project would have been stronger with several less ubiquitous hymns.

Traditional or Progressive?

Traditional

Song Selection Creativity Meter: 30%

In place of radio single picks and an album rating, table projects featured in a 3:1 review are measured by a different metric—what percent of the songs on the album are pulled from outside of the 200 Most Frequently Recorded Southern Gospel songs.

Credits

Group members: Wayne Little (tenor), Jimmy Blackwood (lead), Billy Blackwood (baritone), Randy Byrd (bass), Mike Hammontree (pianist). • Produced by: Billy Blackwood. • Review copy provided.  • Song list: I Need Thee Every Hour; Blessed Assurance; Cleanse Me (Search Me, O God); Sweet Hour of Prayer; My Jesus, I Love Thee; Softly and Tenderly; I Surrender All; What a Friend We Have in Jesus; Near the Cross; Fairest Lord Jesus.

3:1 Reviews offer three highlights of an album and one area that could have been improved.

1. Gold City set: When Brian Free, Ivan Parker, Mike LeFevre, and Tim Riley stepped on stage together for the first time in nineteen years, the atmosphere was electric. And they did not disappoint: They reminded everyone why that lineup of Gold City has been called all-star.

2. The Live Band: This is the way Southern Gospel is supposed to sound. Not only was there a live band, but the live band was in-the-pocket, knew the material, and delivered an all-around solid performance.

3. Groups Appearing: While it would be impossible to assemble an all-star program featuring every classic group with living members, Daywind accomplished more than anyone thought was possible. If you were stranded on a tropical island and could only take one DVD with you, this is the one.

:1. One thing I would change: Interlacing: The video was recorded with a professional camera and lighting crew, and looks excellent. But it would look even better if it wasn’t interlaced. (There were also a few audience shots where the aspect ratio was incorrect, but they went by fast enough that it’s a minor quibble.)

DVD Rating: 5 stars.

Cinematography: 4 stars. Average song rating: 4.5 stars.

Credits

Producer: Norman Holland. •  Review copy provided.  • Song list: This Great Caravan (New Gospel Singing Caravan); I Found a Hiding Place (New Gospel Singing Caravan); The King of Who I Am (Lulu Roman); Medley: Things Are Gonna Get Better / When I Lift Up My Head / New Shoes / Mama’s Teaching Angels How to Sing / Holy Hills of Heaven / Sheltered in the Arms of God / Remind Me Dear Lord / Too Much to Gain to Lose / He Looked Beyond My Fault (Rambos), Medley: Tears Will Never Stain / Things Are Gonna Get Better (Rambos); O For a Thousand Tongues (Nelons), We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown (Nelons); Operator (Downings); Greater is He that is In Me (Downings); I’m So Glad He Found Me (Hinsons); He Can (Hinsons); Lighthouse (Hinsons); When I Get Carried Away (Gold City); I Think I’ll Read it Again (Gold City); Midnight Cry (Gold City); Keep on the Sunny Side (Lewis Family); Something About That Name (Cathedrals Tribute); Champion of Love (Cathedrals Tribute); Home (Singing Americans); I Bowed On My Knees & Cried Holy (Singing Americans).