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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

In the News:

• According to a live concert report here, Terah has left Crabb Revival to spend more time with her family. Adam Crabb is carrying on the group.
• The Mike LeFevre Quartet / LeFevre Quartet announced that they will be renaming the group Priority. There was another Southern Gospel group in the early ’90s with that name. Insight and discussion can be found in this thread.
• Greater Vision has a 20th Anniversary  live recording in the works. They put up a poll of some of their best songs, asking their fans’ help in selecting songs for the recordings. They also had a write-in spot on the ballot and recently announced the top 5 write-ins: 1. Til The Storm Passes By; 2. Champion Of Love; 3. He Is To Me; 4. There Is A River; 5. O Holy Night. I was happy to note that my write-in pick was #1, which means, I suppose, that my personal tastes aren’t that far from those of the average Greater Vision fan.

Worth Reading:

• John Scheideman reviews a Phil Cross & Crossing concert here. Particularly of note is his mention of their rendition of “Jerusalem.” Has anyone caught that on video yet?

Upcoming Reviews:

• June 26 – Book Review: Mighty Lot of Singin’ (Gerald Williams)
• July 3 – A Wonderful Love (Melody Boys Quartet)
• July 10 – DVD Review: 1951 1958 Live (Blackwood Brothers)

Rating: 5 stars (of 5)

Average Song Rating: 4.5 stars (of 5)

Members: Julie Hudson (soprano), Penny Greene (alto), Stan Hill (tenor), Dave Emery (bass / guitar), Joe Rotton (bass guitar).

Song List: Keep Travelin’ On; He Wrote My Name; Keep the Fire Burning in the Camp; Light at the River; I’d Rather Have Jesus; Homecoming Day; I’m Telling the World About His Love; Singing As I Go; I Never Shall Forget the Day; We’re Gonna Rise Up (And Meet Him in the Air); My Dream Home in Glory; O Come Angel Band.

Available From: Label, Artist.

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Keep Travelin’ On is the Chuck Wagon Gang’s first studio release in several years. In fact, it had been long enough since they’d released a CD with their label, Song Garden Music Group, that at one point I mistakenly assumed they had left the label.

This project includes familiar CWG classics, several convention-style songs previously recorded but new to the group, and a number of new songs. Two particularly notable tracks are new songs from the pen of Rebecca Peck, “Singing as I Go” and “Keep Travelin’ On.” The latter is the project’s title track and first single. Both are such good fits for the group’s style that a casual listener, recognizing many of the project’s other songs as classics, would assume these were also old-school classics.

Other particularly notable arrangements include alto Penny Greene’s feature on “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” tenor Stan Hill’s feature on “Oh Come Angel Band,” and Greene’s feature on “We’re Gonna Rise Up and Meet Him in the Air,” a CWG classic penned by late group patriarch Roy “Dad” Carter.

Alto Shaye Seward came off the road two or three years ago and was replaced by current alto Penny Greene. Though she remains active with the group behind the scenes, since her departure from the touring group, there have been no children or grandchildren of the original members in group. But this lineup captures the group’s distinctive sound no well that it leaves no doubt that they are the Chuck Wagon Gang, not just some tribute lineup carrying on the heritage. In fact, with a project of this caliber, they add to the heritage.

I don’t give out 5-star ratings often. I write somewhere around fifty CD/DVD reviews per year, and since I typically give out five or fewer 5-star ratings, some might wonder why I give this project 5 stars and another project with more complex arrangements and vocals (say, the latest Perrys or Kingdom Heirs releases) 4 or 4.5 stars.

Here is why: When I rate a project, I consider this question: What would a perfect [group name] recording sound like? Groups anchored by a star performer can experiment with different styles so long as the familiar voices are featured, but the Chuck Wagon Gang is anchored by a specific style. Add a 64-piece orchestra, a complex MIDI drum loop, or a heavy synthesizer, and it just isn’t the Chuck Wagon Gang. This project gets five stars because the group took the stylistic parameters that define a Chuck Wagon Gang project and worked within those guidelines to make the best recording the group has released in years.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Scotty Inman, baritone for Triumphant Quartet, www.triumphantquartet.com.

A formatted version of the interview is here; a plain text version is below.

(Continue Reading >>>)

Yesterday, Gold City announced that they have hired Chris Cooper as their new tenor. Cooper hails from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and has been involved in Southern Gospel for twelve years.

Group manager Daniel Riley said though they had “a lot of great singers apply for this job,” Cooper had a “very unique voice” and was the “best equipped vocally.” Cooper’s first date with Gold City will be July 1st at Tusculum Hills Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cooper has performed with Safe Harbor and (the pre-Signature Sound) N’Harmony.

Here’s a video clip of a song that features Cooper (hat tip, Nate):