Jeff Easter related in a recent interview, "My mother passed away in 2011. For the last five years of her life she lived in pain. One day, as she neared the end of her earthly journey, she lay in a room where a song was being played. It was a recording of I Won't Have to Worry, sung by Doyle Lawson and Quick Silver."
"My dad, James Easter, was so moved by the song that he asked my brother Steve, Sheri and me if we would sing it at her memorial service. We, very gladly, granted his request. Afterwards I said to Sheri, ‘We need to consider putting that song on our next album.' She agreed and it is now on our newest CD, Eyes Wide Open. Gordon Mote had suggested that we get my dad to sing one verse of the song as we recorded it. That wonderful idea was carried out."
"In our concerts I Won't Have to Worry is normally the second song we present. Several months ago, after singing it at a concert in Florida, a man approached us and said, ‘You do realize that I Won't Have to Worry is a James Goss song?' That was news to me. And so I later called Roni, James' brother, and he confirmed that James had written it. "
Lari Goss, James' youngest brother, said, "James wrote the song, probably his last one, a couple of months before he was killed in a plane crash in 1980. Great works follow great people, and Roni and I are blessed to have this song and the comfort it brings us when we remember our brother, James. It is wonderful to know, after all these years, that it is a blessing to others as well."
During the 1970s the Goss Brothers forged new paths through Southern Gospel music with a rich blend of 'family' harmony. They had new and innovative arrangements as well as original compositions. In the Gospel Music industry their renditions were heralded as "creative," "compelling" and "years ahead of their time."
At the time of James' death, Roni and Lari were in the studio working on their latest project. Since that time both Roni and Lari have stayed active in the field of Christian music -- Roni as an accompanist, songwriter and producer and Lari as a songwriter, orchestrator, arranger and producer.
Gospel music is genetically programmed into the DNA of Jeff & Sheri Easter. As members of acclaimed musical families—Jeff's father is one of the Easter Brothers and Sheri's mother is a member of The Lewis Family—they grew up surrounded by the sounds of people praising God through their musical gifts.
In August of 1984, both Jeff & Sheri were in Springdale, Arkansas for the Albert E. Brumley Sundown to Sunup Gospel Sing. Jeff, who was playing bass for the Singing Americans at the time, took the opportunity to reintroduce himself to Sheri's mother, Polly. They had met on a previous occasion. Polly, in turn, introduced Jeff to Sheri and the two were married ten months later.
Jeff and Sheri Easter traveled and performed as part of The Lewis Family for several years. Then in 1988 they decided it was time to strike out on their own, and they haven't looked back since. Their son, Madison, who plays electric guitar, and their daughter, Morgan, who joins them with vocals, help to round out the kind of music that only "family" can produce. The Easter's youngest child, Maura Grace, was Jeff & Sheri's twentieth anniversary gift to each other. Little Maura Grace usually makes her way onstage during a concert doing anything to bring a smile.
Jeff & Sheri's awards are two numerous to mention in their entirety. They won six Dove Awards and have been nominated for numerous others. They have also received two career Grammy nominations. Sheri has been named the Singing News Favorite Alto eleven times and the Singing News Female Vocalist four times. They have also participated in the Gaither Homecoming Video Series since 1993. Jeff & Sheri have said, "We want the people who hear us to know God loves them and that He is in control."
Many of those who attend Jeff & Sheri Easter concerts stop by the products table on the way out and ask for the CD which has on it James Goss' I Won't Have Worry.
