Before I begin, let me share with you that I hope to present to you two entries in Danny's Diary each week. I'm striving for new postings each Tuesday and Thursday.
Naturally, I'm telling you this on a Monday.
But every now and then, there will be a little departure from the plans.
Like this one.
This past weekend as I was traveling through Georgia representing Singing News, I stopped in Fitzgerald to participate in a concert that featured the Kingsmen, the Florida Boys and a great rising group from Iowa, the Browns. All three groups were in fine form, but there's one particular thing from that concert I'd like to share with you.
If you were to take a poll among the artists who are on the road every day, just about every one of them would tell you that Glen Allred of the Florida Boys is one of their favorite singers - and persons. It's just a plain simple fact: everyone likes Glen Allred.
On this particular night, I had the rare chance to actually venture into the auditorium and sit down for a group's entire set and in this case, it was the stand of the Florida Boys that I witnessed. The current vocal line-up of Harold Reed, Josh Garner, Glen and Gene McDonald is sounding better and better and more than one fan (and industry person) has mentioned that this group of Florida Boys is one of the strongest Les Beasley has ever had on the road.
In the audience, a few rows in front of me, was a boy, probably about 10 years old. There with his mother, I'm not sure that he was all that interested in being at the concert. However, with each song, he seemed to "tune in" a little more than before.
He eventually started laughing at Derrell's antics, clapping along with a few of the up-tempo songs and even sat up a little straighter in his chair.
And then Glen sang.
Glen Allred stepped up to the microphone to sing the classic "More About Jesus." Glen first recorded this song over fifty years ago and he's never really stopped singing it. I'm not sure he could have ever sang that song any better than he did Friday night in Fitzgerald.
That little boy was absolutely mesmerized by what he was seeing and hearing. Glen hit every note with perfect pitch and the command he had in his voice was that of a younger man. The youngster was the first one on his feet when the crowd responded to Glen's song with a standing ovation.
I heard (and watched) as he turned to his mother and said, "That's what I want to do when I grow up."
Only time will tell if he eventually winds up on a stage somewhere, but there is no denying that Glen Allred made an impact on that boy's life with a simple song and singing the song in a style that is timeless.
I think sometimes we all tend to get caught up in the latest style, fad, etc. And that's not all bad. But let us never forget that sometimes simple can be very effective.
