It's rare that it happens this frequently, but I was honored once again to get to spend time with some of my friends this past weekend, traveling to concerts on their bus. The guys of Gold City, have invited me time and time again to journey with them, and for the Fourth of July weekend, the timing was perfect. So, right at the beginning, let me say thanks to Steve, Jonathan, Danny, Aaron, Josh and Kyle for their hospitality.
Our travels took us from their office in Gadsden, AL, to Candler, NC, Biloxi, MS, Bonifay, FL and Leesburg, FL. Along the way, I made a few personal observations about various aspects of Southern Gospel music ...
Billy Todd
Billy Todd, if you'll recall, is the bass singer who spent many years with the Florida Boys and several years later, the Dixie Echoes. Billy's more or less retired from singing these days, but in Biloxi, MS, he was on stage with the Bibletones. He's just filling in, he says, as manager Howard Rutland rebuilds the quartet.
Billy has long been a favorite among the other bass singers in Southern Gospel music - not just because of his singing, but because of his endearing personality and genuine love and desire to see others (especially young people) go far in this music. He's a cheerleader - in fact, in Biloxi, he sat in the audience, front row, when he wasn't on stage and cheered on the other groups.
At the risk of sounding like Roy Pauley, in my opinion, Billy never truly got the attention he deserved as a bass singer - even though he's taken home two Singing News Fan Awards for Favorite Bass Singer. Is he a future candidate for the Southern Gospel Music Hall Of Fame? I sure hope so.
The Live Band
I know about economics aspect of a live band, but the fact remains that there is hardly anything better than a good singing group with a kicking live band. I miss those days - Hinsons, Hemphills, Gold City, Kingsmen, and so on.
I'm not the only one, apparently, In Bonifay, FL, the Perrys put together a complete band for their appearance there. Vocalist Loren Harris played the bass guitar, the Perrys' sound engineer Steve "Rabbit" Easter played banjo and steel guitar, and former Gold City/Dixie Melody Boys member Olan Witt played the drums. Though they had not had too much of an opportunity to practice, they still did fine and were very well received. No, I don't think we'll see a live band for the Perrys any time soon, but one can wish.
The Crowds
I know some people think that crowds are always going down, but this weekend, I saw some good crowds. For instance, the Bonifay crowd was up over previous years and maybe it's the beginning of a good trend for one of Southern Gospel's grandest outdoor events. At Hominy Valley, in North Carolina, there was a tremendous crowd who attended the July 3rd edition of the event (I returned to the Primitive's singing after getting off the Gold City bus). In fact, in the shot above, you can see only about a third of the crowd. The line-up that day featured the Primitive Quartet, the Good Shepherd Quartet, the Narrow Way Quartet and Mike Upright.
I'll have more thoughts from the bus in the next entry.
