In January of 1997, the Steeles debuted - at Number Nine on the Singing News chart - a song that was the talk of the business for quiet some time. "We Want America Back" sold a lot - a whole lot - of product for the group and was featured on many radio stations, both secular and Christian.

Naturally, any song of that type generates some controversy and "We Want America Back" was no exception. Jeff Steele did catch quite a bit of flack from various organizations and individuals for it's heavy pro-America stance, citing that some parts of the song were too radical. But even almost ten years later, it still a much-played song in many areas - and every time there is a flare-up of some sort (for example, the Ten Commandments issue in Alabama), the song makes a resurgence.

Later that year, the first ever Great Western Quartet Convention was held in Fresno, CA. Since it had been a long time since a major Southern Gospel event of that size was held there, the crowds came in huge numbers. There were spectacular reports of how many of the artists were well-received by the West Coast audiences and everyone began making plans to return for 1998 - even though one hadn't been officially planned at that particular time. (It did take place, though.)

I came out of Fresno with some great behind-the-scenes stories that I would share in my column (at that time) in our sister publication, The Trade Review. Called "The View From Here," I would often write about the things most of the public never saw or heard about - including these great moments that I've retrieved from the archives...

Even though Southern Gospel Music is growing on the West Coast, many of the groups we take for granted are not even known out there. For example, Crossroads Marketing came out and set up a booth, showcasing the artists the company represents. The booth was decorated with very large color portraits of Debra Talley, Isaacs, McKameys, Karen Peck & New River, Kingdom Heirs and the rest of the Crossroads artists. These portraits were framed with beautiful brass frames and, plainly stated, the whole exhibit was nothing but class.

As I mentioned earlier, there are just not that many folks on the West Coast who know who those artists are. That's what set the stage for the following incident. About three hours into the first night's event, a lady walked up to the Crossroads booth and inquired about making an appointment. "An appointment for what?" questioned Chris White.

"I want to order some portraits of my family," responded the lady. "You are a portrait photographer, aren't you?"

Then there's Kim Greene Hopper. She's probably never sounded any better than she did in Fresno. She could have sung "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or the theme from the Barney kid's show and she still would have brought the house down. Everything was going along just fine for Kim until Saturday night - when she made the mistake that everyone eventually commits.

Traffic at everyone's booth was heavy that Saturday night. I finally got away from the SINGING NEWS booth to go to the little boy's room around 10:30 or so. As I was coming back out of the restroom, I met Kim.

Going in.

She got about five steps into the restroom before it dawned on her where she was. I saw shades of red like you wouldn't believe. She's pretty good at screaming, too. She grabbed me by the arm and said, "Get me out of here, I don't believe what I just did!"

Once we got back into the hallway, she stopped, turned me around, and asked with eyes that pleaded - no, BEGGED - for mercy, "This is gonna be in the SINGING NEWS, ain't it?"

Since Kim has become a dear friend over the last few years, and being the wonderful person I am, I had no choice but to show just how much I treasure our friendship. With all the compassion I could muster, I looked straight in her eyes and whispered, "Front Cover."

In late 1997, there came announcement that started plenty of rumors in Southern Gospel Music. The Cathedrals told everyone that they would cut back to about 70 dates for the coming year. Almost immediately, people started assuming that the group would retire by the end of 1998. Those people were almost correct.

In 1995, the group had reduced their touring schedule by about half. This alone had resulted in most of their concerts being sold-out events - and when the news of 1998 cutbacks reached promoters and fans, Cathedrals tickets were the most-sought after ticket in Southern Gospel Music.

But that was nothing compared to the demand for tickets that came when it was announced that in December 1999, Glen and George would park the Cathedrals bus for the final time.