First, after a wild and interesting few days, the problems surrounding Danny's Diary have been taken care of. If you'll recall, there were "posts" showing up on diary that were of an unknown origin. But the guys who babysit the Singing News computers have remedied that situation. Hopefully, from this point forward, it's business as usual.
A few days ago, I was visiting the Web site of the Southern Gospel Music Association (sgma.org), looking for some information on a couple of Hall of Fame members. While I was there, I clicked on a few of the biographies there, including that of George Younce.
Two years ago this week, George crossed over the shoreline of the very place he had sang about for most of his life. Can you believe that - two years already?
When you think of someone of the stature of George Younce, it's very easy to start looking ahead for the "next" one. I think it's safe to assume that people like George Younce are few and far between. By no means am I implying that we've seen the last great bass singer, emcee, etc., but for a person to develop into such a legend, it takes a lot of time, experience, and relationship-building with the fans.
If you'll think back, George spent a lot of time at the record table before his health started to seriously decline - and even after that, he more or less endagered his health by sitting on the edge of the stage talking with fans when he should have been on the bus resting. But nonetheless, there he was.
Southern Gospel music does not fit into a typical mold of, well, many things. For example, in many forms of music, the performers are not accessbile to the fans on a regular basis. But the fans of our music want to talk to the artists, shake hands with them, etc. Southern Gospel fans thrive on the one-on-one interaction with the artists.
Several years ago, I made the statement that I believe that Fan Awards are not won on the stage. Instead, they are won at the CD table. Fans will remember that time an artist spent with them - even though it may have been only for a couple of minutes - a lot longer than that 30-minute set on stage. But even if you never won an award, you'll have something much more important - the fans' respect. (And, it should go without saying that the fans are the earthly key to an artist's success. They are the ones who buy the CDs, DVDs and concert tickets.)
Further, it helps to have a genuine love and concern for the people the artist is singing to. Fans know when someone is simply putting on a face. If you don't care about the people you're singing to, you might be better off staying at home. But that's another story for another day.
Follow the example of George Younce. He was the master of artist-fan interaction. You might find that it's personally beneficial to you, too. You see, just like the fans, George seemed to have his batteries charged, too, during that time. He loved the people who sat in the seats.
His stage-craft was a work of art. But his relationship with the fans - that was a masterpiece.
