After a brief vacation, it's time to visit my in-box to discover your choices for the "Greatest Ever" artist discussion we began the last week of September. Here's what you had to say...

The LeFevre Trio:

Eva Mae, Urias and Alf had the smoothest blend ever and they always brought an excitement to the stage. I never saw Uncle Alf when he wasn't smiling; I never saw Eva Mae when she wasn't bubbling and sincere, and I never [heard] Urias when he didn't blend perfect[ly] and call a good line-up of songs. How I wish I could hear them just once more.

Bruce Moore

Cathedrals - (Glen, George, Roger, Mark Trammel, and Kirk Talley)

I think they had the best harmonies. And they always had a ball singing. I remember this group the best. Especially on "Movin' up to Gloryland!"

Kayla Combs

Well, it is very difficult to distinguish the best due to the various "sounds" of all the groups I have heard - and I haven't heard them all. Some of the finest I have ever heard were:

Blackwoods (Immediately after the "crash")

The Kingsmen (When Ernie Phillips, Squire Parson were with them)

Cathedrals (When Gerald Wolfe was with them)

Toneys (When Ron Booth was with them the LAST Time)

Perrys (cira 1993)

Gold City (When Tim Riley and Brian Free were with them)

J.D. Sumner & The Stamps (When his nephew was with them)

Oh my! When my mind began to whirl, like the hard drive, it started coming up with many more than I was prepared to type down!

Thomas M. Marble, Sr.

Hands down, the Statesmen were the finest quartet to ever grace the stage.

While I enjoy the stage performances of the quartet with Chief, Doy, Jake, Rosie, and Hovie, the quartet with Denver should probably be considered the greatest lineup of the quartet for a number of reasons. They laid the pathway for excellence that they had only began to accomplish earlier and that the quartets with Rosie, Jack Toney, and Jim Hill would later further. The Cathedrals borrowed MANY songs from the Statesmen's catalog. And I would venture to say that over half the quartets today are copying a Statesmen-type of performance, even when they don't realize it. The quartet's harmonies were unequaled. They recorded some of their greatest songs during the time with Crumpler, including "Get Away Jordan." "One of These Mornings," "The Old Landmark," "Climbing Higher and Higher," "Glory Glory Clear the Road"...the list just seems endless. James Blackwood even once said that the Blackwood Brothers were set to sing "Get Away Jordan" for the first time one night and the Statesmen sang it first moments before the Blackwoods took the stage.

Alan Kendall

The Oak Ridge Quartet - notice I wrote Quartet, as this group in reality is no longer in existance. I am talking about the Oak Ridge Quartet consisting of Herman Harper, Smitty Gatlin, Jim Hamill, Willie Wynn and Ronnie Fairchild. We do hear a lot of all the Statesmens, Blackwoods (all of them) and the JD's over the years, but when you get to the nuts and bolts - and if there was a way to speak to some of the members of the groups listed above - they would agree that this group of men were great. "Greatest Ever" is a hard one to swallow and "Ever" is not over...but, when the Oak Ridge Quartet pulled up in their old "Buffalo" to the building, every group on the ticket had to have a quick meeting to change their program around because they knew they were in for a hard night - especially if they had to follow.

Jeff Harper

There is really no debate here. Can anyone honestly disagree with THE MASTERS V? Come on, think about it!

Five reasons why:

1) Blackwood

2) Sumner

3) Lister

4) Rozell

5) Hess

Each of their accomplishments, prior to the MASTERS V, need not be mentioned here. But when they came together in the early 80's, you knew were witnessing greatness, magic, history, and excitement.

We were totally in awe, even when they were not doing anything spectacular. Their sheer presence. Those tuxedos. The voices...

I tell you, if there were a Mt. Rushmore for Southern Gospel, those faces would have to be on it!

Lanny Belcher

My vote goes to the Bishops. They selected great songs even before Mark started writing. Loved their bluegress sound. On stage, they were enthusistic and kept their program moving along at a good pace. The family harmony was good and I didn't mind that they did not have a bass.

Donna Bacon

Easily the Cathedrals. Every line up was solid and the song selections and arrangements are still copied by every group, including ours. They were simply the best on stage and off. Perfect emcee, perfect blend, etc. PERFECTION!!!

Pat Barker

The Cathedrals with the line-up of George Younce, Glen Payne, Mark Trammell, Danny Funderburk, Gerald Wolfe was the greatest classic retired gospel group ever. This line-up of Southern Gospel giants were so well polished in their singing and outstanding musicianship was very evident in each performance. They blended well and gave a superior performance every time. The sucess of this group was not due to just one or two individuals, and although the majority of their longivity is largley credited to Glen and George, the other three individuals brought various styles and tones to the groups sound and made the Cathedrals the most prominent group in mid-1980's. They brought classic Southern Gospel music together with a variety of arrangements and musical styles for a mixture of classic songs that defined Southern Gospel during the 80's. This group, though now retired, can be named among the greats of not just quartets, but christian music as a whole. These are men of distinction and in my opinon are the "greatest ever."

Christopher Jenkins

To me the greatest group ever was the Happy Goodmans, with Howard, Vestal, Rusty, and Sam. Although there may have been other groups with a more pure quartet sound, the Goodman's were instrumental in bringing the genre to a more genuine gospel category. Before they came on the scene, the "spirituality " of lot's of the groups was questionalble. This group, especially Vestal, by example, and maybe a little chiding, brought many of them back to the real reason for singing the gospel. Also, Rusty's songwriting brought a more pure gospel to the field. The excitement and exhuberance of one of their live performances was a wonderful experience. They also brought in more instruments than had been previously used in Southern Gospel, but they used quality musicians and the arrangements were in good taste and fitting to the genre. Although I enjoy many of the current groups, I long for the sounds of The Goodmans!

Paul Pate

In my opinion the Statesmen would have to be considered the best ever. They set the standard for entertainment and professionalism that many groups do or should strive towards today. My personal favorite line-up of Statesmen was Hovie, Chief, Doy, Jake and Rosie. My father favored the Denver Crumpler years.

David Jobe

The Cathedrals lineup of George Younce, Glen Payne, Scott Fowler, Ernie Haase, Roger Bennett. Their harmony was tight, their songs were strong, & their staging was the best.

Elaine Harcourt

I nominate the early 1970's Florida Boys. This line-up consisted of Les Beasley, Glen Allred, Tommy Atwood as 1st tenor and Billy Todd singing bass. I know we all watched them on the "Gospel Singing Jubilee" when we were growing up, but I remember hearing them live in concert several times and their live harmonies would just resonate in an auditorium or concert hall, so much better than a TV studio. I wish someone would post on You Tube a live performance of "More About Jesus" or "The Lighthouse"...

Kevin Amacker

For me the greatest gospel quartet would have to be the Cathedrals with George Younce, Glen Payne, Danny Funderburk, Mark Trammell with Roger Bennett on piano. I felt they had the classic quartet sound plus the anointing of the Holy Spirit to reach souls and encourage Christians. Their personalities matched well and they related to their listeners.

Betty Mills

The Hinsons (1974 - 1979) Line up of Kenny, Larry, Ronny and Chris Hawkins (Freeman).

Reason: excitement, songs, they were different than many of the groups on the scene then and many groups have tried to imitate them since.

Steve Eaton

Statesmen Quartet - I enjoyed them as a teenager and also as an adult. I never saw misconduct from this quartet, as I regret to say I did see in others during this same time frame. To me, the Statesmen were real statesmen and exhibited profection in their singing and performances.

Recently, the original Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet had the best sound of anyone. From the beginning, they sounded like a seasoned quartet and their voices blended to well (Robbie, Wyatt, Jeff, and Christian). They also knew how to greet the audience prior to a concert.

Irene Mills

My vote for greatest classic group would be the Cathedrals. I would vote for the final lineup (though, really, it's a toss-up for me between several different lineups).

Daniel J. Mount

The Statesmen: Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, Rosie Rosell, Big Chief and Doy Ott were my favorite.

Anita Wedel

These are just a few of the responses that were sent. As you can see, there definitely seems to be a trend building with the Statesmen and the Cathedrals rising to the top.

Now that's a thought...what a concert that would be!

Let's now take our thought one step further: Which group (that is still performing today) do you consider to be the "Greatest Ever?" I look forward to hearing from you.