The Live Album (Part 3) - And Two Requests (#329)

The mail has been rather steady, as more readers have been declaring their love of live albums. In those same writings, readers were also mentioning their disappointment that more live albums are not available - and that more live recordings are not heard on radio.

Being a former radio person, I understand the pitfalls of live recordings on the air. Some people think the "sound" is not radio quality in some instances (and sometimes they do have a valid point), but many times, live recordings are nixed for radio because of talking. Whether it be because of a member introduction, talking too much over the intro of a song or even a testimony, some radio programmers just won't air a live cut.

So between the lack of an abundance of live recordings and some stations' reluctance to air live cuts, what's a person to do when they want to experience a concert?

To their credit, some radio programmers do offer a special "live" segment. For example, once a week, a radio station might devote an hour to a group's live recording. But, there are more who don't than do.

One of the readers of Danny's Diary is Marlin Taylor at XM Radio. Marlin's been watching this live album discussion with great interest because he's always looking to enhance XM's Southern Gospel channel, enLighten. As Marlin read through your posts following the last diary entry, his own thoughts were confirmed (the thoughts are contained in my opening paragraph above).

Long story short, he and I talked about it and now, we're presenting you an opportunity for your voice to be heard. Marlin has agreed to air the live albums YOU select as your favorite on a special upcoming enLighten program. (Dates and times will be announced later.)

So, now the fun begins. Send me the names of your TWO favorite live albums. These will be tabulated and forwarded to Marlin and then he'll begin putting the program together. I'll keep you updated along the way. Your submissions need to be to me by no later than October 27, 2006.

One other thing I'd like for you to do is to send me what you think has been the single biggest news stories of 2006. Was it the passing of Anthony Burger? Perhaps the change in personnel within a group? Let me know over the next week or so.

Before I leave, let me encourage you to do something: Let Southern Gospel radio know how much you appreciate them. Whether it be a local station, one of the Solid Gospel affiliates, enLighten, The Gospel Greats - or however you hear Southern Gospel music - let them you're standing behind them. I ask you to do this for two reasons.

First, there's nothing wrong with offering a pat on the back. Secondly, broadcasting management constantly monitors support for their programming. If there's no audience, then a format is subject to change quicker than a blink of an eye. Be vocal and active in your support. You might be surprised how much impact you can have!