Music To Your Ears?

I'm going to let you know before I even get started that I'm going to be standing on my soapbox for the next minutes. And, I'm also going to let you know that I am taking a "pro-professional stand" on this subject. So, if you sing in a part-time group or you're considering starting a group, you might want to make sure you're wearing steel-toed shoes before you read any further.

During the past few months, I've had the opportunity to see a lot of top groups literally robbed of a good night on stage because of the general lack of respect (or, most likely, good sense) exhibited by a handful of amateur groups. It's not a case of a pro group being victimized by an overzealous part-timer who stayed on the stage 25 minutes longer than they were given, nor is it a case of someone tinkering with the sound after it's finally perfect. Instead, it's something much simpler.

Get this picture in your mind: there are two groups on the line-up. The opening group, a part-time group from just down the road, gets up and sings a song that's terribly familiar. Then another. And another. And one more. On the next one, they even throw in a couple of encores. Meanwhile, standing backstage, the pro group is hearing all of the songs they've made famous and were planning on singing when they got on stage. Then, to top it all off, the part-time group's emcee stands on stage and says, "Now, I'll know you'll hear this song again tonight, but we felt we needed to sing this one..." or "this next group will sing it better than we can but we want to try it anyway..."

Somewhere, every single night, a handful of groups experience what I've just described.

To me, it's the equivalent of hiring someone to paint your house - and then taking the brush out of their hand and doing it yourself. It just defies all logic.

Somewhere, right now, someone is saying "it's a free country, I can sing whatever I want to." I won't argue that point, but I do want to point out just how ridiculous that is to the audience when they've come to hear the Hoppers sing "Shouting Time" or listen to Gold City as they perform "God Handled It All" or the Perrys as they sing "I Wish I Could Have Been There" only to hear the part-time group sing the same song - many times using the original soundtrack! Not long ago, I was sitting backstage next to a quartet manager as the two opening groups performed. The second song by the first group was a recent Top Five song for the headliner. The third song was that group's former Number One.

By the time the two part-time groups were finished, the pro group had heard all of their hits from the past six years - in short, every song they used in their program. If that wasn't enough, the second group tried to get the pros out to sing with them on a couple of closing encores - and then they were offended when no one left the wings to join them! And, now, those part-time groups have labeled that pro-group as "stuck-up" and have probably told all of their friends and fans about had badly they were treated.

There's nothing wrong with singing good songs that people enjoy. There's nothing wrong with recording a pro-group's hit. But there is something that is just not quite right with singing the Crabb Family's Number One hit, "The Cross," just before they come on to sing. It's a stroke of genuine "duh" to sing the Inspirations' "Is That Footsteps I Hear" when the people in the audience have just paid $15.00 to hear Mike hit the bottom notes and watch Archie bend backwards as he puts the top on.

Part-timers, listen: Southern Gospel already has the Crabb Family. Southern Gospel already has the Inspirations. We already have the Hoppers, the Perrys, Greenes, Kingdom Heirs, Greater Vision, Jeff & Sheri Easter - they and a whole bunch of others are all doing well, thank you very much. And they did it singing their own songs, developing their own styles - being themselves.

What I'm saying is this: if you're a part-time group and you're going to be working with the pro groups this weekend, do every one a big favor and don't sing their songs. Just remember - one day you'll be standing in the wings, listening to your latest radio hit. I bet it won't be music to your ears then.

Soapbox off.