How many times have you've been guilty of fitting that statement perfectly? Every now and then, all of us overlook the simplest things - which leads to another time-tested saying: "If it had been a snake, it would have bitten me."

Such is the case with Hovie Lister, the legendary pianist of the great Statesmen Quartet. Those of you who read The Refrigerator Door page of the July 2006 issue of Singing News may recall that one of the trivia questions was "Besides the Statesmen Quartet, what other professional Southern Gospel quartet did the late Hovie Lister play piano for?"

The correct answer, as indicated at the bottom of that section, was the Palmetto State Quartet.

The problem is...that wasn't the only correct answer.

You see, Hovie played for several quartets during his lifetime. There was that little group of legends (James Blackwood, J.D. Sumner, Jake Hess, Rosie Rozell, etc) called the Masters V. That group was on the road, oh, for about eight years.

So...we have the Palmetto State Quartet and the Masters V as correct answers to that question.

The only problem now is...well, those are not the only correct answers, either.

Man, those trees are getting thicker.

Hovie also served at the piano bench for the following groups: Rangers, LeFevre Trio, the Homeland Harmony Quartet, the Sand Mountain Quartet, the Lone Star Quartet and the Lister Brothers Quartet.

And, just for good measure, let's add the fact that Hovie also played for noted evangelist Mordecai Ham and even accompanied C. Austin Miles (remember "In The Garden"?) for a brief time while still in his teen years.

Now, folks, I knew all of this. I've known it for years. In the particular case of the Masters, I attended one of their very first concerts - and I was there the night at NQC when J.D. told the members of Masters V to turn around, and then he re-introduced them as the new Stamps Quartet.

And I knew about Hovie's past with the other groups I mentioned earlier, too. I've read all the history books, listened to the old-timers share stories of those days...and worse yet, I have listened as Hovie HIMSELF told me tales of those glorious years.

There are too many trees here!

Folks, I had a full-fledged case of "DUH." If I had been on trial for being smart, there wouldn't have been enough evidence to even get close to a conviction. To top it off, I'm too young to be able to claim it was a senior moment.

So, I admit it. I goofed. I used that trivia question on that page and it just didn't register with me when I prepared the answer that I was leaving out, uh, er, half a dozen or so groups. It wasn't the first time (and unfortunately, it probably won't be the last time) that I've had moments that would cause people to look into my eyes and wonder if anyone was home.

I'm leaving now to go buy a chain saw.