This
past Sunday (March 29) represented the 10th anniversary of the
homegoing of Brock Speer. On that day in 1999, Brock's battle with
Alzheimer's disease came to an end as he began to enjoy an eternity of
indescribable happiness and celebration.
During his 78 years,
Brock was the epitome of class - and a stickler for singing it "right."
After all, his dad, G.T. "Dad" Speer had been a perfectionist
throughout his life and he instilled that drive and determination into
Brock and all the other Speer children. Though he was not recognized as
one of the lowest bass singers, Brock was considered to be one of the
industry's most consistent harmony bass singers, providing a solid
foundation for the family harmony that helped to propel the Speer
Family to the top of the Gospel music ladder.
What many people
remember about Brock is that he never quit trying to better his craft.
In fact, for years after the Speers had "made it," Brock would still
drive from his home in Nashville to spend every Tuesday in Canton, Ga.,
with his friend and vocal instructor, Lee Roy Abernathy. Even though
Lee Roy passed away in the early 1990's, Brock still found ways to keep
his voice in good shape.
Brock was often kidded about his
insistence of continuing to take vocal lessons, even though he was
considered a legend. He told many people, "If I'm going to do it, I'm
going to do it right."
Trust me, that kind of attitude got
noticed. I'll give you one example: Bill Gaither once wrote, "If we
have a model in our field of how to do it 'right,' it's Brock Speer.
From working very hard from the beginning - learning how to sing
properly and consistently doing his mission day after day faithfully
and with complete integrity - Brock wrote that book."
Brock
didn't just live that life - he preached it to others, too. I
personally witnessed that on several occasions, but the incident that
stands out the most in my mind happened in May of 1997. That was the
year of the first Great Western Quartet convention and at that time, it
was being held in Fresno, California. Everyone got to town late on a
Wednesday evening and after I had checked in at the hotel, I found
Brock and Glen Payne sitting in the lobby. It wasn't too long before
(at that time, Dixie Melody Boys members) McCray Dove, Eric Ollis, and
a few others had joined me and we listened as those heroes told us
about the "good ole days." We laughed at their tales, and when you
think you had heard it all, one - or both - would take it another notch
higher.
But then Brock turned serious and he looked at all of us
"youngsters" and said, "Men, whatever you do in Gospel music, do it
right and to it with dignity. Put your heart into it. And never, ever,
forget the real reason why we're out here. Because without Him, you are
nothing."
In that 37-word sermon he delivered late one night on
the West Coast, Brock Speer provided a lesson for every one in Gospel
music. In his simple, classy way, he gave us all the recipe for success.