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It Was January 1995
...and Gold City's front line was Jay Parrack, David Hill, Mark Trammell and Tim Riley. Making up the Band Of Gold was Doug Riley, Mark Fain and Garry Jones.
...the Bishops were celebrating a Number One song from their "Chapter X Live" recording. The song was "He's My Hiding Place."
...the Speer Family's talent line-up included Karen Apple, Tim Parton, David Gallagher, and Brock & Faye Speer.
...the Perrys were celebrating 25 years of singing Southern Gospel Music. On the bus were Tracy & Libbi Stuffle, Barry Scott and Nicole Watts.
...the Wilburns were going strong, too. In addition to Jackie & Elaine Wilburn, Jonathan Wilburn, Randall Hunley and Tony Peace were on the payroll.
...Soloist Michael Combs was getting a lot of national radio airplay with his latest single, "I'll Be Back."
...Perfect Heart was on the cover of Singing News...Garry Sheppard, Dale Shipley, Jeff Stice, Kevin Metz, Mike Presnell, Mark Lanier and Robbie Novell made up the group.
...On January 25 of 1995, Glen Payne, George Younce, Roger Bennett, Scott Fowler, Ernie Haase, Danny Funderburk, Gerald Wolfe, Mark Trammell, Haskell Cooley, Roy Tremble and many more former Cathedral Quartet members gathered in Nashville to record a live album and video. That reunion recording is still considered as one of Southern Gospel Music's all-time favorite albums. It was recorded on stage in the Roy Acuff Theatre at Opryland USA. (Oh, by the way, tickets were only $5.00!)
...the McKameys were releasing their new Horizon recording, "It's Real."
Posted by Danny Jones at 10:19 AM - Send Comments
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Thursday, January 20, 2005
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One Day In November
Do you remember when you could walk into a record shop and buy a new album by your favorite Southern Gospel artist? I'm not talking about a Christian music store - I mean a regular ole record store.
I've read many accounts of how people would go and buy the latest Blackwood Brothers record, or kept their eyes open for the newest Statesmen album to hit the shelves. And, I personally remember buying Happy Goodman Family, Kingsmen, Lewis Family, Cathedrals, Inspirations and Wendy Bagwell records as they sat right next to Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn and Ray Charles albums.
But somewhere along the way, stores quit carrying Southern Gospel Music. In some cases, the shelf space may have not been justified because of lack of area fans, but in other instances, some store chains and distributors got scared of that "R" word. "Shhhhhh - it's 'Religious.' Don't carry it - someone will get offended."
In any case, for a long time, Southern Gospel retail space got smaller and smaller (and in some cases, gone all together.) In fact, it's only been in recent years that we've seen Southern Gospel showing up in outlets like Wal-Mart, etc. But it's still not what it used to be.
But wait...there might be a light at the end of the tunnel afterall.
If you've been following the media lately, you've undoubtly seen the "shock" that seemed to engulf a lot of the secular media, government and big business when George Bush was re-elected. The shock was not so much originated in the fact of who won the election, but how he won it.
Simply stated, the media, etc, was astounded at how the Christian vote turned out. I must have heard the work "evangelistic" a million times during the days following the election.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who heard that. Ever since that election, there have been several large organizations "re-evaulating" the strength of the Chrisitan market. Studies are being conducted every day and suddenly (it seems), companies of all shapes and sizes are realizing that Christian people BUY THINGS! THEY CONSUME THINGS! THEY USE THINGS! THEY HAVE MONEY TO SPEND! THEY CAN BE BRAND LOYAL!
In other words, the Christian market can be just like any other business or marketing model. The Christian market fits into "supply & demand" just like "young & old" does. I remember one friend of mine who follows the stock market very closely telling me that his broker said a lot of Wall Street was sitting there with their mouths open when they "discovered" this new market.
That should have been a no-brainer. Afterall, I've never met any Christian who gets to work by floating on a cloud. The ones I know have a car they drive every day. Christians use toothpaste, too. Christians buy computers, cameras, and vacation packages just like everyone else. Sure, they might be selective, but name a demographic group that's not.
With that said, ever since the election, the buzz in the music world (in general) is that many record companies and music distributors are taking another look at the Christian music market. And, from what we're being told, they are astounded at the potential for new sales.
My, it's amazing what one day in November did.
Posted by Danny Jones at 1:06 PM - Send Comments
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Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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Twenty Years Ago...
...The Speer Family was traveling the highways promoting their new RiverSong Records release, "Sunday Morning Singin'." It was the group's 63rd year of singing and that year's talent line-up included Brock & Faye Speer, Ben Speer, Harold Lane, Caroline Traylor, Dave Clark, Allen Linderman and (ocassionally), Brock's son Brian. Every now and then, you'd also find Rosa Nell and Mary Tom on the bus. (And you thought the Crabb Family had a lot of people on their bus! At least the Crabb Family bus is 45' long - the Speers' bus only made it to 40'!)
...A new song from the Cathedral Quartet was catching the attention of radio listeners everywhere. "Somebody Touched Me" would go on to be a signature song for tenor Danny Funderburk. Glen Payne, Roger Bennett, George Younce and Mark Trammell joined Danny for the 1985 tour - one of the most successful of the quartet's tenure.
...The Inspirations had a new line-up for their Twentieth Anniversary. Joining Martin Cook was tenor Archie Watkins, bass Mike Holcomb, lead Troy Burns, baritone Jack Laws and bass player Myron Cook.
...The Singing Americans were burning up the radio charts nationwide with "I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy."
...Jeff Gibson, Lawrence Taylor, Ken Eubanks and Allen Ham were celebrating their ninth anniversary as Heaven Bound.
...The Chuck Wagon Gang was 50 years old in 1985 - or at least, they were promoting their Golden Anniversary with a new recording of 10 all-time great classics and two new songs.
...The McKameys' latest recording "Fruitful" featured a photo of the group in a supermarket, posing with a shopping buggy full of fresh fruit. The single release from that recording, "He's Gonna Bring Me Out Of The Desert," was flirting with the Number One position on the charts.
...The Dixie Echoes were celebrating 25 years in Southern Gospel Music.
...Gold City had a brand new Heartwarming recording out called "Walk On." You'll probably remember the first radio single from that effort - "John Saw." Eldridge Fox and Wayne Hilton produced the album.
...And, finally, speaking of "John Saw," that song continued Big Jim Hamill's "efforts" at making Gold City a major group. You see, Jim passed on that song for the Kingsmen, as well as other songs you've probably heard of..."I Think I'll Read It Again," "I'm Not Giving Up," "Midnight Cry" and about four others that went on to be Number Ones for Gold City. The late Eldridge Fox loved to rib Jim about his amazing ability to pass on these songs and often teasingly encouraged Jim to get on Gold City's payroll. After all, Jim was doing great for them!
Posted by Danny Jones at 2:38 PM - Send Comments
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Tuesday, January 18, 2005
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Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Okay, so it's not a great entry title. But it works.
This past weekend was another good one for Southern Gospel Music - at least in Mobile, AL. Frank Arnold hosted his annual three-day Winterfest event and the costal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, western Florida and more were treated to some of Southern Gospel's best.
During the three days, the Perrys, McKameys, Karen Peck & New River, Signature Sound Quartet, the Booth Brothers, Mark Trammell Trio, Aaron Wilburn, the Crabb Family, Mike Bowling, the Arnolds, the Gospel Enforcers, the Dove Brothers, the Talley Trio and Geraldine & Ricky entertained several thousand fans at the Mobile Civic Center. When I last talked with Frank, he was thinking - based on the information that he had at hand at that particular moment - that the crowds (overall) were up over last year.
Frank has a two-day event scheduled for the Monroe, LA, area this weekend, so if you're within driving distance of that area, support those concerts.
Speaking of Frank, if you've never attended one his concerts, let me encourage you to do so. His concerts rate among the best Southern Gospel has ever seen as Frank adds "extras" like large screens so that every seat is like a front row seat. The stage is tastefully decorated and he tries to keep each concert rolling along at a good clip so that it doesn't have an opportunity to bog down or to run very late in the evening.
Of course, Frank is just one of many of Southern Gospel Music's excellent promoters. If you were to compile a list of the leading promoters, you'd have to include names like Bill Bailey, Jimmy Benson, Norman Bonds, Roger Boone, Bob Brumley, Gil Conley, Ray Flynn, Tony Greene, Jim Hefner, Herb Henry, Billy Hudson, Adam Kohout, Rickey Lackey, Kenneth Moates, Twila Rohrer, Floyd Selph, Paul Shannon, Debbie Sottile, Tim Sutton, Hayne Tatum, Richard Todd, Stan Wikle and dozens more whose name I can't recall right now. And, that doesn't include the numerous radio stations and artists that host events, too.
If Southern Gospel Music has unsung heroes, the concert promoters would have to be included in that category. As we've already talked about in the past, these ladies and gentlemen have a difficult task - and they're often totatlly at the mercy of the buying public and current ecomonic conditions. It's a big challenge to promote a concert and many, as the old saying goes, have gone boldly where no one else goes.
So, the next time you're at a concert, make sure you let the promoter know how much you appreciate their efforts. Many times, that goes a lot further than the sale of a ticket.
Posted by Danny Jones at 8:00 AM - Send Comments
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