Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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April 16, 2005

Homecoming

Homecoming (Gaither Gospel Series)
A brief history

The Homecoming video series began on February 19, 1991 with a group of old friends gathering around the piano at the Masters Touch studio in Nashville, TN to sing after a video recording session. It ultimately became the best selling music video series ever. In 1991, despite the objections of their record label, Star Song, the Gaither Vocal Band recorded an audio project titled Homecoming. Previous Vocal Band projects on the Star Song label had been tailored to compete in the contemporary Christian market, but Homecoming was a return to pure Southern Gospel roots (with just a touch of soul from lead singer Michael English). The Vocal Band was joined on the recording by a number of heroes from days gone by. Vestal Goodman, James Blackwood, Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, the Gatlin Brothers, George Younce and others were featured singers on the song “Where Could I Go,” so they decided to record a concept video of the song with all the singers present.

After the taping session was over, the singers gathered around a piano in the studio and began singing just for the fun of it. Gaither kept the cameras rolling, thinking the footage would be great to have for his personal collection. After viewing the footage, he realized it was special and thought it could have commercial value. He had it edited with some narration added. Star Song supported the project and packaged it to match the audio recording, including the polished concept footage of “Where Could I Go” as well.

The project was a success, so Gaither decided to follow the original Homecoming video with another in 1992, this time with more advance planning. The resulting project was called Reunion. The demand was great again, so he tried putting out two titles at the same time. These were titled Turn Your Radio On and Old Friends. By now, the series was up and rolling at full steam. Every three to four months, another pair of videos was released. They weren’t exactly cheap at $30 each, but the fans didn’t seem to mind.

Using an infomercial approach over cable TV channels like The Nashville Network, Gaither developed a lucrative direct mail business for his videos and associated products like songbooks. This approach annoyed shoppers at Christian retail outlets, because stores weren’t allowed to stock new titles until after the direct mail route was employed for several weeks. Artists who appeared on the series also had copies to sell at concerts well in advance of stores. Once products did release to retail, Gaither’s company typically failed to manufacture and send the distributor enough copies, even though stores placed pre-orders well in advance of the release date. The demand that fans placed for the series was simply wider than anticipated. The wrinkles of distribution were finally ironed out, though it took a few years. The delay between direct sales and retail availability was shortened significantly and a “street date” was displayed in print ads to inform fans of the exact date when new titles would be available in stores. Stores began receiving an ample supply of stock once Gaither’s company realized each title would probably sell as well as the previous title and manufactured enough units accordingly.

Gaither has released several dozen Homecoming video titles since 1991. Most titles are ultimately certified Gold (50,000) and several have reached the Platinum sales mark (100,000). Old Friends, Turn Your Radio On, and Ryman Gospel Reunion are double Platinum (200,000). (RIAA certification figures reflect domestic sales only.)

Most Homecoming projects are released a few months after the original taping, but others (Red Rocks Homecoming, Hymns, Church In The Wildwood) were released several years later. This delayed release schedule proved to be effective after several of the older generation of singers (Howard and Vestal Goodman, Jake Hess, James Blackwood, Hovie Lister, etc.) had passed away. Fans were eager to see the previously un-released footage of their heroes.

Gaither already had a popular traveling tour established with various artists from different musical backgrounds before the Homecoming craze set in. It soon transformed into the Homecoming Tour to coincide with the video series. Appearing in 50-70 major cities each year, the tour now ranks as one of the top draws in all music, secular or gospel. In addition to Southern Gospel artists, the Homecoming Tour includes traditional black gospel artists and inspirational acts. This mix of styles has come to be reflected in the video series as well.

In addition to bringing many of the older gospel artists back to the attention of fans, the Homecoming phenomenon helped launch the careers of several major artists. The Martins, Signature Sound Quartet, and the Talley Trio gained much of their initial publicity through Homecoming appearances and video tapings. Other artists like Lynda Randle, Stephen Hill, Mike Allen, and Reggie Smith became part of the recurring Homecoming cast, but didn’t venture heavily into careers outside of the Homecoming series.

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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 8:53:00 PM


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