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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February 15, 2007

Whither Loyalty Indeed

Doug Harrison writes about loyalty and group changes in Southern Gospel. He points out rightly that this is nothing new for the genre. I think any time you have a group with four or more members, the odds of sticking together for any significant period of time are pretty slim unless you reach a "we're getting filthy rich doing this" level (see Rolling Stones, U2, etc.)...and even those groups take extended sabbaticals at times.

This must never happen for a Southern Gospel group. Even the Gaither Vocal Band has a fair share of turnover. In theory, the GVB ought to be the most financially rewarding gig in the industry, plus, they don't do that many dates per year.

Turnover among most other touring groups in Southern Gospel is understandable. I've already done some informal research which revealed SG groups are constantly traveling, averaging 7-12 dates per month. No rest for the weary.

Even groups that "have it made" in terms of a touring schedule have turnover. The Kingdom Heirs and the Cumberland Quartet have had a few changes in the past few years, even though they have a regular gig at a theme park that reduces their time on the road.

The key to staying together for any significant amount of time appears to NOT be tied to how hard a group works or how much money they take in.

Of the groups that stay together with no changes for any significant period of time, most appear to either be family groups or groups structured as partnerships. If I was starting a group from the ground up and we had an obvious good thing going in terms of sound and personal chemistry, I'd think long and hard about going the partnership route. Of course, I'm not privy to the inner structure of any full time groups in the industry, but I've noted a few that appear to be operated as a partnership. I've noted other situations where the employees have been instilled with a sense of pride and ownership in the group.

Fans don't tend to mind turnover that much until it breaks up a combination that really clicked. That's why I think so many people hate to see Keith Plott leave Brian Free & Assurance and Tony Peace leave the Kingsmen and Gene McDonald possibly leave the Florida Boys. The hardest hit, though, are those groups poised to succeed. A year ago, Crystal River was ready to take on the industry. They got hit with a double whammy. They're the big casualty in this equation.

We don't have the machine in place to launch new groups quickly and decisively in Southern Gospel. Think of all the groups we've lost in the last ten years. N'Harmony floundered when Shane Dunlap left for Signature Sound. The Journeymen Quartet ceased to exist some time after Facello left. Some groups still persist, but are shadows of what they were when they stood briefly on the brink of greatness. Crossway has bucked the trend. They've actually improved with each change, but how many SG fans know them by name after several years of intense marketing on their behalf?

I'm impressed by groups like the Imperials that do manage to stick together even without a significant level of commercial success. I hope their boat is about to come in with this new CD. Jeremie Hudson and Jason Morales have been traveling across the country for eight years together.

Triumphant Quartet is another group that has been together several years without any changes. Aside from family groups, they may be the only group scheduled on the upcoming 2007 NQC main stage with five members who have been together for more than four years. Even the Inspirations have had some that left and then came back.

Then there's guys out there like David Phelps. He longed to move on to something potentially greener, musically freeing, or something like that, even though he was already working in the Gaither Vocal Band alongside the likes of Bill Gaither and Guy Penrod. Clearly, it isn't always about money.

So while loyalty isn't for sale, at least not for what SG can pay, in a few select cases, loyalty still manages to exist.

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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 11:50:00 PM


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