David Bruce Murray
Dec 08, 2007
Observations|Other Blogs
Southern Gospel Grammy Nominations Improving
Doug Harrison has sparked a discussion regarding this year’s crop of Grammy nominations in the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel category. The discussion on Doug’s site centers around the nomination of Karen Peck’s Journey Of Joy CD and how/why it made the cut.
I’m a bit surprised to see the discussion focus on this particular title. Of the six nominated titles, I rated Journey Of Joy at 4 1/2 stars. I rated Amazing Grace from the Gaither Gospel Series at 4 stars and gave the same rating to the Ricky Skaggs/Whites CD. Honestly, Amazing Grace should have been disqualified due to Brenda Lee’s dismantling of “Just A Little Talk With Jesus” alone. I haven’t heard the other three nominated titles.
How quickly we forget that the Light Crust Doughboys had a nomination in this category for something like 7 out of 8 years in a row…or that a part-time singer from the Daywind label got a nomination last year. To see a nomination like Peck’s is a welcomed improvement.
The debate about whether or not Daywind label head, Ed Leonard, has put together a voting bloc is always an interesting topic for discussion. I say if he’s keeping embarrassments like the Light Crust Doughboys out of this category, I won’t complain. More power to him! (I’m joking.)
Seriously though, if he IS suggesting to NARAS members within Word and Warner that they should vote for an artist of his choosing, I’m puzzled by his methods. In 2006, why on earth did he push Kenny Bishop who only sings a few concerts per year over ALL of Daywind’s full-time artists? It seems if he was working the system to his own advantage in 2006, he’d have pushed Greater Vision, Brian Free/Assurance or Legacy V…or just about any Daywind artist other than Kenny Bishop.
I’m also a bit surprised to read on Doug’s site that Karen Peck is considered to be “second tier” in Southern Gospel. She’s been on the scene and on the charts consistently for years and she’s certainly played her share of big dates. Now granted, if you consider the Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound to be the only first tier groups in the industry due to their product sales and concert attendance, then yes, I could see that point. Most people don’t mean that when they say “second tier” with regards to Southern Gospel artists, though. Most people (I believe) would rank Karen Peck & New River as first tier along with groups like the Hoppers, Jeff & Sheri Easter, etc.
Is Peck’s CD the one I’d have nominated? No. I’d have probably nominated Janet Paschal’s hymns CD. Is the quality so suspect that it’s glaringly out of place, though? Not at all. We should be celebrating the fact that this is a year when there isn’t an insultingly bad CD on the list. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the Grammy voters finally got it “right,” but it isn’t nearly as wrong as it’s been in the past.
