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Dave's Top Eight
1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars) 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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Most Recent Articles
Why blog? (Three years and counting)
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-----------May 14, 2007AUDIO/PODCAST INTERVIEW>> Lily Fern & Steve Weatherford with Mike AllenHere's my interview with Lily Fern Weatherford, her son Steve, and former Weatherford member Mike Allen where we review a great deal about Gospel Music's history and the Weatherford's influence on it. -Daniel Britt Labels: audio, History, Interviews, podcast March 26, 2007New At SGHistory.comI'm pleased to say we've had a number of additions to SGHistory.com in the past few of weeks. Fresh blood contributors Levi Johnston, Jeff Foster, and Jarrod Boyd have been diligent in adding to the database...Foster in particular has added a great deal of information. THANKS Jeff, Levi, and Jarrod!! New pages have recently been created for the Prophets, Called Out Quartet, Dixie Melody Boys, Statler Brothers, The Inspirations, Roger Bennett, and Jimmie Davis. New pages are also up for the songs "Midnight Cry," "Oh What A Savior," "Champion Of Love," "I've Read The Back Of The Book," "Jesus Saves," "Amazing Grace," "Heroes Of The Faith," and "Step Into The Water." Whether you're a full fledged Southern Gospel historian or just a devoted fan with information on one group, you are welcome to join us as we work to preserve the history of Southern Gospel music. All you need is a little information from me to get started. Shoot me an email, and you'll be off and running. Labels: Announcements, History June 14, 2006Southern Gospel History update
The Southern Gospel History site which launched in May 2006 is beginning to take shape.
-----------We now have more than fifty articles, meticulously researched, and of course, 100% correct in every aspect...well...maybe not QUITE 100%, but I'm very proud of the work our writers have done thus far. I've spent the last two or three days installing and learning to use new software. The site has a considerably different look now, and I have a lot more flexibility in administrative areas. As always, we are open to fresh ideas. We have a long To Do List, so you can see where we're trying to ultimately go with this thing. I am somewhat annoyed when I read Southern Gospel biographies on sites like "All Music Guide." I referred to their horrendous entry on the Kingsmen Quartet in a post a few weeks ago. Wikipedia could provide a solution if it wasn't so open for abuse by self promoters and/or people who have a personal motivation for revising their own history. It's my desire for www.sghistory.com to become a place where people can view detailed, well written, and accurate information about the top groups in Southern Gospel music. I believe we are off to a good start, and I welcome all suggestions for making it even better. Labels: History April 24, 2006What is Southern Gospel?
My father-in-law is writing a paper on the history of Southern Gospel Music. He asked me for my input on 1) the different styles of SG and 2) SG today. I sat down and, in basically an hour's time, came up with the following. Keep in mind that I didn't do any formal research for this, I simply sat and wrote based on my opinion and what I would tell someone if asked about these topics. Disagree if you'd like. More "scientific" works have been published, such as "Close Harmony: A History of Southern Gospel" written by Dr. Jerry Goff, "Music in the Air: The Golden Age of Gospel Radio" written by Mark Ward, Sr., and "Murray's Encyclopedia Of Southern Gospel Music" written by David Bruce Murray. There are also biographies of many beloved Gospel legends available, such as Vestal Goodman's and Bill Gaither's.
-----------Here are my thoughts: Styles within Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel Today Labels: History April 20, 2006Cathedrals Tribute SiteDaniel J. Mount, author of A City on a Hilltop? A History of Contemporary Christian Music, has created a website summarizing the history of the Cathedrals Quartet. You can view the site at www.cathedralstribute.com. According to Mount, this site was created with the permission of the Payne and Younce families. I gave the site a quick glance just now and it appears he has put together quite a bit of information. Some areas of the site aren't complete yet and the visual appeal could be better, but I have to commend him for compiling a wealth of data on one of Southern Gospel's most beloved groups. Labels: History April 4, 2006Dixie Echoes History Other groups with a long legacy would do well to check out the Dixie Echoes website, study what they've done, and then set out to do something similar on their own websites. The Dixie Echoes have just uploaded several pages that summarize the history of the group, including photos of EVERY group member and EVERY project cover from the group's history.Click HERE to view what they have done. Gold City fans will enjoy seeing photos of a young Tim Riley and a young Garry Jones. Several group members who later became household names with other groups first pulled stints with the Dixie Echoes, particularly bass singers and piano players. The group has had the least turnover at the lead position with Jack Toney, Dale Shelnut, and Randy Shelnut being the only three men to hold that position. In a way, it's a shame that this is so unique. When I was researching my book, I was surprised by the absence or grossly limited scope of any "official" biographical information to be found on major gospel group websites. All groups should honor those who came before by putting this much care and attention into their official website's biographical section. It would sure make life a lot easier on us Southern Gospel historians for one thing, but more importantly, it would give fans a glimpse of the determination that is required for a group to be sustained for decades. I'm glad the Dixie Echoes are setting the standard...hopefully others will soon follow. Labels: History March 9, 2006Will The Real Imperials Please Stand Up?As of today, there are at least three gospel groups using the name Imperials, and all three have ties to the group started by Jake Hess in 1964. See HERE, HERE, and HERE. Let's break it down...  The Real ImperialsFirst we have the group I'll refer to as the Real Imperials. Of course, THEY call themselves the Imperials without the "real," since they really are the real Imperials. :o) Some people might say they aren't the "real" group, because these guys probably have the least recognizable names of the three groups. However, the fact is that this group is the only group that has been continuous since 1964. Armond Morales sang bass with Jake Hess and the rest of the original group in 1964 and continued to travel and manage them until 2003, when Ian Owens became just the second bass singer in the 39 year (at that time) history of the group. Joining Owens in the current Imperials is Armond Morales' son, Jason, who has been singing baritone with the group for seven years; a terrific tenor named Jeremie Hudson who has also been with the group for seven years; and lead singer Shannon Smith, who became the group's lead singer in 2003. By the way, this particular line-up of the group has their first all new CD coming out later this year, and from all I've heard, it's going to be outstanding. I had a chance to chat with the guys for a bit about it last weekend and I've heard two songs. Be prepared for one Southern Gospel song and otherwise expect a recording that sounds very much like 4Him could have sounded if they'd had a deep bass singer in the mix. Check out their website for more information.  The International ImperialsNext up is a group I'm calling the International Imperials to distinguish them from the Real Imps. I chose that name because the most recent news on their website says they sang at an Elvis Presley tribute event in Belgium last October. This group includes Gus Gaches, who isn't a former member of the Imperials as far as I know; Joe Moscheo, who played keyboards for the original group in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and rounding out the group are Terry Blackwood and Sherman Andrus, who were in the group during the same era as Moscheo. This group is particularly confusing since they bill themselves as the Imperials just like the real Imperials. Maybe that's OK as long as they only sing overseas. I don't know if this group is singing regularly or not. They don't have a schedule posted on their website and no product that's uniquely their own for sale.  The Classic ImperialsFinally, there's the Classic Imperials, who just today announced they had signed a recording agreement with Nick Bruno's Song Garden label. Unlike "Real Imperials" and "International Imperials," "Classic Imperials" isn't a name I made up. This group actually bills themselves as the Classic Imperials. Armond Morales and Jim Murray even own the trademark. This group consists of Rick Evans, who is not an ex-Imp as far as I know; Jim Murray, who sang tenor for the original group for twenty years from 1966 to 1986; Armond Morales, the 39-year veteran bass singer, and David Will, who was the baritone singer for the group for a period of 23 years (1976-1999). (Real Imperials baritone Jason Morales was Will's successor.) Now, to make this more confusing, Jim Murray, Armond Morales, Terry Blackwood and Sherman Andrus recorded a CD two years ago which billed them simply as "The Imperials." This line-up also had a website for a while referring to themselves as the "Classic Imperials." Ironically, this line-up minus Morales plus a non-ex-Imp bass singer named Hovie Walker also owned a trademark on the name "The New Imperials Quartet" at one time. New? Let's just hope Russ Taff doesn't get any ideas about starting up a group using another variation on the Imperials name...although a line-up of Taff, Jonathan Pierce, and Ron Hemby (if he's still around) would definitely be a group worth hearing. If case you're wondering, the trademark for "The Imperials" is owned by Clarence Collins of Costa Mesa, California. I have no idea who he is or what his connection to the group might be. I just thought someone might ask, and I wanted you to know I tried to explore every angle of this story. Of course, I didn't get into Little Anthony And The Imperials, since they sang another form of music and have no connections to the group formed by Jake Hess in 1964 as far as I know. Their trademark has been dead since April 2004, so I assume the group is no longer active, thought they do have an official website. Labels: History November 15, 2005CCM History, anyone?Daniel Mount has written a book titled City On A Hill? Unlike my Southern Gospel encyclopedia which just went on sale, Mount's history book on the topic of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) is available for free. You can download it on his website by clicking HERE. I've skimmed through Mount's book and was able to empathize with the time that went into preparing it. The first half of the 300-page book consists of chapters that alternate between historical data and specific topics. Mount's best writing is in the chapters that address specific topics. He's opinionated at times, but he typically supports his views with rational thought and scriptural basis. The closing chapter in particular is very good, as it challenges the industry to return to its roots. I'm not in total agreement with Mount in some areas, but he presents his arguments well. The chapters in between the topical essays focus on five year chunks of CCM history...or seem to at first. These chapters actually discuss the entire history of each artist that came onto the scene during those periods. For example, Randy Stonehill is introduced in the chapter that covers 1970-1974 and his career is covered thru the present. Then Mount picks up with the next artist on his list who had an initial recording in the 1970s. While this plan gets the job done, it could have been handled better by mixing up the narrative and exploring relationships within a time period rather than going into the future and then jumping back for the next artist. As it stands, you can learn a great deal about individual artist accomplishments, but the jumps from one artist to the next are abrupt. As more recent artists with shorter histories are addressed, the quantity of artists increases and the jumps become more frequent. Still, I learned a great deal about a number of artists and even learned some names I'd never heard before. He doesn't cover every artist who ever sang CCM, but an excellent cross section is included. The second half of Mount's book is very impressive. It consists of detailed discographies for every major CCM artist. I know this section had to be very time consuming to compile. Mount includes song titles for the albums listed, as well as record label info. Once you read his book for free, you can thank me for being the gateway to this free product by taking the money you saved and buying a copy of my book HERE! :o) Labels: History August 3, 2005Bob Terrell's The Music MenA few months ago I mentioned my increasing preference for Amazon.com as a source for used books and CDs. Back in April, I bought what is probably the most referenced historical/anecdotal collection for classic Southern Gospel . . . Bob Terrell's The Music Men. I read it from cover to cover one time and have since referenced a number of articles using the book's index. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in SG history. Terrell's writing style is generally easy to read. One thing that makes history difficult to swallow is too many cold hard facts in a row . . . this guy left the group, and formed a group with persons 1, 2, 3, and 4 . . . meanwhile the original group replaced him with guy number 5. Six sentences like that in a row will leave you saying, "So?" Terrell gets into that type of a rut briefly in a few spots, but mostly he writes in a more conversational tone. Most chapters focus in on just one character or a particular entity that warrants attention...the crash of the Blackwood Brothers plane, for example. Other chapters consist of short recollections and/or humorous events that transpired between popular performers...Hovie Lister addressing an audience while not realizing his pants were unzipped, for example, and thinking Jake and Big Chief were just trying to play a gag on him and refusing to look down while the audience roared with laughter. Along with the narrative, there's a nice collection of photographs...though the print quality in the Mountain Church version of the book I purchased isn't the greatest. I especially appreciated the captions under the photos, which explain more than simply who's in the picture. Labels: History July 4, 2005SG History Quiz
The quiz is currently being reset with new questions. Congrats to JCH, Robbie Maxwell, Cliff Cerce, Chris Unthank, skiprob, and a number of others who got all 40 questions correct.
-----------I'll try to make the next one more difficult. It looks like I'm going to have to find some different software for creating the quiz, though. The software I used initially won't let me reset the high scores. Labels: History May 13, 2005The Singing NewsThe Singing News A brief history Inspired by the Gospel Music Association’s newsletter (Good News) first published in January 1969, J. G. Whitfield started his own publication called The Singing News just five months later. The print run of the May 1969 issue was 100,000 copies, and it was given away for free. Within a few years, Whitfield was selling subscriptions for the magazine at $3.00 per year, but the vast majority of the 300,000 copies printed each month were mailed free to potential concert goers in exchange for advertising by major concert promoters. One of the more significant accomplishments of the Singing News in the early 1970s was the establishment of a monthly chart that ranked the most popular songs for each month. Although the chart would be criticized in later years for lagging behind actual airplay trends, it was an innovative move for the industry in the 1970s in that it placed a stronger emphasis on the popularity of individual songs. Under the guidance of chief editor Jerry Kirksey and publisher Maurice Templeton in later years, the Singing News grew from a basic newsletter format to a full-fledged professional magazine. With colorful ads from all aspects of Southern Gospel music, the content included articles about artists, concert schedules, editorials and opinion columns. The magazine now bears “The Printed Voice Of Gospel Music” as a sub-heading, and by 1998, the Singing News had more than 200,000 subscribers. Over the years, the magazine has been successfully branded and cross-marketed within the Southern Gospel industry. The Crossroads family of record labels introduced a series of soundtracks during the 1990s bearing the Singing News name and logo, for example. Most major recording artists in Southern Gospel sell subscriptions to the magazine at their concert events. The most often discussed recurring topic for subscribers is probably the annual Fan Awards. The magazine compiles three rounds of voting by subscribers each year. One night of the National Quartet Convention is then devoted to the presentation of the awards. In addition to the presentations and acceptance speeches, the nominees for Favorite Song typically perform their nominated songs for the event. Labels: History April 16, 2005Shape Note Method
Shape Note Method
A brief history  Jesse Aiken’s seven-shape scale, as used in The Christian Minstrel Musical notation with shape notes has been an integral element of Southern Gospel. With specific shapes defining the scale, singers with little formal music training could quickly learn to sing the four quartet parts. Beginning in 1846 with his publication of a songbook called The Christian Minstrel, Jesse Aiken popularized the seven-shape notation system. Employing seven unique shapes to correspond with the musical scale, Aiken’s notation system was based on a more primitive four-shape system originated by John Tufts in the early 18th century. Popular early American songbooks like the Sacred Harp and Southern Harmony employed Tufts’ system. In the years following the Civil War, Aldine Kieffer of the Ruebush-Kieffer Company promoted a competing seven-shape system devised by his grandfather Joseph Funk, a noted publisher in the mid-1800s. At least five other publishers also employed different shapes for the three notes in the scale that were modified from the Tufts four-shape system. By 1876, Kieffer switched to Aiken’s original system in the spirit of standardization. Since Ruebush-Kieffer was one of the largest publishers of shape note songbooks at the time, the Aiken system became the de facto standard in the 20th century. Singing schools became a popular social event in the following years. Groups were trained not only to sing using shape notes, but to teach as well. As a precursor to companies like Vaughan and Stamps-Baxter that employed quartets as traveling salesmen, Kieffer and other publishers in the late 1800s paid singing school instructors to peddle their songbooks. The syllables “do,” “re,” “mi,” “fa,” “so,” “la,” and “ti” are not limited to Gospel music. The practice of singing the syllables has been used for almost a full millennium, dating back to the Benedictine monk who also invented music staff notation, Guido of Arezzo (995-1050), also known as Guido Monaco. The proper term for this practice is “solfege.” A similar practice of assigning syllables to the scale was used in India prior to Guido, and is called “sargam.” The classic musical film The Sound Of Music (1965) directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews popularized the solfege syllables in song. Labels: History 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. Labels: History April 1, 2005Cathedrals - Biography The Cathedrals(1963-1999) The Cathedral Trio was formed in 1963 as a ministry of Rex Humbard’s Cathedral Of Tomorrow in Akron, OH. Original members included Glen Payne, Danny Coker and Bobby Clark. Bass singer George Younce joined the group in 1964, transforming them into a quartet. Over the next 30 years under the leadership of Payne and Younce, the Cathedrals became a household name among Southern Gospel fans. Driven by Payne’s energetic lead vocals and Younce’s comedic appeal as the group emcee and bass singer, the group dominated the Singing News Fan Awards in the 1990s and appeared on the GMA sponsored Dove Awards broadcast. A farewell tour and the death of Glen Payne ended the Cathedrals’ run in 1999. Some of their most popular tunes include “I Can See The Hand,” “This Old House,” “Step Into The Water,” “Champion Of Love,” and “Oh, What A Savior.” More than 100 original and compilation recordings were released by the group in their 36 year history. Several former Cathedrals members went on to establish their own successful groups in Southern Gospel. These include Mark Trammell (Mark Trammell Trio), Gerald Wolfe (Greater Vision), Roger Bennett/Scott Fowler (Legacy V), and Ernie Haase (Signature Sound). They all credit the guidance of Payne and Younce as a key to their success. See also: Discography, Members, and George Younce Biography Labels: History February 10, 2005Gospel Harmony Boys BiographyGospel Harmony Boys (1952-present) January 30, 2005Happy Goodmans BiographyHappy Goodmans (circa 1950-1983, 1990, 1996-2002)
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The Happy Goodman Family began to be known for their singing around 1950. Brothers Howard, Sam, and Bobby continued to sing together as their sisters married and left the group while their brother Rusty pulled a stint in service. Howard married, and soon his wife Vestal joined the group as well. Rusty sang with the Plainsmen Quartet for a while after returning from service, but ultimately made his way back the family group.
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