Think about this: In the
last year, the Wilburns, the Steeles and a few others have left the "circuit."
The Journeymen just announced that they are disbanding. Gold City downsized
their group, and the Freemans sold their bus.
SG radio is populated with groups no one has ever heard of. No-name groups can
sign with the best of the labels. The Singing News Fan Awards barely generate
any excitement even within the industry….We are desperately lacking some
"stars". With maybe the exception of SSQ, nobody is "shining".
15 years ago, there were any number of groups in SG that had huge followings.
The Cathedrals were riding very high and drawing huge crowds. So was Gold City
and a host of others. I read recently where Greater Vision had 3-400 at one
concert. (I was at the Greater Vision Reunion video taping and there were less
than 500 people there). Right before the Bishops disbanded, I was at a concert
in Dayton, OH, with Gold City, The Bishops, The Talley Trio, and Greater Vision.
The auditoriuim was less than half full, and the Kingsmen alone could pack that
place in the '80's.
I think we need the "next big thing." We need a new mega-group. Your thoughts?
In reply comes the
following:
There IS a
mega-group. Three letters:
GVB. The smart ones are lining themselves up with Mr. Gaither. He probably draws
as many, if not more people in a weekend than the NQC draws all week - and
that's just one weekend for him.
A friend, a
retired pastor in his nineties, is arguing with his doctors that he does not
want to continue receiving treatment for his bone cancer. Last night, at our
weekly Bible study, our group bemoaned the fact that doctors work to keep alive
even the oldest and sickest patients. “Christians aren’t afraid of death,” said
my wife, though one of our members, a nurse, cautioned that doctors are obliged
to try to keep their patients alive.
When the Bible
study had finished I checked my email and found
Paul Heil’s latest newsletter. He was writing about death:
As a rule,
Christians go peacefully. Almost gladly….Luke 16:22
seems to indicate that saints are escorted from this life by angels. Perhaps you
heard the story a few years ago about when noted Cathedral Quartet lead singer
Glen Payne was dying from liver cancer. As he lay on his bed with death just
moments away, friends say he looked around the room and an expression of awe
came across his face. He could muster only enough strength to exclaim, "Wow!"
And, again, "Wow!" And then he was gone. He was obviously seeing at that moment
a glimpse of heaven confirming the truth of what he'd been singing about for
most of his life.
The late Danny Gaither told the story on one of the Homecoming videos about how,
when he was undergoing exhausting chemotherapy, he prayed to see his guardian
angels. That night, he said, he did. He saw angels in his room. And that night
he had the best sleep he'd had during his treatment. "I know," he said with
considerable emphasis, "there are angels." Just a few months later, Danny was
probably shaking their hands.
I haven’t received
Janet Paschal’s email newsletter in a while, but Gaither.com
reports, under the headline “Victory Report from Janet Paschal,” some great
news:
We're pleased
to celebrate with Janet Paschal on having completed her last chemo treatment for
breast cancer! She did experience a brief scare when she went to UNC for
radiation; the radiologist initially was concerned about calcifications which
were investigated and finally found by Duke's top four radiologists to be
nothing worthy of a biopsy.
A relieved Janet reports, "Believe me, there was dancing in the streets!"
So Friday, she "de-cancerized" her house, stating, "I bagged and stored all the
lovely cards, bears, books, etc. that people had so graciously sent. I feel as
though I have my life back - and I'm so anxious to jump in headfirst!"
So... all friends of Janet Paschal will be happy to know... she's baaack!
Last year, Anthony
Burger released “A Tribute to Bill and Gloria Gaither.” Now comes a Gaither
tribute to Anthony Burger.
In his latest
newsletter (with a shorter report
here), Anthony has announced that Gaither Music is to release a “Best of
Anthony Burger” video, as part of the Homecoming series. According to a news
release, “Hosted by Bill Gaither, this video keepsake features a beautiful
selection of music as only Anthony can deliver, plus exclusive photos and
personal conversations with Anthony about life, faith, music, and more.”
Having just
registered at the
CrossWay Quartet website to win an “iPod nano
packed full of Southern Gospel music,” I was interested to read an interview
with the group, over at
SouthernGospelNews.com. It was good to see the following:
In the last ten
years, there seems to be a big push for the youth and we’re beginning to see a
lot of young people in our audiences. We’re trying to relate to the younger
audience. I like to say we’re giving them a light dose of Southern Gospel and
we’re kind of that happy medium. Our style has allowed us to go into churches
that usually don’t host Southern Gospel. We try to relate Southern Gospel in a
form that young people can relate to and as Matt said, get the message of God’s
love to them.
David Phelps
continues to receive mixed reviews for his album “Life Is a Church.” The latest
is the Wichita Eagle, whose reviewer
wrote:
Much like an American
Idol runner-up trying to find his or her place in the music industry, this
project starts strong and finishes weak….Except for one song, the back side of
this project is mellow and worshipful while predictable and, at times, somewhat
boring. Phelps has a great voice but a long block of songs with long, Josh
Groban-like vocals is a bit tiring. Fans of Clay Aiken, Michael English and Greg
Long will probably enjoy this disc. For me, I'll be giving this one away to a
friend in hopes they'll like it.
Things really slow down
for the last five tracks with a series of predictable (though lyrically
palatable) Josh Groban-esque renderings. A shame, really, that Phelps can’t be
more interesting, considering his potential to shine apart from the group that
brought him fame. Musical focus could go a long way toward fixing this.
Forgive me if my
knowledge of US time zones is askew (I live in Australia), but, according to his
own website, Avery Fineline at 11:16am (10.16am EST??)
on Saturday
posted:
Can anyone tell
if the new
EHSSQ online regime…that's putting the message board and other stuff behind
a registration-only barrier requires cash on the barrel head or not? I'm
guessing not, but it's not entirely clear ... and is it a measure of success or
stupidity when a popular product - and that's what EHSSQ is in some regards,
like all successful acts - starts throwing up registration-only barriers to
their stuff?
At 11:20am Saturday, EST, an “Ernie Happenings” newsletter
landed in my inbox with the following:
Just wanted to make sure
you all understand that this new website is FREE. You just need re-sign back up
to receive our internet newsletter, ONCE the new site is available (sometime on
Monday or Tuesday next week) The Full "iPass" Membership is FREE and the E-Mail
List only is FREE.
The two most
enjoyable Southern Gospel email newsletters I receive are from Chonda Pierce (Roadkill
Reports) and Mark Lowry (ReMarks).
Coincidentally (or not), both are comedians.
Here’s an excerpt
from Mark’s latest:
I've always heard and
still believe that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New
Testament. But, I think if I'd just landed here from another planet and read the
Bible, it might appear to me that, somewhere between the Old and New, He
discovered Prozac or something. He seems a lot nicer in the New Testament.
My pastor said one
Sunday, in a joking manner, that it looks to him like God got saved between the
Old and New Testaments.
Well, I'll tell ya what I
think caused the attitude change. He had a Son. A kid changes everything.
I think that could have
been it. Then, again, maybe not. What do I know?
There are very few things
I still think I 'know'.
Here are two:
1. God is good.
2. He's crazy about us.
I’ve received a
friendly email from Tammy Dunaway, concerning my jocular references –
here and
here - to the Dunaways’
Dunnyville Blog. (I had pointed out that in Australia a dunny is an outback
toilet.)
Tammy writes: “Actually
where that came from was a three-year-old who goes to our church who could not
say Sister Dunaway so she called me Dunny and it stuck.”
For those interested in
Australian slang, dunny usage guidelines are
here,
here and
here.
The Ernie Haase and
Signature Sound website is moving
here. Fans are asked to register for “full access to the ‘Interact’ portion
of our website including the Message Board the Online Message Center, the Online
Store and other special features which will be coming down the road.”
Membership
into The Blind Boys of Alabama isn't that selective - you don't really have to be from
Alabama....The group's leader, Clarence Fountain calls Baton Rouge,
La.,
home. But, don't apply if you can see the words on this page. And, if you can't
sing with passion and depth, well, just settle for being part of the audience
when the group plays the Washington Pavilion Saturday evening. "Yeah, it's complicated. It's
hard to find a guy that really can sing and is blind," Fountain says about
recruiting new members for the Southern gospel group.
Avery Fineline
accuses me of “drinking a wee bit too much Gaither Kool-Aid lately. He's
posting more frequently, Roth is (a good thing), but most of the posts are
Gaithercentric.”
Yes, I’m sure
there’s some truth in that. Because when it comes to Southern Gospel, Gaither is
about all I know.
Southern Gospel is
virtually non-existent down here in Australia. I first discovered it less than
five years ago, on the
Australian Christian Channel, which was broadcasting the Gaither Gospel
half-hour. I was quickly hooked. Now I own a growing collection of Gaither
Homecoming DVDs.
But I have still
never attended any Southern Gospel event. And though I am developing my
knowledge through building up this website, I have a long way to go. Thus,
should Frank Seamans stay with Legacy Five (a recent Avery posting)? I’ve no
idea. What about Marty Stuart’s new gospel project (ditto)? Sorry, no opinion
(even though I’ve seen him on Gospel Bluegrass Homecoming).
But should Gaither
buy me out to launch GaitherNet downunder (another Avery
suggestion)? Yes, now there’s a good idea. (Except that, according to my website
stats service, 86% of my visitors are from North America, with only 4% from
Australia.)
I’m now trying to
update this website regularly, and I try to keep up with the latest Southern
Gospel news. It’s not easy – not a lot of online sources are available. So I
want to pay tribute to SG radio station
sglive365.com and its excellent news service, possibly the best around.
For example,
here’s what’s on the site right now:
- A report on the
farewell party this weekend for Kevin Williams, guitar player for the Gaither
Homecoming productions.
- A report on the
Gaither Toronto Homecoming concert, which was watched live around the world
online by Gaither.Com members. (Not by me, unfortunately. It was Saturday
evening in Toronto, which is Sunday morning here in Melbourne, and I was in
church.)
- Information
about a new Christmas recording from the Oak Ridge Boys.
There’s lots more,
all fresh, and generally placed on the sglive365.com website ahead of anyone
else, as best I can tell. Thank you for a great job.
