Watershed albums

John Scheideman made a couple posts about "watershed albums" in SG that have either had a major impact on an artist's career or even the genre as a whole. While I agree with some of those mentioned, I felt I had to add a couple of my own picks to the list....

The Cathedrals - Symphony of Praise
While the Cathedrals had been enjoying steady success throughout the 80's, it was this album that really changed how people viewed the group. A gospel group had traveled to London and recorded with the prestigious London Philharmonic Orchestra. This concept was later imitated by Legacy Five with their own London release. It also yielded one of the Cathedrals' (and Gerald Wolfe's) biggest hits, "Champion Of Love," which is still much-requested today.

The Kingsmen - Big and Live
While definitely not the most polished album, this set the standard for live albums to come. Jim Hamill's emcee work, the group's refusal to remove crowd noise (most noticable in the shouting during "Love Lifted Me"), and the pure energy showed that you really could translate a live performance directly to album without having to "fake it," so to speak. And what group today doesn't know "Gloryroad"??

Truth In Music Act

I saw this today on a local news site and was quite amused by it....

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio lawmakers want to stop concertgoers from being disappointed by copycat or second-stringer bands performing under familiar names.

On a unanimous vote, the state Senate on Wednesday passed a Truth in Music Act, similar to those in two dozen other states.

It would require a music group to have at least one original member if it wants to use the band's original name.

Republican Senator Robert Schuler of Cincinnati says a conversation with Mary Wilson of the Supremes inspired him to introduce the bill. At a reception for the Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Wilson told Schuler that original Supremes may be sitting home, not working, while phony acts using the name are out on the road making money.

The measure now goes before the Ohio House.

My first question is this....what about legitimately-passed-down groups? The very first one that comes to mind is The Oak Ridge Boys. The current lineup, while having been together for 35 years, is NOT the original ORB lineup. That was started back in 1943 by Wally Fowler. In the late 50's/early 60's, ownership of the name was transferred to Smitty Gatlin, and later on, Duane Allen and William Lee Golden. None of the original members are even alive (the last surviving founder, Lon Freeman, passed away several years ago).

Also, what about Gold City? The line up as it exists today is entirely different from what it was 14 years ago, for for that matter, just 8 years ago. Granted, they are performing a lot more of the older hits, but you're still not getting Brian, Ivan, Mike & Tim, or Jay, Jonathan, Mark & Tim. Does that now ban Gold City from performing in Ohio (and the 12 other states referred to in the report)? There is still a CONNECTION to the original group in Daniel Riley, but that's it....

And don't even get me started on the Imperials.....

SouthernGospelAlbums.com

The following is a press release regarding a new site I will be taking part in....

Seven of Southern Gospel’s most prominent bloggers announce the joint effort, SouthernGospelAlbums.com. This website features joint reviews from various combinations of bloggers, as well as summaries and links to the bloggers’ reviews on their individual sites. The site is intended as a primary resource for fans of Southern Gospel music to find reviews of their favorite artists’ recording projects. Participating bloggers are Wes Burke (Burke’s Brainwork), Brandon Coomer (Coomer Cove), David Bruce Murray (Musicscribe), Daniel J. Mount (Southern Gospel Blog), Adam Edwards (Southern Gospel Critique), Kyle Boreing (Southern Gospel View), and Aaron Swain (Swain’s Musings).

For more information on the site, check out www.southerngospelalbums.com.

For more information on review submissions, send an email to contact@southerngospelalbums.com.

Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter

News is circulating fast of the tragic accident that happened yesterday to CCM star Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter, Maria. Not only has the story hit all of the southern gospel news outlets, but was a headline on MSNBC's website as well. I will not dwell on the issue here, as I'm sure the entire family is in turmoil right now, and with all of the attention the story is getting, I'll direct you to the other sources above. It is not my place to pour more salt on the wound.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Chapman; Maria was one of three daughters that he and wife Mary Beth adopted from China. Aside from being one of the most well-known contemporary Christian artists in history, Steven and Mary Beth set up a foundation for helping family wanting to adopt, and even wrote a children's book dealing with adoption.

My prayers go out to the Chapman family during this incredibly difficult loss. Pray especially for Chapman's teenage son, as this has to be a particularly hard burden for him to bear.

Changes

A couple changes to take note of recently.....

#1. A new tenor has been named for Greater Vision. Jacob Kitson, previously the tenor singer for the Tribute Quartet, will be stepping into Jason Waldroup's spot come August. I have not heard him sing, but I have heard some good things about him. Hopefully, Gerald will be able to keep the same stability with Jacob as he had with Jason.

#2. With the departure of Jacob, it now appears that the Tribute Quartet will be looking for a tenor. That's the only sad part of changes of this nature....if someone leaves one group for another, that still leaves someone searching for a singer. Granted, Tribute is not quite as high-profile as GV (who IS these days?), but here's hoping they find someone of a good caliber.

....and finally.....

#3. I will be departing Acclaim. If this were a press release, it would probably read, "To spend more time with family," and in a way that is accurate, but I will not be leaving gospel music by any means. My main reason for leaving has to do with scheduling; some changes within my personal life are dictating my cutting back on traveling, and as a result, I simply wouldn't be able to keep up with Acclaim's summer calendar. I WILL, however, be doing some solo dates as time permits, and perhaps on occassion, working some dates with Acclaim. I want to thank Gaylen, Dave, and Noah for their support during my time with them, and I wish them all the best of luck.

In the mean time, if anyone would like to book me.....JUST KIDDING (not really, but I'm not gonna shamelessly plug myself on here).

Goodbye, Miss Dottie

By now, the news of the day has circulated well among those within the industry, as well as fans all around the world....Saturday, May 10th, the world lost a legend when Dottie Rambo was killed in a bus accident.

According to the Singing News....

BOONE, NC(Singing News) - Singing News has confirmed that legendary singer/songwriter Dottie Rambo was killed in an early morning bus accident. Early reports indicate that the accident was weather-related, and that several other passengers aboard the bus were also injured. The family was notified early this morning that the accident happened near Mt. Vernon, Missouri. Manager Larry Ferguson is still unconscious and has two broken legs.

Updated Information from Missouri authorities:

At 2:19 a.m.,Missouri State Troopers responded to the accident that took place on I-44, two miles east of Mt. Vernon, Missouri. According to the Troopers' report, the 1997 Prevost Dottie was traveling aboard ran off the roadway, struck the guard rail and an embankment. Dottie was pronounced dead at the scene by Lawrence County (Mo.) Coroner Don Lakin at 4:20 a.m.

Aboard the bus were Dottie's product manager Christopher Barnes, Larry & Judy Ferguson, their children Pierce and Christian, and driver Ronnie Meadows.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

© 2008 Singing News

I have spoken to several friends who knew Dottie well and worked with her several times over the years. They all seem to be in shock. They also have nothing but kind words to say for her. She truly was one of the greatest.

In 2003, a friend of mine had Dottie Rambo in town for a concert. The bookstore I was working at brought her in for an in-store singing and autograph session. Needless to say, I did everything in my power to get a few words with this legend.

She was incredibly gracious, humble, and really took the time to talk to me about singing, writing, and different aspects of the ministry. She related a story to me about how it only took her 7 minutes to write "We Shall Behold Him," but two years to write "I Go To The Rock," stating that just because you have an idea doesn't mean it's necessarily finished. She taught me about making sure my lyrics were scripturally sound and how the hook is the most important part of the song (if they can't remember the hook, they won't remember the song). She also related to me some more personal aspects of her life and her own struggles (as I did with my own to her). It was a very touching time.

I stood there and watched as this once strong, instantly-recognizable figure within the music industry struggled to walk with her cane after years of pain and surgery. Yet, the entire time she was there, she never lost her smile.

Shortly before she left (and I went back to work), I thanked her for taking the time to discuss a few tidbits about gospel music. What she did next I'll never forget. She wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "You have a very sweet spirit. You'll do great things for the Lord." Here was this legend who has written more songs than I'd ever dream to and won awards upon awards telling me something like that. I was so moved that someone I have always looked up to and admired would do such a thing.

I'm sure there have been others with similar experiences shared with Miss Dottie. I know several friends who have worked with her over the years and have nothing but the utmost respect for her, but for me, personally, that is a moment that I will always remember and cherish.

Goodbye, Miss Dottie. Thank you for taking the time to share your gift with us.

"Who Did They Think He Was"

In 1992, Conway Twitty released a single titled "Who Did They Think He Was." It was an interesting song in that it addressed earthly idols (in the forms of Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy) as well as the crucifixion of Christ. It's not really a gospel song, and I doubt it ever made it to a gospel station (one of the lines refers to Kennedy as "a hell of a president"), but it's message is still quite relevant....we put so much faith and praise into people here on earth, but the one who deserves it the most is often forgotten or trashed.

I can't say that I agree 100% with all the lyrics - Christ is referred to as "just a simple carpenter with warm and callused hands" - but the point of the song still comes through.....and in my opinion, this is one of the best songs that Conway ever recorded. It's a shame that it was released so close to his death; it never received the airplay and promotion it so deserved.

The song is available on Conway's 1991 release, Even Now, which was one of the final albums he recorded (and was also the only album that was produced entirely by himself and his wife, Dee Henry). The album overall is quite good; it's not the typical "cry me a river" country music that Conway was so known for. It was designed to begin a turning point in his career and bring him into the 90's with his constantly-evolving style. Instead, it became a testimony to his legacy.

For your reference, here is a link to the video on YouTube (the embedding has been disabled).

Back and forth

All of this talk about "Midnight Cry" got me to thinking.....what SG songs have "crossed over," so to speak, into CCM? "Midnight Cry" is probably one of the biggest ones to make it into CCM, being covered by the Brooklyn Tab (with Mike English), Clay Crosse, a massive choir for the "Left Behind II" soundtrack, and again by English as a solo, among countless others. In a way, the song is like SG's "I Can Only Imagine," which has been covered by quite a few SG artists (most notably, Ivan Parker).

Are there any other SG songs (not counting classic hymns) to make it into CCM? And on a similar note, what SG songs COULD make it as contemporary hits? Granted, if any SG titles were gonna become CCM hits, they'd probably have to be ballads, as the up-tempo songs usually are a little too "cheesy" for the likes of Steven Curtis Chapman or Casting Crowns....

(although, if you look back at SCC's career, you'll notice that he co-wrote "Sing With The Angels" for Gold City and "I Can See The Hand" for the Cathedrals)

Let the voting begin....