An Interview with Phil Collingsworth of the Collingsworth Family.
Chris Becker (for AbsolutelyGospel.com): Your eldest daughter, Brooklyn, got married during the last Holiday Season?
Phil Collingsworth: Yes, December 10 was the big day. She had a Winter Wonderland Fairytale Wedding, complete with Horse & Carriage, lots and lots of Christmas trees, lights, and Taranda Greene singing O HOLY NIGHT!
CB: What's this I hear about doing 5 concerts the week of Brooklyn's wedding?
PC: Yes, just the week before the wedding, we performed 5 concerts, then 4 days following the wedding, I underwent a very serious brain surgery. I have so much to be grateful for!
CB: How's that adjustment been for the family, the ministry, for Brooklyn herself?
PC: It has been a wonderful adjustment. William Blair, Brooklyn's husband, has been very, very supportive of her performance career and works his schedule around to travel with us on the bus as much as his college and work allows. He is a student at the University of Cincinnati's School of Engineering.
Matter of fact, The wedding was so fun, we did another one just 5 1/2 months later for our other daughter, Courtney!
CH: Tell us about the new CD.
PC: We are more excited about this record than any of our previous endeavors. It's our "Freshman" release on Ernie Haase and Wayne Haun's new StowTown Records, and already Provident/Sony has been very, very involved with more than 3 months of pre-sale marketing leading up to our street date of Sept 6th. We are very excited that Sony has decided to mainstream this record to their secular market buyers in addition to their Provident Subsidiaries' CBA side of marketing. Provident/Sony marketed it to their buyers with the following logo on it's sales page: Move Over Von Trapp Family, There's a new Family in town!
CH: So you worked with Wayne Haun again?
PC: Definitely! Wayne is the "David Foster" of today's Gospel Music world and one of the best that Nashville has to offer, as it is well verified by his multiple Dove Awards. The Collingsworth Family is staunchly in the Wayne Haun Camp.
CH: How is this CD different?
PC: Different in the fact that our children's voices have matured significantly since our last studio record, so our arrangement capabilities have expanded significantly also, and this time, we used everything we have now in the vocal department. It would be the same in the fact that we are never willing to compromise the quality of songwriting we require in the material we record. And, we found a treasure trove of fantastic material this time around. Wayne says it is without doubt our strongest material to date.
CH: You're now on Ernie Haase's StowTown Records label. That must be exciting.
PC: Ernie and Wayne are both great personal friends, and now it's awesome to be working together as business partners as well. The potential that we see in this company is endless, especially with it's marriage with Provident/Sony. Sony is even taking this record internationally, doing a great deal of marketing for it in Asia and Europe as well as Canada.
CH: Your first appearance on StowTown was a guest spot on Doug Anderson's Dreamin' Wide Awake on the song "Savior Saves." When I interviewed Doug recently, he said "They went through a lot to get to the studio that night to cut it. I owe them a lot. Ask them about it sometime. It's a great story.” So, what's the story?
PC: We were in Florida. We had just finished our last appearance on our annual FLORIDA TOUR consisting of 16 dates. We headed out of Bradenton after an awesome night, planning to make the stop in Nashville to cut those vocals for Doug's record, then on home to Cincinnati. Unfortunately, BIG RED (our bus) gave up the ghost in Tampa, with the transmission overheating. So, we had to book it in the local Detroit Diesel/Allison Transmission shop. I stayed with the bus, picked up a rental van at the Tampa Airport and sent Kim and the children, along with our sound engineer on to Nashville. They did not make it there until 11 p.m., but Wayne was waiting on them in a studio, and they had the vocals laid down by a little after midnight. It was the last chance to make it on the record by the deadline.
CH: So, you've been rolling with the big boys lately - the Gaithers, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. And you recently did a series of concerts in Sweden?
We got to perform three days at a Swedish Homecoming Festival in Jonkonping. Karen Peck & New River along with Lynda Randle and Marshall Hall also went with us. We have really enjoyed being a part of the Gaither Homecoming Tour for the past 3 years, and it has been very beneficial to the musical development of our children. We also regularly do concerts together with Signature Sound, since we're both part of StowTown Records and Wayne is our mutual producer.
CH: I've heard of taking Southern Gospel... um... "North," but SWEDEN? What's next... the Arctic Circle?
PC: As hot as this summer has been - bring it ON !!!!
CH: You'd think it would be a challenge to find a good bowl of cheese grits in Stockholm.
PC: We're Yankees anyway, so I highly doubt we'll even miss them. Matter of fact, I've never had them in my life, and I'm not ever sure what they are. I would suspect we'll survive. HA HA!
CH: Hey, you're a Cincinnati boy, Maybe you could introduce Skyline Chili to Sweden.
PC: Actually, we are Gold Star Chili fans BIG TIME!!! There is a slight difference in the recipe between Gold Star and Skyline. It's a big rivalry in Cincinnati with annual taste testing stations, etc., and Gold Star wins almost every time. It's hard for folks who are not from Cincinnati to imagine chili with chocolate and cinnamon in it, but there's nothing like it in the world, especially with that fresh angel hair cheese piled high on it!
CH: If you need a joke for the Swedish audience, tell them about my friend Lars Nyquist, who used to say, "My mother is Swedish, my father is Swedish, and I'm as Swede as can be." Err... maybe not.
PC: No thanks, I'm sure I would blow the punchline !!
CH: The Sweden trip is a great ministry opportunity. Congratulations!
PC: Thanks. The entire family went, including both of our new son-in-laws as well as our sound engineer. It was such a great experience. On the Sunday Morning of the Festval, our family as vocalists and Kim as a solo pianist, performed with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. We sent the orchestral scores on ahead for their rehearsals. It was an opportunity of a lifetime.
CH: What else is going on with the Collingsworth Family that you'd like for folks to know?
PC: We are more blessed than we deserve. And, with PART OF THE FAMILY, our new StowTown Records project releasing here in a matter of weeks, I am newly reminded of the importance of the role that our songwriters play in providing quality material for us. We listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of songs in selecting these 12 cuts. The serious crafting and spiritual insight that went into these tunes is once again astounding to us. From a Gloria Gaither classic that has not been recorded since 1972, to the newest from Sue Smith, Kenna West, Marty Milliken, Wayne Haun, Darryl Williams, etc. We are so blessed to have located some the finest songs to present to our audiences that we have ever heard. We can't wait for Rhonda Thompson to roll out TELL THAT MOUNTAIN to the radio.
CH: Thank you, Phil. Any parting thoughts?
Yes. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. We try to bathe everything we do in prayer, asking God for help from the Divine. It is by His Spirit, not by our power, that anything is accomplished. Thanks, Chris !!
To find out more information on The Collingsworth Family and their brand new recording, visit them online at http://www.thecollingsworthfamily.com
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Written: 09/01/2011
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I have been friends of The Collingsworth Family for several years and this new CD is, by far, the best. It is nothing short of phenomenal! The lyrics accompanied with incredible harmonies, unbelievable arrangements, and incredible orchestration make this a 'must-have' for everyone! I 'have church' and a box of Kleenex handy every time I listen to it!
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