SG History 101

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Welcome, everyone!

I know most of you are scratching your heads, saying, "Who's John Scheideman?

What are his credentials? And where did John Crenshaw go?"

Well, last things first!...if you keep up with ths site, you'll find out what's become of John...and where he went! My first official duty as the new columnist here is to salute John Crenshaw!

Like many of you, John's SG History 101 columns were major highlights of the beginning of each month for me! I was and will always be one of John's biggest fans...I've learned so much about the facts and history of SG from his columns...I will always regard John as the single most knowledgable person in the United States about recorded gospel music! John has moved on to what I'm sure is an exciting new opportunity for him, and I want to start my stint here by wishing him my very best, and thank and congratulate him for all he's meant to and done for me, as a lover of gospel music!

Now on to my first two questions...who am I, and what are my credentials?

Allow me to introduce myself...I'm John Scheideman...in "real life", I'm a 20-year veteran of radio at KMJ in Fresno..and for 18 of those years, I have been involved with what is perhaps the longest-running SG radio program still on the air in this country..."Don Smith's Gospel Favorites"...on the air on KMJ in one form or other since 1947!

Don was bass singer for the famous Blackwood Brothers from 1940-1947, when he decided to forsake Shenandoah, Iowa (where the Blackwoods were headquartered at the time) for the woman of his dreams and the other warmth of California, settling down in Fresno to start his own private business, and because he was a true "quartet man" formed his own gospel quartet, the Gospelaires, who entertained West Coast gospel fans for more than 30 years!

As a native Fresnan, I grew up listening to Don's KMJ programs...for most of my youth he broadcast on KMJ seven days a week, weekday mornings at 5:30...and weekend mornings at 8! The sounds of four-part gospel quartet harmony were an integral part of my development of a child...I grew up wanting to be on the radio, and be involved in some way with that great kind of music!

My appetite for gospel music developed further with records my family owned...they loved that quartet sound as well, and the first time I heard gospel bass singers, such as the late JD Sumner and the late London Parris, I learned to love SG even more...and by the time I started to buy records on my own, I intended to have a large collection of what is now known as "southern gospel"
music, always known to me as simply "gospel music"!

By the time I realized my childhood dream of being on the radio, I had acquired some 700 records of all kinds of music, and about 400 of those were gospel LPs!

It took me only a year after being on the air in Fresno to get a job at the market leader (then and now) KMJ, and soon thereafter, was chosen to work with Don's program...I began as his producer in 1986, and the program's co-host after Don retired from radio in 1998...I have hosted the show with his daughter Earline ever since!

Through my association with Don and the show, I was able to meet a lot of the people involved in gospel music, and learn about it as well! Don himself told me many stories of his long career with quartets such as the Stamps Melody Boys and the Blackwoods, and people he worked with, including the Blackwood Brothers themselves, Odis "Pop" Echols, Denver Crumpler, Brock and Ben Speer, Jim Waites, and many, many more!

Eventually, thanks to Don and the program, I met people like Les Beasley, Glen Allred, Rex Nelon, Glen Payne, George Younce, Ed O'Neal, Rex Nelon, and my singing heroes, JD Sumner, James Blackwood, and my favorite of all, London Parris! Those days were among the happiest of my life! Even now, to hear the recordings I remember from childhood gives me thrills that few other things do!

It's that background and love for the heritage of SG that I hope to bring to this column...I intend to adopt the same approach as John did, after all, why "fix" what isn't "broke"? In addition, I hope to make this as "interactive" a column as possible...in other words, I'd like to write about the things and groups that you want to read about...after all, this column is for you, and I'd like as much as possible to examine the groups and topics you're most interested in! I'm always open to your thoughts, input, and suggestions!

I'm excited about the opportunity to share my love of gospel music with you...and I assure you that I'll do my best to make the columns informative, and entertaining!

John set the bar very high...and I hope I can approach the same level of quality that he attained!

-John Scheideman-

Check out the new Southern Gospel Music History web site while you are at it.

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