The Blackwood Brothers of today don’t have James, RW or even Cecil. They have Jimmy, who some considered a shadow of his father.
The Stamps of today have Ed Enoch and a bunch of young fellas that nobody has ever heard of. As far as I can tell this new group hasn’t produced any albums and hardly tours at all. JD Sumner is gone, and with him went the Stamps, it seems.
The Melody Boys are still truckin’ along, but Gerald Williams can’t seem to keep the same four men together for longer than two years tops.
The Florida Boys come closest to holding on to their glory the longest, but when Les, Glen and Darrell retired for good, a completely new group took over the name, but this new group consisted of people whose names were never connected with the FB’s before. It was almost the same as if Andrew Ishee, Squire Parsons, Jay Parrack, Mark Trammell and Chris West got together and started calling themselves the Statesmen.
The Palmetto State Quartet, the Kingsmen, the Dixie Echoes and the Inspirations probably come the closest, and I’m kinda stretching even here because as long-lived as they are, the DE’s and the Insp’s haven’t been around anywhere near as long as the other groups I’ve mentioned.
That being said:
The PSQ is still a name people talk about, and has managed to successfully reinvent itself several times, and is to my mind easily the oldest group still thought of as a success. Somehow they managed not to get identified as One Man and his Backups like some other groups have, but it can be argued that they are still not what they used to be.
The Kingsmen still get people to come see their shows and still produce albums that people buy, and still have their long-term bass singer with them, but many people feel that the current group is a shadow of its former self and without Jim Hamill can never truly be the Kingsmen.
The Dixie Echoes still have a healthy following, and their fans love what the current group is doing, but one has to admit that this group will probably never achieve the heights of popularity they had while Dale Shelnut was still alive.
The Inspirations are an anomaly. For longer than almost any other group can claim, they hung on to many of their founding members. Even Jack Laws stuck around long after “retiring” and Archie Watkins is probably the longest-lasting tenor with one group in SG history. They even still has the original founder. I gotta say, though, the Inspirations might as well change their name to the Institutions because part of their popularity stems from how they never change despite the ever-changing face of gospel music.
There are some younger groups, such as the GVB and Gold City, who still pack ‘em in, but compared to the groups I’ve already mentioned, these people are children.
Are there any I’ve missed. I admit I’m hardly the expert here.
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GUY PENROD TAKES A SABBATICAL FROM THE GAITHER VOCAL BAND
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Gaither Music announced today that Gaither Vocal Band lead singer, Guy Penrod, will be taking a sabbatical from the Homecoming Tour for a few weeks. He has been singing and traveling full-time with the Gaither Vocal Band since 1994 and his faithfulness throughout that time is being honored with some much-deserved rest and personal time. Guy will spend these weeks resting, enjoying his family and recharging physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The Vocal Band will be assisted by distinguished GVB alumni Mark Lowry and David Phelps, as well as young vocal sensation, Jason Crabb, who will alternately cover Guy’s vocal part during the next few weeks. As always, the Gaither organization is committed to creating an unparalleled concert experience for ticket holders and anticipates that these three gifted artists will contribute an extraordinary element to the Homecoming program during Guy’s temporary absence.
“the Homecoming family extends our sincere thanks in advance for fans’ support of this decision to give our friend some time off.”
“Guy has a tremendous following of friends and fans around the world who care about his well-being,” Bill Gaither expressed, “So the Homecoming family extends our sincere thanks in advance for fans’ support of this decision to give our friend some time off.”
“Guy is more than a big voice on whom the Vocal Band relies heavily,” he added. “He is first a father, husband and friend and honestly, this time of rest was my idea because I love him and I know that our busy lives rarely offer the opportunity to look after our own needs. I look at this sabbatical as a gift that will refresh Guy and help him keep his body and spirit strong for the years to come.” —©2008 CCAUTHORITY.COM BREAKING NEWS
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1. Is the health of gospel music deteriorating or is it stronger than ever?
2. Does a new independent artist have a better chance at succeeding today than 20 years ago?
3. Are artists making better records today than 20 or 30 years ago? Why?
4. Do you feel the southern gospel market is oversaturated?
5. How do you perceive small vanity labels (labels that are a “label” in name but lack resources for marketing, distribution, etc.)?
6. Which artist, past or present, stands out in your mind as an innovator?
7. How do you feel about secular artists recording Christian music and then marketing the product to the southern gospel audience?
8. What do you hope is next for the genre as a entity?
That is all of the questions I have for now. Thank you so much for participating.
Steve Allen
http://www.SquareOneStudio.com
http://sogospelnews.com/index/news/comments/xm-radios-enlighten-being-added-to-sirius-as-well/
On XM radios, the EnLIGHTen station is on Channel 34 but on Sirius the station is on Channel 67. The station is also available on DirecTV Channel 828 and Dish Network Channel 6067 as well as over the internet.
I can report the simulcast is working perfectly and it sounds great on both systems since I have XM in my car and Sirius at work.
If you know ANYONE with satellite radio, please let them know about this great station. And, most importantly, if you are an artist or provide compilation discs to radio stations, hopefully, you will get your discs sent to the EnLIGHTen programming department.
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