When I first started the blog, I promised a series in which I looked at some key moments in my discovery of southern gospel music. After providing my first entry on Wes Hampton’s duet of “It is Well” with Steve Green, I promptly left the series hanging and gave you no more installments. With my semester wrapped up, I’m going to (try to!) make up for that in the coming weeks. Here then, for your enjoyment, is part two of... Read more
When it comes to critiquing tenor singers, I can be a stinker. In fact, sometimes I can be downright evil. However, you may all rest assured that I will withhold some of my more bitingly sarcastic remarks from this context, because some things just shouldn’t see the light of day. 🙂 But the fact remains that I am mercilessly tough on tenors. To illustrate, I didn’t even like Ernie Haase when I first heard him, and you all know how... Read more
Time for some fun. To all of you who are lamenting the loss of the live band in southern gospel, I present some sympathy from the Muppet Show. In which Dudley Moore announces that he won’t be needing the band anymore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEJRgS6VTB4 And I could not leave out the follow-up, in which Floyd and Animal come backstage and interrupt Dudley to “reason” with him concerning the new Music And Mood Management Apparatus. Animal makes a particularly convincing argument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL-Hikr0hMg Zak... Read more
Another new series, this one like Daniel’s “Encore.” I look at songs sung by a gospel group that deserve to be revived, and you tell me whether you agree with my ideas about who should revive them, or not. We’ll start with a song by the Imperials. Now the Imperials sort of went all over the map, sonically speaking. They started off very traditional with Jake Hess, and they did some great work there. But after some member shifts, they... Read more
Alleluja, he is risen. *** “Seven Stanzas at Easter” by John Updike Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall. It was not as the flowers, each soft Spring recurrent; it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the eleven apostles; it was as His Flesh: ours. The same hinged thumbs and... Read more
Today I thought I would present three songs of the cross that have moved me in honor of Good Friday. I suspect that while a number of my readers may have heard one or two of them, not many have heard all. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes and contemplate all three at some point today. Each song features a tenor soloist, and as it happens, these are probably my three favorite tenors: Steve Green, Matthew Ward, and... Read more
Why? It’s a simple question, but sometimes there isn’t much of an answer in sight. Many people think that’s sufficient reason not to believe in God. I wonder if they realize that Jesus Christ asked the very same question. When he took our sin upon him and was separated from the Father, he cried out asking, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” And when he was in the garden of Gethsemane, he asked that God might let the cup pass from... Read more
The gmctv team has put up their predictions for this year’s Dove Awards, and several have put in their bids in the southern gospel category. For vocalist of the year, senior editor Andy Argyrakis is rooting for Jason Crabb, saying, “He can sing country, soul, southern gospel and pop, nailing each note out of the park no matter what the style,” while managing editor Jenny Bennett has fingered out Doug Anderson: I’m going out on the limb here to say... Read more
This weekend I will be sharing some Holy Week music and meditations, but before we get serious, I thought it might be entertaining to ask my readers this question: What’s one Christian song, for our purposes preferably SG, that everybody talks about and loves, but for whatever reason just doesn’t click for you? The bigger the better. Try to think of something that’s very highly regarded by a lot of people, including critics. Then explain a little of your reasoning... Read more
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Is That Southern Gospel? (Part I, in case I feel like writing a Part II)
Some time ago, I e-mailed this video of Gus Gaches singing “I Stand Redeemed” to my dad. He wrote back and said, “If this is southern gospel, then I’m a southern gospel fan.” But recently, this conversation took place between Dad and Mom…and inspired this post: [Mom, sitting in the living-room happily listening to a Gaither Homecoming Hymns Cracker Barrel special, is interrupted after the first three tracks by Dad, who had hitherto been working in another room.] Dad: What... Read more