sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘Something Special’

Now that the new mega-blog name has been determined and we are all in the process of transitioning, I wanted to begin bringing back some regular features.  This week I wanted to offer a sghistory.com retro spotlight.

This retro spotlight takes a look at JD Sumner and the Stamps 1972 Heart Warming album, Something Special.  The two-year time period of 1971/1972 with the Stamps vocal line-up of Bill Baize (tenor), Donnie Sumner (lead), Ed Enoch (baritone), Richard Sterban (bass) and JD Sumner was one of the best in Southern Gospel quartet history.

This particular vocal line-up released five albums during that two-year period.  Something Special was the final album to be released by this line-up.  Listen to sound bytes from JD Sumner and the Stamps 1972 album, Something Special.  Enjoy!

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘Go Heartwarming’

The sghistory.com Retro Spotlight feature this week takes a look at the Plainsmen and their 1964 album, Go Heartwarming.  The retro spotlight series has been looking at the recording period in Southern Gospel music from the years 1955 to 1965.

The Plainsmen recorded several albums for Heartwarming Records in the mid 1960′s including Go Heartwarming.  The vocal line-up on this record included Thurman Bunch (tenor), Jack Mainord (lead), Howard Welborn (baritone) and Seals Hilton (bass).  What many Southern Gospel listeners may not realize is that Rusty Goodman (of Happy Goodman Family fame) spent time with the Plainsmen singing bass before joining up with Howard, Sam and Vestal to form the Happy Goodmans.

Listen to sound bytes of the Plainsmen’s 1964 album, Go Heartwarming.  Enjoy!

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘Sing With The Tennesseans’

This week in the retro spotlight, as we continue our look at the recording period in Southern Gospel music between the years 1955 and 1965, is an album from the Tennesseans.  Not to be confused with the group put together by Willie Wynn in the 1970′s, the Tennesseans Quartet of the early 1960′s consisted of Southern Gospel legends (by today’s standards).

The group was composed of Wally Laxon (tenor), Jimmy Vassar (lead), Dean Bassham (baritone), Noel Fox (bass) and Eddie Crook (pianist).  Noel Fox would go on to sing bass with the Oak Ridge Boys and Eddie Crook would go on to play for the Plainsmen, Sego Brothers & Naomi and the Happy Goodman Family.  Eddie would also start MorningStar Records and launch many a recording career in the 1980′s.

Dale Shelnut (of Dixie Echoes fame) also spent some time with the Tennesseans Quartet before joining the Dixie Echoes.  Enjoy these sound bytes from the Tennesseans 1962 Heart Warming Records album Sing With The Tennesseans.

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘The Singing Speers’

It has been over two months since the last sghistory.com retro spotlight.  I was covering the time period in Southern Gospel music from 1955 to 1965.  In this week’s edition of the retro spotlight, I wanted to take a look at the 1960 album from the Speer Family titled The Singing Speers.

Skylite Records was the dominant Gospel music record label during this time period.  The Speer Family was also one of the biggest Gospel groups touring at this era, next to the Statesmen and the Blackwood Brothers.  Dad (GT) and Mom (Lena) Speer were still a major part of the group during this recording.  They were joined by Brock, Ben and Ginger Smith.

Listen to sound bytes from the Speer Family’s 1960 Skylite Records album The Singing Speers.  Enjoy this listen of classic Southern Gospel music!

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘A New Concept In Gospel Singing’

This week I wanted to continue the sghistory.com retro spotlight feature.  I have been taking a look at the era of Southern Gospel music from 1955 to 1965.  This week’s spotlight shines on the first album recorded by the Goss Brothers on the Sing Records label.

A New Concept In Gospel Singing released circa 1962.  This recording introduced the Gospel music world to the Goss Brothers.  The trio consisted of brothers Lari, James and Roni.  Out of the three brothers, Lari Goss is the most recognized today for his production work.  Lari was honored by many in Southern Gospel music a couple of months ago at a tribute concert in Nashville.

Lari Goss also wrote many of the songs the Goss Brothers recorded during their career.  Enjoy sound bytes from the Goss Brothers 1962 album A New Concept In Gospel Singing.  If there is a particular album you would like to see featured as part of this series, let me know.

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘Hymn Sing’

I started a feature a couple of weeks ago, as part of the retro spotlight, highlighting the period of 1955 to 1965 in Southern Gospel music.  An era of classic quartet music that was dominated by the dynamic duo of the Statesmen Quartet and the Blackwood Brothers Quartet.

This week’s retro spotlight looks at the 1956 RCA Victor album Hymn Sing by half of that dynamic duo; the Blackwood Brothers.  The line-up of the group on this album was Bill Shaw (tenor), James Blackwood (lead), Cecil Blackwood (baritone), JD Sumner (bass) and Jackie Marshall (pianist).

Songs that would become quartet standards were being recorded for the first time during this time period.  The album even contained a song that would go on to become a standard for Michael English some thirty years after; “I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy”.

Listen to sound bytes from the Blackwood Brothers 1956 album Hymn Sing.  Enjoy!

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘Sing Praises’

I wanted to offer a sghistory.com retro spotlight feature this week.  Some would argue the period of about 1955 to 1965 produced some of the best Southern Gospel quartet music in the genre’s history.  So, over the course of the next several weeks I am going to offer my readers, albums from this time period in the retro spotlight feature.

This week I wanted to feature some music from an artist I have yet to feature on the blog.  The Gospel Harmony Boys, out of West Virginia, have been in existence since 1953.  During the period in question, Harold Lane (of Speers fame) spent time singing lead with the Gospel Harmony Boys.

The group recorded a couple of albums with one of the biggest Gospel record labels at that time, Skylite.  The 1963 album Sing Praises is the recording featured in the retro spotlight.  The members of the group on this recording, in addition to Lane, were Asa LeGrand, Homer Fry, Gray Johnson and Dick Lucas.

Enjoy sound bites from the Gospel Harmony Boys 1963 album Sing Praises.

sghistory.com Retro Spotlight – ‘What A Wonderful Time’

I received an email this week about providing some Inspirations video footage in the classic video feature.  Instead, I thought I would include a classic Inspirations album in the sghistory.com retro spotlight feature.

It’s been two months since the last retro spotlight feature, so why not?  Let’s go back to the year 1966 and the recording What A Wonderful Time.  Many listeners of the Inspirations music believe that simple arrangements, mountain style the group has carried for the last 30+ years has always been the sound the Inspirations carried.  Not so.  The music the group was recording in the 1960′s had a similar sound to the other classic quartets touring the circuit at this time period.

While the mountain style tenor of Archie Watkins is prevalent and there was a hint of that mountain style the group would totally adopt in the 1970′s, the arrangements and instrumentation was different (yes folks, that is drums on an Inspirations album).  Take a listen to a mash-up of music from the Inspirations 1966 album; What A Wonderful Time.  Enjoy.