Short Shelf Life For Canton Junction’s Debut/New CD Coming Soon

Canton Junction’s self-titled, double-length debut release is still offered for sale as a physical CD direct from Difference Media, but both the physical CD and the digital versions have been pulled from Amazon.com, iTunes, and I presume other outlets. If you want the original, go to DifferenceMedia.org and get ‘em before they’re gone.

It appears the group has a new CD coming out on May 21 titled Show Me Your Way. Eleven of the fourteen song titles from the upcoming release were on the earlier release. Those songs may have Michael Sykes’ vocals replaced by Shane McConnell’s, but maybe not. The new cover has no group photo, so it could be the same tracks.

This approach is rather odd.

I can understand wanting to get a new product out quickly, but it doesn’t make a great deal of sense to take so many songs from a collection that isn’t even cold yet and put them with just three previously unreleased cuts. I could see including “Hold On” with ten or eleven new songs, since that song has already had a run on radio. Most groups would just re-do the exposed vocals on the old product and repackage it as the same collection.

Granted, there was no major distribution deal for the first CD, so I guess they decided to back up and punt. Still, those fans who did buy the first CD aren’t going to be crazy about buying this second CD when so many of the songs are the same.

Here is the song list for the new CD:
1. I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ For My Journey Now
2. Show Me Your Way
3. Dig a Little Deeper In God’s Love
4. The Son Shines Down on Me
5. Heaven Is
6. The Inviting Christ
7. Sweeter as the Days Go By
8. In The Valley He Restoreth My Soul
9. Softly and Tenderly
10. Hold On
11. Glorify
12. Just a Little Talk with Jesus/Jesus on the Main Line Medley
13. In God We Still Trust
14. Back On My Feet Again

What do you think of this approach?

Gordon Stoker Passed Away

Gordon Stoker passed away on March 27, 2013 at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee after a long illness. He was 88 years old.

Stoker was born in Gleason, Tennessee on August 3, 1924. He joined the Jordanaires in 1949. He was their pianist, then became a vocalist alternating between tenor and lead.

Prior to joining the Jordanaires, he had already played piano for the John Daniel Quartet and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. Between his stint with the Daniel Quartet in the early 1940s and joining the Jordanaires in 1949, he served in the United States Air Force from 1943-1945 and attended college from 1946 to 1948.

Stoker and the Jordanaires were well-known in Gospel circles in the early 1950s. They became household names for secular fans after 1956 when Elvis Presley called them to sing background vocals on his hit song “Hound Dog.” The Jordanaires sang on many hit Country recordings including Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Kenny Rogers’ “Lucille” and George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

They sang on so many sessions behind various popular artists in addition to recording their own music, it is estimated their total sales exceed eight billion.

Click HERE to read a related article in The Tennessean. His complete obituary is HERE.

The #1′s – “Come Morning”

The #1′s series takes a look at the #1 songs in the history of Southern Gospel music as reported by Singing News magazine.  This edition takes us back to the year 1980 and the song “Come Morning”.

Penned by noted songwriter Dee Gaskin, “Come Morning” became the first #1 song for the Rex Nelon Singers.  Found on the group’s 1979 album Feelings, “Come Morning” was a unique #1 song in that it spent three non-consecutive months at the top of the charts.

The song spent the months of June, August and October 1980 at #1.  Here is a YouTube clip, published by TheNelonsFan, from the Nelons 1994 reunion video performing “Come Morning”.  Enjoy!

Most Influential – #29 – Brian Free & Assurance

Another current quartet has created enough influence to find a home among the most influential artists in Southern Gospel music.  Ranked #29 among the most influential artists is Brian Free and Assurance.

After garnering acclaim as tenor for Gold City, Brian Free set out on his own and formed Assurance in 1993.  The group started as a trio before eventually becoming a quartet.

Brian Free and Assurance are masters at progressive Southern Gospel quartet music.

INFLUENCE METER:

• Brian Free in one of the most awarded tenors in Southern Gospel history.  His influence alone gave Assurance immediate name recognition among Southern Gospel listeners.
• Assurance’s progressive Southern Gospel style can be heard in newer quartets like Canton Junction and Union Street.  Mixed group the Crist Family and male trio Beyond The Ashes also have that progressive Southern Gospel style that serves Brian Free and Assurance so well.
• Hit Songs:  ”Calvary’s Cry”, “Die Another Day”, “For God So Loved”, “Greater Still”, “Healed”, “He Thought Of Me”, “I Am Redeemed”, “I Believe”, “I Believe God”, “I Want To Be That Man”, “If It Takes A Valley”, “It’s All About The Blood”, “Its Still My Father’s World”, “Jesus Came Out Alive”, “Long As I Got King Jesus”, “Lovin’ This Livin’ For The Lord”, “Mary Knew”, “My Answer Is Yes”, “Never Walk Alone”, “Part Where You Come In”, “Praying Man”, “Real Faith”, “So Close To Home”, “Stand Up For What I Stand For”, “There’ll Come A Day”, “Who Is This King” and “You Must Have Met Him”.
• Best Album:  Never Walk Alone (2010)

Here is a YouTube clip, published by GospelSouthern, of Brian Free & Assurance singing “I Believe”; progressive Southern Gospel quartet music at its best.  Enjoy!

Concert Review: The Perrys, The Carl Partain Family

Cedartown, Georgia is a small town in west Georgia and their city auditorium was the venue for a Perrys concert recently.  Since Tracy Stuffle is still in the hospital following his stroke with Libbi by his side, the group is fulfilling their dates with lead Joseph Habedank, baritone Bryan Walker, and fill-in alto Leah Page.   I was excited to be able to hear Leah after so many nice things have been said about her!

Opening the concert was Carl Partain and his family.  They have been singing together in the area but I had never heard them before.  Carl is the pastor at Pine Ridge Baptist Church in Fort Payne, Alabama.  He and his wife have eight children and  seven of them sang with their dad at different points during the concert.  Their names are  Drew, Iveigh, Bekkah, Waverley, Bellah, Joeze, and Jude.  Carl is a strong singer and the group has a country style.

• I’m Not Going to Hell – I was a little startled by the lyrics and title of this song.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard it put quite this way.  The oldest daughter , Iveigh, and the oldest son, Drew, joined their dad on the song.
• This Blessed Old Book – Several times during the night, the two oldest girls changed places within the trio,  Bekkah sang on this song.
• He Changed My Tears  – Becca was featured on this one.
• Don’t Give Up – Drew sang first couple of verses of this song about the prodigal son.  Then Carl came in on the father’s verses.  Iveigh and Bekka joined in on the choruses.
• Thank You Lord (For What You’ve Done) - Joeze and little sister Waverley were featured on this song that   Drew wrote.
• My Song of Praise and Love – Joeze was featured on this one.
• Give Them All – Jade , who is 5,  gets the cuteness award for this song!  He sang on the choruses and was not bashful with the microphone!
• God’s Been Good  – I first heard this song when Tim Parton sang it while he was with Legacy Five.   This is the first ensemble I’ve seen.  This family seems to prefer singing three parts even if there are four or more singers on stage.  Rather than doubling a part, the additional singers will just drop out.  On this song, Carl sang the verses and Drew, Iveigh, and Bekka sang the choruses.

The Perry’s then took the stage.  I’ve always enjoyed the way Joseph and Bryan interact together, and I’m sure that has helped them keep the group going with the absence of Libbi and Tracy.  Joseph makes a great emcee.   The trio appeared to be very relaxed together and did a great job with all of the songs they sang.

• Blue Skies Coming – I will admit that I didn’t particularly like this song when it first came out, but it has really grown on me, especially the chorus.
• I Got Hold of God This Morning – This song from their newest album has gone to #1 on the charts.  Leah’s sound and style is a little different from Libbi’s and it was interesting to see the variations between their performances.
• This Old Sinner Testifies – This is a nice foot stomping song and I enjoyed Bryan’s feature on the second verse and Leah’s lead on the melody on the last choruses and reprise.
• Libbi joined us by cell phone and gave a report on Tracy’s condition.
• Through the Night – This title song from their newest CD seems especially appropriate for the group and for Tracy and Libbi right now. Leah was featured.
• Great Is Thy Faithfulness – I’ve heard Bryan sing this song several times and it always gets a wonderful reaction from the audience because of its message.  Bryan has quite a vocal range and, since the song was a capella, he was free  to express himself and repeat phrases for emphasis.
• Royal Descendant – Joseph was featured on this wonderful song of testimony.
• One of These Mornings – This peppy song is also from new album and featured Bryan.   You could tell this was a crowd favorite!
• Living In Canaan Now and  I Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now  – These two old songs were just plain fun!!
• Calvary Answers for Me  – The pace slowed down for this marvelous song that went all the way to #2 on the Singing News chart in March of 2004.
• Damascus Road -  This was another fun classic.
• If You Knew Him – Of course, Joseph gave a great introduction to this song he wrote with Rodney Griffin that went all the way to #1 at the end of 2009 and was Song of the Year in 2010.
• I Wish I Could’ve Been There – I’m not sure the crowd would’ve let them leave without singing this one!  Of course, the crowd was on their feet and singing along by the end.

If you’d like to keep up with Tracy’s progress in the hospital, Libbi is posting updates daily on the Caring Bridge site.

New Blog Name – Your Vote Matters

Alright folks, we have narrowed it down to three choices.  We need y’all to decide on which one you think should be the new mega-blog name.  The poll will stay open for one week.  The three choices are as follows:

1. Southern Gospel Central
2. Southern Gospel World Wide
3. Musicscribe.com (with new tagline: News and Views from the Back Row)

What If Bill Gaither Had Retired In 1995

In a 1992 interview with Kay Lewis, Bill Gaither said:

Mark (Lowry), Jim (Murray), Michael (English) and I sat down about a month ago and discussed short-term plans and long-term goals, and we decided that we were having a good time doing what we’re doing. They have a lot of time to do solo dates also. So we decided if we can continue what we’re doing now for another two or three years that would be nice.

Picture a Southern Gospel landscape without the influence of the Homecoming phenomenon or the Gaither Vocal Band. In 1992, the big labels were Canaan, Riversong, Homeland and MorningStar. Sonlite was a relatively small label, but they already had groups like the Kingdom Heirs and the Hoppers on their roster. Dawn Records had Squire Parsons, the Primitives and a few other familiar names. Other smaller labels in 1992 included Calvary (Freemans) and Mark Five (Perfect Heart).

Groups like the Nelons, the Talleys, Gold City and the Cathedrals were setting the standard in terms of recording quality, but even they produced some cheap table projects.

Bill Gaither didn’t merely set a higher standard for concert goers and fans who bought CDs and DVDs. He formed record labels, introduced new artists, gave nearly forgotten artists renewed exposure and reached out to multiple genres.

What would the current Southern Gospel landscape look like if Gaither had quietly gone into retirement around 1995?

I believe someone else would have stepped into the multiple roles that Gaither filled, but it might have been slower coming.

There are some great concert promoters in Southern Gospel, but I haven’t heard of any promoter who is packing out arenas across the country with regularity yet.

Recording quality would have improved with or without Gaither due to advances in technology, but we’d probably still have a lot of ultra-cheap sounding recordings had Gaither not set a lofty standard.

Talent will ultimately rise to the surface, but can often go unnoticed. Many groups that Gaither “discovered” (Martins, Isaacs, etc.) were already fairly well-known, but he introduced them to a much larger audience. I wonder if their talent would be so widely recognized today if they had to work to get noticed without ever getting those boosts from Gaither.

It’s likely we’d never have heard of Guy Penrod, Wes Hampton, Marshall Hall, or David Phelps…at least not in a quartet context.

‘Live’ Southern Gospel Music Connection – 03/25/13 to 03/31/13

Welcome to another week of the ‘Live’ Southern Gospel Music Connection.  This is your one stop to get concert information of artists in Southern Gospel that use ‘live’ music in their concerts.

This week’s tip:  The next concert you attend with your favorite group, ask them if they would be willing to do one song with just piano (instruments) and vocals.

Concert Spotlight This Week:

• Chuck Wagon Gang - Saturday March 30th, 2013 – Screven Motor Sports Complex in Sylvania, GA.  Concert time 2pm.
• Dove Brothers Band - Saturday March 30th, 2013 – Screven Motor Sports Complex in Sylvania, GA.  Concert time 2pm.  Concert also includes the Blackwood Brothers and Florida Boys.
• Jeff and Sheri Easter - Friday March 29th, 2013 – Mill Town Music Hall in Bremen, GA.  Concert time 7pm.
• Freemans - Sunday March 31st, 2013 – Bethel Pentecostal Church Of God in Bethel, OH.  Concert time 6pm.
• Inspirations – Friday March 29th, 2013 – Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Lavonia, GA.  Concert time 7pm.
• Primitive Quartet - Sunday March 31st, 2013 – Fletcher First Baptist Church in Fletcher, NC.  Concert time 6pm.

‘Live’ Music Moment Of The Week:

• I had the chance Friday (03/22/13) to see the Old Paths at Piedmont Baptist Church in Kannapolis NC.  While most of the service used tracks they did do a selection with Jeremy at piano.  I wanted to present Old Paths and found this clip posted by fellow contributor DinanaSN.  This clip has the Old Paths singing the classic “Love Lifted Me” with a band.  They used the classic Kingsmen arrangement of the song.  Enjoy!