Ten On Ten – Perry Sisters

With change in the air, the ten on ten feature will now become a periodic feature instead of weekly.  In this last weekly edition of the ten on ten feature, I will highlight the recording career of the Perry Sisters.

Outside of the Johnson Sisters in the 1960′s, the Perry Sisters were the first all female group to find success in Southern Gospel music.  Their rise began in the mid 1980′s and by the end of the decade the Perry Sisters would get that mega-song to define their career; “There’ll Be A Payday”.

The ten best albums by the Perry Sisters are as follows:

1. Heavenly Rain, Showers Of Blessing (1991)
2. Still Water (1995)
3. We Shall Stand Live (1987)
4. Garden Of Dreams (1992)
5. Do It Right (1989)
6. His Name Be Praised (1988)
7. A Family Portrait (1994)
8. Celebration (1990)
9. Expressions Of Truth (1985)
10. Eyes Of The Heart (1997)

• With just over 20 albums in their discography, the pinnacle of the Perry Sisters recording career is the 1991 live album Heavenly Rain, Showers Of Blessing.  This album captured the Perry Sisters at the height of their popularity.
• The album contained one of the top five songs at radio for the entire year 1991 in “I Don’t Want No Rocks”.  To this day, this song has one of the most unusual harmonica introductions of any song recorded in Southern Gospel music.  The listener is also treated to “Borrowed Tomb”, “If It Had Not Been”, “Shout And Shine”, “Since I Learned How To Pray” and “There Is Hope”.
• The best studio recording in the Perry Sisters discography is the 1995 album Still Water.  This album probably has the best song selection than any other the group recorded.  Highlights include “Climbing Up The Mountain”, “In The Valley”, “I’ve Got Victory In My Soul”, “Let The Fire Fall”, “There Ain’t Nobody”, “You Are The Potter” and “You’ll Hold My Hand”.
• The Perry Sisters had a second live album in their arsenal.  The 1987 recording We Shall Stand Live ranks 3rd among the group’s ten best.  Two of the group’s early hit songs, “I Wonder How Mary Felt” and “We Shall Stand”, are both found on this recording.  This is one of the hardest recordings to find in all of Southern Gospel music.
• Diana Gillette is the only original member of the Perry Sisters to remain with the group for its entirety.  The other two original members were sisters Bonnie Belcher and Carolyn Edwards.
• The best recording with the original line-up is the 1985 album Expressions Of Truth.  Diana Gillette was also the resident songwriter of the Perry Sisters, penning most of the group’s biggest hits.
• By the late 1980′s, Diana’s daughter Angela Gillette and Bonnie’s daughter Tammy (Belcher) Underwood would both join the group singing and playing instruments.  Bob Gillette (Diana’s husband) played drums while Jeff Hogsten rounded out the band playing many different instruments.
• If I was compiling a list of Southern Gospel’s most underrated artists, the Perry Sisters would be near the top.  This talented all female group never seemed to get the recognition afforded all the male quartets/groups in the genre.
• In addition to the songs already mentioned, the Perry Sisters introduced the following songs to the Southern Gospel listener:  ”Bought By The Blood Of The Lamb”, “He’ll Deliver Me”, “Imagine If You Will”, “In The Ark Of Safety”, “Let His Name Be Praised”, “More Like You”, “Resurrection Morn”, “They Can’t Start The Celebration”, “You Took This Life”, “When You’re Looking At Me” and “Where Was God”.
• The Perry Sisters, composed of Diana Gillette, Tammy Underwood and Nicole Matthews, are still doing select dates in 2013.

Album Covers To Rank – Set 6

Southern Gospel Views from the Back Row is in search of the best and worst Southern Gospel album covers of all time.  Here is a sixth set of album covers to rank.  In the comments section rank each cover from 1 to 6 (1 being best, 6 being worst).  Click on thumbnail for larger image.

Live And On Stage – Hinsons (1976)

Old Fashioned, Down Home… – Oak Ridge Boys (1976)

Looking For The Wounded – Perfect Heart (1991)

Still Water – Perry Sisters (1995)

What Then? – Rebels Quartet (1961)

Something In The Air – Ruppes (2004)

Classic Videos – “Borrowed Tomb”

I had a request this week for another Perry Sisters video clip from their 1991 audio/video recording, Heavenly Rain…Showers Of Blessing.  Enjoy “Borrowed Tomb”, penned by Chuck Lawrence.

“Borrowed Tomb” – Perry Sisters (1991)

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Classic Videos – “If It Had Not Been”

One of the many things I enjoy about doing this blog is fulfilling reader requests.  I received an email from a reader asking if I would feature a video clip of the Perry Sisters singing “If It Had Not Been”.  I searched through my video library and found the 1991 recording released by the Perry Sisters titled Heavenly Rain, Showers Of Blessings.  Here is the Perry Sisters performing “If It Had Not Been”.  Enjoy!

“If It Had Not Been” – Perry Sisters (1991)

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Classic Videos – “We Shall Stand”

It seems as though the response I have already received regarding posting of classic videos will keep me busy for a while.  I have had a couple of people ask if I have a YouTube channel.  The answer is no.  As of now this will be the only place you will be able to view these videos.

I had someone ask yesterday for the Perry Sisters, “We Shall Stand”.  This comes from the same 1989 television program of the Hoppers clip yesterday.  Enjoy!  More videos to come.

“We Shall Stand” – Perry Sisters (1989)

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Retro Spotlight – 1984

As I ease back into blogging on a regular basis I wanted to get back to some of my regular features.  Today, it is time for another retro spotlight, looking at music from albums released in 1984.  While I can’t include all recordings from my collection from that specific year, I pulled out a few albums to take a look at from 1984.  Enjoy.

The Florida Boys recorded what would arguably be the group’s biggest song ever on their 1984 recording Reaching Out.  “When He Was On The Cross, I Was On His Mind” was a #1 hit and won song of the year at the Singing News Fan Awards two years in a row.

Gold City continued to release music that would propel them to mega group status by the end of the decade.  Walk On was the group’s 1984 release and featured several big songs including “John Saw” and the song featured here “Shoutin’ Ground”.

The Greenes were also picking up steam with radio success and 1984 brought them “It Sure Sounds Like Angels To Me” from their album Greenehouse.  Another great ballad featured on that album was “Calmer Of The Storm”.  Take a listen.

One of the top groups in the industry during this time period was the Hemphills.  With the success of “He’s Still Workin’ On Me” in 1980, the group strung together several #1 hits throughout the early part of the 1980′s.  One of those #1 hits was “It Wasn’t Raining When Noah Built The Ark”.  The song was recorded on the Hemphill’s 1984 recording Together.

The Game Of Life was the 1984 recording released by the Kingsmen.  This album was one of the few studio albums recorded during this decade by the group.  A straight ahead Kingsmen three chord and a cloud of dust type song was “You Don’t Have To Wait”.

One of the first all female groups to make a name for themselves in the Southern Gospel music industry was the Perry Sisters.  They started recording in the late ’70′s, but began gaining notoriety after signing with Eddie Crook in the early ’80′s.  In 1984 the trio released Gloryland Train and “In The Ark Of Safety” was one of the selections found on the album.

1984 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning one of the biggest albums released in Southern Gospel music.  The Singing Americans, Live And Alive is considered among many Southern Gospel historians as one of the best albums ever recorded.  Most remembered from this recording was Michael English’s feature on “I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy”, but I chose to include “Something New”.  Take a listen.

To close out 1984 is the Talleys.  The group released their debut Canaan recording, Wherever I Am.  The group recorded a song on that particular album that would go on to become a Talley classic; “Thinking About Home”.