New Years Eve

I wanted to first take a moment and wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.  Is anyone planning on going to any New Years Eve concerts or Watchnight services?  The new Gold City lineup is debuting tonight at a concert in Villa Rica, GA.  I have a facebook friend that is going and she has promised a review.  I hope everyone has a safe evening!

Singing News Top 10 Southern Gospel Songs of 1999 vs. 2009

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it has been a decade since the Y2K scare!  As this decade comes to a close, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the songs from the Singing News Top 10 CD from 1999 and compare it to the one that came out this year.

1999
He Made A Change                                             The Cathedrals
I Belive In A Hill Called Mount Calvary    The Gaither Vocal Band
In Time, On Time, Every Time                      Gold City
Trail of Tears                                                        The Crabb Family
My Name is Lazarus                                          Greater Vision
I’ll Live Again                                                       The Kingsmen
Roll That Burden on Me                                   The McKameys
Shoutin’ Time                                                       The Hoppers
One Holy Lamb                                                   Poet Voices
King Jesus                                                             Won by One

2009
What Salvation’s Done For Me              Booth Brothers
Jesus Made A Believer Out Of Me        Kingdom Heirs
I Want To Thank You                               Karen Peck & New River
I Know It Was The Blood                        The Perrys
Hello After Goodbye                                Legacy Five
Loving The Lamb                                      Mark Trammell Trio
I Want To Know That You Know        Greater Vision
When God Ran                                           The Kingsmen
The Old White Flag                                   Triumphant Quartet
The Rose                                                       Inspirations
All You’ll See Is The Clay                       Primitive Quartet (Bonus track so we won’t mention this in the commentary)

Interestingly there were only 2 groups that were on both releases, Greater Vision and The Kingsmen.

1999 had 6 male quartets,  3 mixed family groups, and 1 trio

2009 had 5 male quartets, 1 mixed family group, and 4 trios (I counted Karen Peck & New River as a trio but I guess they could qualify as a mixed family group as well)

I won’t bother with personnel changes but would like to look at how many groups are still around compared to the 1999 list.  The Cathedrals retired, The Crabb Family split into 4 different groups (counting The Bowlings), The Kingsmen name was retired (so the group continued as The Carolina Boys and are known again as The Kingsmen), Poet Voices retired then reformed and folded again, Won by One retired but has recently announced a return.  All the groups but one in the 1999 list have had a vocal change so the consistency award goes to The Hoppers.

I hope you enjoyed this look to the past.  I’m looking forward to any discussion or observations you might have!

YouTube Clip #33 – Devin McGlamery

Here is a video clip featuring the recently named lead singer for Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Devin McGlamery.  I feel he will be a great addition to this group and will improve their sound greatly.  There has already been talk of how he will fit in due to “his look” and I think this clip shows he also has the vocal ability and stage presence.  The only question remaining is….can he play basketball?

Changes For EHSS

Ryan Seaton has left EHSS and has been replaced by Devin McGlamery. More on this after I return from vacation.

Cassettes for sale

For those of you that are collectors and may want to pick up some out of print items, Springside Marketing has announced through their newsletter this morning that they are having a “last chance warehouse” sale on some items.  I’ve already made a call this morning to order a few items.  Happy hunting!

Here is the link to the cassettes for sale.

Christmas Loot 2009

Hey everyone!  It’s Nate…filling in for Wes while he is on vacation.  In the past I’ve posted either on a message board or blog what SG related items I got for Christmas.  It’s always fun to discuss and also see what other people have received.  Back in my days of being single I would just buy any and every CD I wanted, whenever I wanted to.  However, after being married and becoming a homeowner, my spending habits have changed a good bit.  Nowadays I wait until my Birthday and Christmas to ask for what I want from my favorite artists.  My “must have” groups have also dwindled over the past few years, making it easy just by looking at my new list who my favorites are.  I’d really like some group participation in this so please post what Santa Claus brought you as well!

Booth Brothers- Louisville Live DVD
Booth Brothers- Timeline vol 2 CDs (Will You Love Jesus More, Walkin’ on the Good Side, This Stage of Grace)
Booth Brothers, Greater Vision, Legacy Five- Jubilee CD
Michael Booth- Self Titled CD
Greater Vision- Not Alone CD
Triumphant Quartet- Everyday CD

Merry Christmas!

I’m off after today until after the New Year, so let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!  I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Christmas holiday, and a Happy New Year.  Nate will be taking care of the blog in my absence, and I’ll see you all back here in 2010.

Roy Webb And Josh Cobb Join Gold City, Tim Riley Staying On Full Time

The Singing News has just issued a press release from Gold City.  Josh Cobb (yes, THAT Josh Cobb!) has been named the new tenor for Gold City, and Roy Webb is joining the group as well.  Roy will still be performing his solo dates, but on weekends when he is not booked as a soloist, he will be traveling with Gold City.  Also included in the press release is the news that Tim Riley has committed to a full time return to the stage for the group.

Roy Webb is a terrific piano player, and his stage demeanor will instantly be an asset to Gold City’s overall stage presentation.  I’ll be looking forward to his wit and humor being incorporated into Gold City’s programs.

Josh Cobb is quite an interesting addition to the group as tenor vocalist.  Cobb, you will remember, was the original tenor for Legacy Five, but departed from the group at NQC literally right after winning the Horizon Individual award at the Singing News Fan Awards.  There have been some rumblings on various blogs over the years as to his whereabouts, but it seems that his journey has brought him back to Southern Gospel music.  Vocally Josh showed a lot of potential in his brief stint with Legacy Five and some incredible raw talent.  One of the more recent finds regarding Josh is the YouTube video below of him singing with a church ensemble.  He appears to have refined his talent over the last 10 years or so, and smoothed off some of the rough edges that he had during his Legacy Five tenure.  I’ll be anxiously awaiting the first glimpses of him with Gold City.  He definitely has the talent.

Tim’s return is not unexpected, and with the major transition that the group is in, I think will prove to be a very stabilizing force for however long he decides to stay on the road.  I think Tim’s leadership and stability will go a long way in “righting the ship” and seeing the group achieve the stability that they haven’t had since Jay and Tim left several years ago.

All in all, I’d say that this is the start of what is hopefully an exciting new era for Gold City, and definitely seems to be a fresh start with a renewed sense of purpose for the group.  Best wishes to Roy, Josh, Tim, and the rest of Gold City.  I am anxious to see what is next!

The Top 5 Albums Of 2009

Much like my top 10 songs from yesterday, I’ve gone back over the projects I’ve listened to this past year to come up with my top 5 albums of the year.  I’d say this is a pretty strong collection.

Top 5 Albums of 2009

1. The Crist Family – Declaration
2. Brian Free & Assurance – Worth It
3. The Perrys – Almost Morning
4. The Ball Brothers – Breakthrough
5. The Collingsworth Family – The Answer

Each one of these albums is fantastic, and if you don’t have one of these, they come highly recommended by this blogger.  I’ve heard them and really REALLY enjoyed all five.

The Top 10 Songs Of 2009

I did this last year as well, but since I’ll be out of pocket next week visiting family in Florida, I thought I’d go ahead and do this now.  This is a list of the top 10 songs that I have personally heard/reviewed (some with reviews upcoming) that were released in 2009.  This is NOT a reflection of chart action, but these are the 10 songs that really blew me away when I heard them.  I have probably 10-15 more that could be listed here, but at some point I just have to come up with 10 and go with it.  So without further adieu, here are the top 10 songs of the year:

1. “Almost Morning” – The Perrys
2. “Die Another Day” – Brian Free & Assurance
3. “Fear Not Tomorrow” – The Collingsworth Family
4. “There Is No Other Name” – The Crist Family
5. “You Must Have Met Him” – Brian Free & Assurance
6. “Everyday” – Triumphant Quartet
7. “If You Knew Him” – The Perrys
8. “It’s About The Cross” – The Ball Brothers
9. “God Saw A Cross” – The Kingsmen
10. “Worthy The Lamb” – Gaither Vocal Band