Your Top 10 SG News Stories of 2008: A Statistical Analysis

Several bloggers have posted their top 10 news stories for the past year, but I thought I’d do something a little different.  Here are the top 10 news stories on this blog, based on the number of views each post received over the past year.

1. Matt Dibler Leaves The Inspirations
2. Greg and Charlotte Ritchie Leave Jeff & Sheri Easter
3. Dottie Rambo Passes Away
4. Guy Penrod’s Sabbatical from GVB
5. Jerry Ritchie Passes Away
6. Bobby All Hospitalized
7. GVB’s Lovin’ Life Track Listing Released
8. Monument Quartet Changes
9. Scott Rogers Departs Crossway
10. The Segos Controversy

I find this to be quite an interesting list.  There are some surprising inclusions over glaring omissions here.  I would have expected Wilburn to have appeared here, and definitely the GV tenor swap.  However, by a quick count, Kitson’s replacement of Waldroup was down around #18, and I hadn’t even found the GC lead swap yet.  I think this provides an interesting look into what you, the reader, found to be the most interesting news stories.  Also, understand that I didn’t count non-news items (reviews, pure opinion posts, etc.) in this list.  Quite interesting, to say the least.

Rogers Exits Cross 4 Crowns, Replaced By Felts

In a move that is sure to stoke the rumors of the demise of Monument Quartet, Dallas Rogers has departed Cross 4 Crowns and is being replaced by Matt Felts, formerly of Monument.  Cross 4 Crowns has really genereated some nice inertia in the industry as of late, and their latest CD with Rogers at tenor garnered some pretty high praise.  Hopefully they will be able to keep the momentum going even with the personnel change.  Best wishes to all involved.

Daryl Williams and Monument Quartet

As a followup to Nate’s post on the picture of Daryl Williams with Monument, I emailed Daryl to ask for confirmation. He responded that he is performing with Monument for the rest of the year, and that in the down time for Monument, the Daryl Williams Trio would still be booking church dates. Thanks, Daryl, for the reply and information.

I think this has the potential to be a big boost for Monument. Having a songwriter of Daryl’s caliber in your group should have an immediate impact on the quality of your material. At least the SG material that is performed by the group, as they are doing a blend of secular/sacred music now. While Daryl is a fine, solid vocalist, I think his impact will be greater in the material than in the sound. I’m also glad to see that his trio will still be active, so that he will still be involved in a pure SG format. Congrats to Daryl and to Monument Quartet, on what I think will be a mutually beneficial relationship.

Monument Quartet Changes

I went to Monument’s website today and noticed that they have not only a new bass singer (I guess Mike Allen is finished filling in) but it appears they have a new lead singer as well. Looks like it’s out with John Tidwell and in with Daryl Williams. Either that or it’s someone who looks just like him! There are no names listed in the bio on their official site or their myspace page. I’m looking forward to hearing more about this one and the future of the Daryl Williams Trio. Any hear anything about this?