This post was the final post on Southern Gospel Journal. Let’s finish this project by placing the spotlight on what matters most. To survive and thrive in the future, Southern Gospel needs young talent. We need to encourage talented young singers who love this music, because if there’s going to be a Southern Gospel worth […]
The Power of the Cross Read More »
Yesterday morning at church, we were singing one of the grand old hymns of the faith. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled? The song
Never, No Never, No Never Forsake. Read More »
This has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. But “to every thing there is a season,” and this season is coming to an end: I have decided to retire Southern Gospel Journal in early June. For my entire adult life, writing a post every morning has been the only routine I have
Southern Gospel Journal to retire in June Read More »
This year, the Inspirations celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. Let’s commemorate this landmark milestone by looking at their top ten greatest albums. #10: Two Shoes (1998) The Inspirations’ Canaan era made them legends. After signing with Crossroads, they quickly returned to the top of the genre. Two Shoes is the strongest release of the interregnum. It contained
The Inspirations at 50: Their Ten Greatest Albums Read More »
In the mid-1950s, Duane Nicholson (tenor), Neil Enloe (lead), Don Baldwin (baritone), Dave Kyllonen (bass), and Eddie Reece (piano) started performing together as The Couriers. Within about a decade, Baldwin and Reece had left, but Nicholson, Enloe, and Kyllonen carried the group forward as a trio, with Kyllonen moving up to baritone. They retired the
Look at what the Couriers did. Do that. Read More »
During his lifetime, Charles Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns. One of his best-known, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” was composed in 1739. The first three verses are quite familiar: 1. Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!” Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Forgotten Verses #9: Hark! The Herald Angels Song Read More »
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the most noted American poets of the mid-1800s, wrote the words to “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day.” His first three verses are familiar: 1. I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good
Forgotten Verses #8: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Read More »
The Essential Songwriter Collection series lists ten songs each from legendary songwriters that every Southern Gospel fan should add to their collections. The response to Beverly Lowry’s passing last week highlighted how many fans view her primarily as Mark Lowry’s mother, and not as much a songwriter in her own right as she deserves to
The Essential Songwriter Collection: Beverly Lowry Read More »
The Statesmen introduced many of Mosie Lister’s great songs. The Statesmen’s timeless arrangements have been emulated by so many of the groups that have recorded those songs since that the Statesmen arrangement practically defines how we know these songs today. An excellent case in point is “Till The Storm Passes By.” Mosie Lister originally wrote
Forgotten Verses #7: Till The Storm Passes By Read More »
William Walford, a blind preacher, wrote the words to “Sweet Hour of Prayer” in 1845. The words didn’t become well known for another sixteen years; in 1861, William Bradbury—known today for his many collaborations with Fanny Crosby—wrote the melody we sing today. The song made its first appearance in the 1861 hymnal Golden Chain. The hymn
Forgotten Verses #6: “Sweet Hour of Prayer” Read More »