This month’s article will be a bit different than the usual SG History 101 offering.
Next month will mark eight years since Absolutely Gospel Music (and Southern Gospel News) has presented the SG History 101 feature as a means of educating and enlightening its’ readers on the history and heritage of one of the most unique American art forms there is, namely, gospel music as it originated in the Southeast United States, primarily in the form of gospel quartet music.
Initially these articles were written by John Crenshaw, who this writer has long considered the country’s leading authority on recorded southern-style gospel music. His presence and informative articles gave instant credibility and acclaim to this feature, and they will always be considered authoritative by longtime true fans of this genre.
When John had the opportunity to pursue his calling elsewhere, he took it, and this magazine had to get a new writer in a hurry to continue the feature. I was chosen to take John’s place as the main writer of this feature in September 2004, and have happily done so ever since.
I plan on continuing to do so as long as I’m able to write these articles, and it is my prayer that these articles have continued to educate and inform fans of the genre about its’ roots and its’ history.
These articles have continuously graced AGM (and SGN before that) since October 2002, the only exception being in December 2003, when John took a month off from writing these articles to plan for the wedding of his daughter.
And next month, there will be no article either, due to the wedding not of any children of mine (one needs a mate first, after all) , but my own wedding early in October, and my relocation…not just to another city, but another country.
I will be relocating to the Vancouver, BC area of Canada, and there is a LOT that goes into that kind of move, let alone a wedding. So I have been granted the month of October off, with new articles resuming in November.
This month, though, there’s a lot for me to do in preparation for my major life transition. So I’ve decided to use this month to offer all of our readers here a wide-open opportunity we’ve not formally done before (to my knowledge, anyway) .
I have always been open to whatever suggestions you all may have for topics, subjects, etc. After all, these articles are primarily for you, not so much for me. We have covered a lot of artists and topics in these eight years, and I would like to know what all of your feelings are about future articles.
So I’m leaving our comment box wide open…what artists or topics would you most like me to write about in the future?
The only restriction I would tend to place on those suggestions are the following.
First, I would not be inclined to do repeat articles on artists or subjects we’ve done before (unless one can demonstrate a real need to do so) . I feel that there are a number of artists and subjects not yet covered in this feature, and I’d prefer to concentrate on doing those articles (and thus keeping things fresh) .
And second, I think that these articles should concentrate on artists and subjects not covered extensively in existing books about the genre, e.g., artists such as the Statesmen, Blackwood Brothers, or the Oak Ridge Boys. Those books will invariably do a much more thorough and complete job of covering their subjects than these humble articles ever could. (And I don’t intend to be competition to anyone in that regard.)
Beyond those minor restrictions, I am more than open to any suggestions to future articles here that you may have. Please feel free to flood the comment box here with your input and suggestions.
I will return with a new article for November, and I’d like to thank all of you in the meantime for your loyal readership, and for your (usually) constructive input. I enjoy writing about and discussing gospel music history with all of you, and have learned much about our genre myself as a result from all that interaction.
See you all in November!
Author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Written: 09/07/2010
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Category: SG History 101
Comments: 6
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What is KMJ going to do without you?
Art, they were around for 64 years before I got there...so I imagine that the odds are good that they'll be just fine!
Nice sharing, and great points. Learned many from it. Thanks
John........congratulations and best wishes for many years of marital bliss. I look forward to reading future articles, and trust that you will have many suggestions from those of us who enjoy the history that you write about so well. Now, let me see if I can find that suggestion box....lol.
Amazing post, I especially interested with the part about the pics , thanks.
Which November?
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