Jim Hamill…gone, but never forgotten

Another longtime gospel music legend has passed away.

It is all over the web that Hall of Fame singer Jim Hamill died this morning after battling illness for some time.

I don't intend this to be a lengthy ode to Hamill, for there are already several more appropriate tributes to be found elsewhere in the blogosphere, and no doubt soon in print media as well. Like most of you, I found out by just surfing here on the web over breakfast, and haven't had time to gather all my thoughts together to eulogize him.

And who says I can in an appropriate manner anyway? Like most of you, I never had any personal contact with Jim in my life...all I know about him is what mutual friends have told me, and what I can glean from the many recordings he made(many of them classic), and what books and articles have related about him.

One thing from those recordings that is obvious to anyone who listens is that he was one great master of ceremonies.

All I'll say for now at this time is that if you're a fan of gospel music, you might just pause for a moment, and remember fondly the numerous contributions that Jim Hamill made to this genre of music...and to many of the people who have sung or are continuing to sing in it.

To paraphrase Big Jim, "I liked his kind of singin'!"

Whither greatness? My turn

A few posts back, I posed the above question to you all on an open thread.

I appreciate the responses I got...both here and privately. I realize that for some of you, this was a difficult question to answer..some of you may have felt that I was putting you "on the spot" by asking such a question. That was not my intention at all...I just wanted to know how you felt on this recurring question that is eventually asked of all fans of gospel music.

And I realize that approaching this question can blur the lines between an objective evaluation of a group's worth and just recounting which groups are mong one's favorites. It can be hard to evaluate what might be great and what may be merely what one likes a lot...and sometimes, as I stated, those lines can easily become blurred.

But I said that I would eventually weigh in with my own selections on this...and I'll do so here. But before I do, I want to explain the objective criteria I use to determine "greatness" in a gospel group...as opposed to just naming a list of my favorites....though there may even be a blurring in this list.

First of all, I feel the word "great" is often overused. "Great" doesn't mean "good" or even "very good". The term implies a level that is even above that of which we consider to be most accomplished...a level that, of necessity(if the term is to mean anything beyond hyperbole), is beyond merely highly accomplished or competent.

What, to me, makes a gospel group great? Here are my criteria.

1)ABILITY-Certainly a group that would have any pretensions of being great would demostrate a level of musical ability far beyond that of a merely "good" group.

2)LONGEVITY-To me, a truly great gospel group would not be one that only has a few recordings "under its belt"...a great group would be one that has demonstrated its' worth over a long period of time...the famous "test of time", as it were. This is why current groups, IMO, would not meet my standards in this area. It takes sufficient time and reflection on the work of a group to objectively determine any supposed greatness. It's quite possible that eventually, a current group might become known as a "great" group...but that takes sufficient time.

3)INFLUENCE-A great gospel group surely would be one that has made such an impact on their peers that many up and coming or would-be gospel groups would want to follow in that group's footsteps. Another way to put that is, just how many singers wanted to be gospel singers because of this group? If a group's impact on people who hear them is one in which subsequent artists want to "carry on" the vision or work of that group, then it's likely that that group has acheived a level beyond that of a mere good group.

4)RECOGNITION-Whether it be in terms of record sales, peer recognition, or industry recognition(awards, etc.), a great gospel group would demonstrate that their work was appreciated by a large number of people.

Having said all that, here are some gospel groups that achieved greatness, in my opinion. Note that in some cases, some of the above criteria is more evident than the rest of it. I would love to read your comments on my selections, and welcome discussions on any of them.



JOHN'S GREAT GOSPEL GROUPS

The Blackwood Brothers, The Blue Ridge Quartet, The Cathedral Quartet, The Chuck Wagon Gang, The Couriers, The Florida Boys, Gold City, The Harvesters, The Happy Goodmans, The Imperials, The Inspirations, The Kingsmen, The Lewis Family, The LeFevres, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Plainsmen, The Rebels Quartet, The Speer Family, JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, The Statesmen, and the Weatherford Quartet.

It's possible I may have left a few other deserving groups off my list, but I think that for the most part, the above gospel groups have risen to a level above the rest of their peers and are worthy of being termed truly "great" gospel groups

I welcome your comments.

Why Thanksgiving is special to me

Of all the holidays we celebrate during the year, Thanksgiving Day is probably the most special one for me.

In a way, it's kind of unfortunate that we need to set aside a particular day to remind us to do something we ought to be doing every day anyway, but at least if nothing else, the thought will enter our minds for at least one day during the year.

Now don't misunderstand, I love Christmas, particularly when it's centered on celebrating Christ. And for the same reason, I also enjoy Easter. And Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans' Day all serve to summon the requisite feelings of celebrating the freedoms and lifestyle and country that I enjoy. Even Labor Day is a day where I can pause to celebrate a segment of our population that is the backbone of our society.

But Thanksgiving brings forth thoughts and feelings inside me that ought to be there every day, and unfortunbately, too often aren't.

For it's easy to point out what we lack in life and what we wish we had but don't...we do it to some degree every day. But if we just stop a moment and take a good look around us, we soon realize what we have, and just how precious that which we have actually is. And if we look upon it long enough, we realize that we don't have it half as bad as we think. And for that good which we have, we ought to be thankful for it.

For many years, I did the regular talk show on KMJ on Thanksgiving Day(and the other holidays as well), and I tried to stress that concept to our vast listening audience across Central California. In the process, I tried to demonstrate that it wasn't that hard to be thankful, IF we really wanted to be.

For if we made up our minds to do so, we could focus on our blessings as I described above, and maintain that attitude for an entire day, if we so chose.

And if we could do it for one whole day, why not another whole day? And if for two whole days, why not an entire week? And if we could do it for a week, why not keep it going for a month? You get where I'm going with this, don't you?

The point is, we COULD be thankful every day if we chose, and not just one day in late November, a month before Christmas...but every single day we awaken each morning.

And why not? The feeling we have when we do is a lot better one than the one we have when we're kvetching and moaning about our disappiontments and failures. And from what we can understand of God through a careful reading of the Bible, why would we not WANT to feel thankful every day?

So I hope all of you feel especially thankful about how you're blessed on this Thanksgiving day. And I want to challenge you all to keep that feeling going for as many days in a row that you can. I think it will help you to enjoy life more.

You might find that a lot of the things you used to get so easily annoyed over will disappear, replaced by a feeling of faith and confidence that will enable you to deal with just about everything life can throw at you.

Try it...and let me know what happens!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a thought…

This occurred to me while watching an old clip of a TV performance by Les Paul and Mary Ford from the early 1950s.

You may have seen this too...Les plays his guitar, and Mary starts to sing, and then, almost magically, Mary is singing harmony with herself right there on the screen!

Of course, this was a cutting edge technological achievement for the time...and people shook their heads in amazement.

Decades later, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound are in concert...and as this quartet sings, it's apparent that there are more than four voices singing.

My question: Why is the obvious technical "trick" lauded and considered worthy of applause when Les and Mary did it in the 1950s, but scorned by many of the same people when Ernie and the boys do something similar 50 years later, in the 2000s?

I have my theory...but I want to hear yours first.

Yet another open thread

OK, back to gospel music here.

I realize that my previous open thread(on what makes a group "great")is still open...in that I'm still encouraging replies and input, and I have yet to put my own .02 in on the subject.

Be that as it may, I'd like to open up a simultaneous, second line of discussion.

While reading a discussion on another blog, it occurred to me to get thoughts from my own readers about why it seems that some singers who leave groups and announce that they intend to take some time off the road, all too often seem to make the immediate jump to another group? Why do you think that happens? And why do singers who do that seem disingenuous when they do so?

Not that there's anything wrong with making those quick moves(is there?)...but I'm wondering what you all think of those situations? Talk to me...

Another local boy makes good

I must make one disclaimer at the outset on this posting.

If you're not from Fresno, or you haven't spent significant time there, who or what I'm about to write about more than likely won't mean much to you.

But if you are, or you like to read about good people who become successful, you might enjoy this posting.

Bill McEwen is a featured political columnist for the Fresno Bee, the local newspaper in that fast-growing Central California city of some half million or so people. He took his present position there in 2002 after several years of working in the sports department, first as a reporter, then editor and columnist. Bill's passion was always hard news, and he patiently paid his dues on the sports pages while waiting for his chance to fulfill his ambitions.

I've known Bill since the early 1990s, when I was called in to help him launch a sports talk radio show on a small independent Fresno radio station. We became friends there, and I tried to help him translate his sports savvy to a medium he was not entirely comfortable with. Bill was never entirely at ease with communicating his sports opinions on the radio, even though he was superb at handling callers who would try to challenge him.

But his columns were concise, well-written analyses of the top national and local sports of the day. One that I remember vividly was one he wrote the day after the Fresno State football team massacred New Mexico 94-17. It was obvious that in the first half of that game that Bulldog coach Jim Sweeney was trying to run up the score at the Lobos' expense as much as possible, and Bill correctly characterized the charismatic coach as somewhat of a bully, despite his charming personality and his quotability.

That was not the only reason that game and column stand out in my memories...for my mother passed away the following day.

But Bill's columns would always get my attention, for they were well-written, occasionally quite humorous, and I agreed with most of them. I liked his incisive reasoning, and his ability to cut through the excess that so many sports observers are accustomed to, and get straight to the point, and hit it squarely on the head. All the while, I wondered how long he would remain on the sports page, because he yearned for more, and he was too good to be confined to the "toy department" of news, as the late Jimmy Cannon called sports.

Sure enough, in 2002, Jim Wasserman stepped away from his popular Bee political column, and Bill stepped right in. I liked Jim very much, but I knew Bill would become a more than capable replacement. And sure enough, five years later, his best columns have now been published in book form, under the title, "It's A Dry Heat".

And I like to publicize and salute my friends when they achieve something siginificant, so I salute Bill on this book...he's deserved one for a long time.

For Bill, like me, is a native Fresnan, who remembers Perry Boys Smorgies and the Lesterburgers, as well as all the famous and infamous people who make Fresno what it is(and was), and in the last five years, he has done an extraordinary job of chronicling their activities in his columns. And if anyone would like to know what makes Fresno tick, I would recommend they buy this collection of Bill's work in "It's A Dry Heat".

Bill has that love of his hometown that is quite natural, and he has dedicated his newspaper work during the past 25 years to helping make Fresno not only a better place to be a sports fan, but a better place to live, and maybe raise a family. He is well qualified in his role, being a lifelong resident of this area, and being a husband of a devoted and talented wife, and father of a pair of fine sons. And this book also shows Bill in his role as family man, and citizen.

But Bill is more than that, and the book shows that, too. He writes balanced and finely critical portraits of local leaders such as supervisor Bob Waterston, mayor Alan Autry, and even California governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, all the while filtering their accomplishments and setbacks through his unique vision of what type of place Fresno ought to be. And he's lived here long enough to know what that might be.

He also paints word portraits of people that have touched lives in Fresno, such as legendary radio and TV pesonality Al Radka(who I was fortunate to briefly work with and call "friend"), and high school history and humanities teacher Alan Amend, who shaped and influenced many a life, including Bill's(and mine...I was a student of his in 1975, and he did much to inspire me to be a critical thinker).

Bill is a big man, with big ideas, and the ability to express them in writing in a skillful and provocative manner. And his affinity for publicizing and exalting the less well-known, but all the same important and significant people, is something that has been a great influence on me since I turned to writing regularly in 2004.

So, in that vein, I take a break from my regular gospel music musings to salute Bill McEwen, friend, former colleague, and now published author, for a lifelong job well done in serving his audiences and fulfilling his dreams and ambitions.

Truth comes from strange places

There might be hope for me yet.

Sometimes I go through my daily tasks, trying to do what I think God wants me to, and I just can't seem to see Him.

Then again, sometimes I see Him and hear Him speak to me when I'm not even looking for Him.

Monday night, I was listening to the San Francisco 49ers get beat(again)...it was their seventh straight defeat since opening the NFL season with two wins. In an effort to explain why the 49ers were having such difficulty now, the team's color analyst, Gary Plummer, said that when you're in the midst of a long losing streak, you tend to become frustrated.

And after a while, your frustration becomes so intense that you depart from the game plan in hopes of turning the momentum around, and when that happens, you tend to confuse your teammates because you are no longer "on the same page" with them...you are playing for yourself, and things usually get worse for your team. The lesson? Stick with what you know...stick with the game plan...and have faith that things will eventually turn around.

I don't think Plummer is a preacher, but I couldn't help but think when I was listening to all that that our lives are exactly like that. Sometimes we go through losing streaks...where things don't ever seem to go right for us, no matter what we do. And we, like the 49ers, get frustrated with things and start wondering if we should depart from the game plan to try to turn the momentum around. Yet we as Christians have the greatest coach there's ever been...God Himself...and when we depart from His carefully determined game plan for our lives, we end up not being "on His page"...and our losing multiplies.

The way out? To stick with His game plan...and trust that things will get better if we follow it. My life history tells me it will when I do just that...and it won't when I don't.

So God spoke to me where I least expected Him to, and when I least expected to. And you know what? I'm going to try to be a better player and follow my Coach's game plan better. And maybe, just maybe, I won't have to wait until next week to start winning again...maybe I just might start doing it tomorrow.

Yes, there might be hope for me yet.

Whither greatness? My first open thread

I realize I'm "borrowing" a concept from some of my fellow bloggers, but I want to do an open thread for a change.

Why? Because I want to hear how you feel about this issue before I shoot off my keys about it.

And what issue might that be?

Well, most all who read this little corner of the web love southern style gospel music. And there are groups and individuals that we enjoy, and call "good", and there are other groups and individuals we call "great", because there is something about them that seems to distinguish them from the rest of the pack.

What I want to know from you is...who do you consider "great" in gospel music? And why?

Before I say anymore, I'd like to say as a sort of policy statement that I never try to publicly put down or denigrate another artist. One thing I've learned through my experience on gospel message boards is that most well-known artists have fans...and have their own legitimate reasons for liking a particular artist. It is not for me therefore to denigrate that artist whatsoever...for that would be an indirect attack on the fans of that artist, and people have the right to like whoever it is they like and not be ridiculed by me.

For who am I, anyway? Just because I write articles and do commentary on gospel music doesn't make me any kind of "expert", nor does it make one of anyone else. When it comes to musical taste, there simply is no way to empirically measure it objectively. Analyses can be analyzed objectively to a point...but not taste. People like what they like, and that's that.

And every analysis of a gospel group eventually comes down to taste...so one can only go so far as to say they can "prove" who is good, or better than another, when it comes to a gospel artist.

And one other factor comes into play when one talks about a gospel group....if an artist blesses an audience with its' manner of performance, who are we to say how inferior they might be to another artist? Part of the reason we even HAVE favorite gospel artists is how they touch our hearts or ears by the music they make. So, in a way, comparisons are futile in the gospel field by definition.

All that is a given in this discussion...so when someone might post who his or her favorites are, please keep the above observations in mind should you feel led to respond.

This whole thing came up because of a discussion thread I was involved in on another blog....I happened to be trying to explain what I felt made a gospel group great, and in the process, I made a casual, lighthearted observation to prove my point when someone whose opinion I have a great deal of respect for took offense...in part, mind you, because he/she(I'm not going to deliberately hint at this person's identity)was told by "others" that they THOUGHT I intended to make a negative comparison about this group.

In fact, I made no opinion statement about that group at all...but this person took it as a rebuke that it APPEARED that I did not hold this group in as high an esteem as he/she....going so far as to try to belittle my alleged "opinion"...hoping that no one would agree with me simply because I "said" it(which I didn't).

As far as that goes, I agree that no one should share my opinions simply because they're mine, or worse, because of who I might be. I happen to think that my opinions are usually well thought out, and grounded in as much objective data as I can muster...but they're still just my opinions! And as such, they don't make me an "expert" in that respect.

But I've got news for you...regardless of how objective we might be(or claim to be), when it comes to evaluative opinions, we're ALL just fans...be we writers, bloggers, gospel music historians, message board posters, even other artists or industry professionals! There is a limit to how far any of our "expertise" goes.

So I put the question out to you for this thread...who do you think are some "great" gospel artists, and why?

I don't pretend that I'm going to get a huge number of responses. I'm not sure exactly how many pass by this blog. But for those who care to share, I offer more disclaimers to any readers...

1. If someone says a certain group is better than another group, it does NOT mean the group getting the negative comparison is not also a good group.

2. If someone asserts that a certain group is the "best", remember...we're just dealing in opinions here!

3. And if I happen to agree with someone's observations, it doesn't mean they're "right", while someone who disagrees is "wrong".

OK...with all that wind out of the way, have at it. At some point, I will list my own opinions as to who the "great" gospel groups are...and why...and you can take your shots at me!

But for now...I want to hear from you...who do you think is "great"...and why?

A follow up…

Two posts ago, I wondered aloud in this space where all the gospel music fans out in this part of the country were when we promoted concerts in this area.

Last night we had the Down East Boys at a church in Clovis...they're in Central California for the weekend.

Although the attendance at the church was small(just under 100 people), the combination of the admission and the offering raised more than enough money to take care of the group, and the promoter as well.

Maybe not all the gospel fans out here attended, but it was clear that the right ones did.

We will continue to do our best to make sure there are plenty of concerts with singers our fans want to see.

That feeling of contentment

As I've said many times here in the past, one of the most fulfilling tasks I'm entrusted with in my life is writing the monthly history articles for Southern Gospel News.

And not merely because it gives me the opportunity to share my love for the great tradition of this great music...though that's certainly part of it.

What really makes me thankful is writing about people who are true heroes of mine...telling their story, and giving them the credit they so deserve...and if they're still around to see it, and they are pleased with my decidedly humble efforts, I get the feeling I made a difference.

Not all the people I've written about are still here to see what I've written...real gospel music heroes such as Paul Downing, JD Sumner, London Parris(who at least I knew and was a friend of), Don Smith(who was like a father to me), and Earl Weatherford have gone on to a better place...where their rewards are infinitely greater than anything I could say or do for them here.

But in some cases, people who were dear loved ones of theirs, such as Ann Downing, Earline Starnes, and Lily Fern Weatherford, saw what I wrote and were touched, and told me so. The fact that I was able to make such people feel better about their memories of their wonderful loved ones makes me feel good inside...and I am humbly happy I was able to do them a good service, thanks to God.

And in some other cases, like my friends in the Couriers, Neil Enloe, Duane Nicholson, and Dave Kyllonen, not only were they able to read what I wrote, they told me how much it meant to them...and became dear friends themselves. My articles really didn't do that much for them, people already knew the great things they did musically and for the Kingdom on earth, but I was happy to help keep their memory and legacy alive. The repayment I got in return is much, much more than I deserve for my efforts.

Another ex-Courier, L. David Young, also has become a good friend. I was happy beyond words to find that he and his family were touched by my article on him, and there's nothing I can do that's too much for a true legend of gospel music...and one of the finest people who ever devoted their talents to it. I'm glad to know "Little" David, and even more glad to call him friend.

I was determined that my article on the late Don Baldwin(founder of the Couriers)would be seen and read by him before he went on to his eternal reward, and thanks to his wife Cheri, it was. And nothing made me prouder to hear from Cheri than Don himself enjoyed my article on him. I wasn't fortunate enough to meet Don in his lifetime, but I'll always consider him a good friend...in the same way his ex-colleagues are today. I was glad that he got to see my humble tribute to him before he had to keep his appointment with his eternal destiny.

In fact, I'm very proud that my piece on the Goss Brothers not only met the approval of brothers Roni and Lari, but made friends of them. I've never met kinder people(or talked to them)than the Gosses...sometimes I'm amazed at how blessed I am.

And this month, I'm touched again at the response to my article on the Toney Brothers...not only from my newest good friends, Neil Enloe and Duane Nicholson(who are like members of the extended Toney family, such is the depth of their friendship with them), but others who know the Toney story well, like one ex-pianist of theirs(apologies for his name escaping my memory as I type this), Noel Walters(whose own group, the Christian Troubadors, deserve an article of their own), and one of the original brothers, Jim Toney. To get their approval means the world to me, and I thank them all for their posted comments.

For these people were originally my gospel music heroes, and now they are my friends. My humble and seemingly futile(sometimes)efforts to repay them for how they've blessed me in my lifetime has resulted in rewards far in excess of what I could ever deserve from them, and I'm glad I could impact their lives even in a small way.

Thanks, fellas...for everything. I hope others will remember you and your work in the same way I do.

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