Remembering Don Baldwin

It's been a trying last few months for fans and friends of the original Couriers, hasn't it?

First, a few months ago, longtime Courier friend and supporter Ted Rossey passed away, then shortly afterward, Eddie Reece(the first pianist the Couriers had when they became a full-time gospel singing group)left this world on a missionary trip to Israel.

Now, yesterday morning, the Couriers' founder and manager, baritone, and stage MC for the group's first 10 years or so of their existence, Don Baldwin, has left this earth after several protracted battles with various physical ailments.

It is no secret to the readers of this blog that I am a huge fan of the Couriers...and I have explained why that is on numerous occasions. I therefore would like today to share some thoughts and reflections on the life of Don Baldwin, the man responsible for creating and leading the Couriers through their first rough, event-filled years.

I will not retell Don's story...I did that before on one of my SG History 101 articles for Southern Gospel News...and though I normally resist the urge to post links to my articles, I will here...for the benefit of readers who would like to know the story of this fine, visionary man. You can read Don's life story at http://www.sogospelnews.com/index/history/comments/5968/.

What I'd like to do here is simply reflect on Don a bit, in hopes that you can get a glimpse of what his life and work meant to me, a gospel music fan from California, and for most of my life a good 2500 miles away from wherever Don may have been physically at a particular point in time.

For you see, I never met Don Baldwin. I have met the other singers in the old Couriers Quartet when Don was in it, lead singer Neil Enloe, tenor Duane Nicholson, and bass Dave Kyllonen. In fact, Neil and Duane have become very dear friends of mine. I have also become a close friend of Cliff Cerce, an artist who was bitten by the gospel music bug as a young man primarily through the work of Don and the rest of the Couriers. And just like Neil and Duane, Cliff has generously shared stories of how Don touched his life. Incidentally, Cliff will soon have an article up on Southern Gospel News where he shares his own first-hand recollections of Don Baldwin...when it is up, I'll post a link to it here. Cliff is far better qualified to write an account of Don Baldwin than I ever will be...inasmuch as Don was like a second father to Cliff.

And I have also communicated often with Don's wife Cheri, who gave me a lot of the facts on Don's life that I used for my article. And finally, I have every one of the albums that the Couriers made as a quartet on CD. I know Don through his music.

What impressed me a great deal about Don was his seemingly boundless vision and enthusiasm in making the Couriers not only happen, but making them become one of the most unique and accomplished gospel artists that have ever recorded. Don was a fan of gospel music who wanted to form a group that make a difference in the industry, by legitimizing the idea that a gospel quartet could actually be used as a ministry tool through their music(a notion that even if it existed elsewhere at the time, was largely pooh-poohed in the entertainment oriented gospel music industry of the day).

Don was not a professional singer when he organized the Couriers, nor were any of the others he brought in to make up the group. That was readily apparent from the group's earliest records(though they have a certain charm about them today if one listens), but that small obstacle never deterred Don.

For they loved to sing, and they knew there was a place for them in the world of gospel music...and Don never let them forget that. Don had a vibrant personality, and could sell a concept he believed in to anyone. And he spent a lot of the peak years of his life selling the Couriers and their mission to not only the gospel music world, but the entire world. Within three years after becoming a full-time gospel quartet, the Couriers had developed as singers to the point where their albums were better than most of the other quartets who had been around for years, and right up there with the best groups in the business!

Don had a great sense of humor, which was evident not only on stage with the Couriers, but on the bus privately with the quartet. He would use it not only to entertain audiences and his co-workers, but to lighten the spirits of those he would share it with, but encourage all of them to forget their worries and cares, and truly make a "joyful noise" in their world.

And Don was not afraid to go forward with something a little different in order to achieve the goals he set for himself and his colleagues. After hearing the Oak Ridge Boys set the gospel music world on its' ear with their 1962 album "Sounds of Nashville", he wondered aloud why the Couriers couldn't do that as well. The result of that wondering was the Couriers' breakthrough collectors item album, "Nothing...But The Gospel Truth", which, like the Oaks' album, was issued on Warner Brothers Records.

Don's later innovations involved recording studios, a record company, men's clothing, and educational Christian literature. Clearly he was a man whose life mission went beyond simply gospel music.

But gospel music was where he made his reputation, and his outstanding mark. As a singer, Don was gifted with a strong, virile voice that could communicate the depth of a lyric as well as anyone...and one could tell he was most content singing about the message of Jesus in a song.

And the Couriers almost made it to the very top of the gospel quartet world while Don was with them, in large part no doubt due to Don's vision, determination, and drive.

Perhaps the most moving example of Don's ability to communicate himself and the message of a song came during his performance of his "sugar stick", "More About Jesus", which can be found on the Couriers' 50th Anniversary Reunion concert, available on DVD.

"More About Jesus" was one of the Couriers' most popular songs during their quartet days, largely due to Don's tremendous vocal solo. But in the years prior to the 50th anniversary to the Couriers, Don had been ravaged by a series of major health problems, and his vocal strength had been severely sapped.
So on the DVD, you see Don trying to sing the song, but he is unable to sing the lyrics in anything much more than a relative whisper, yet, determined to communicate the message in the song, Don bears down and does his best. It is extremely moving...the audience is hanging on every word Don is singing. When his solo ends, the audience gives Don a huge ovation, for he triumphantly communicated the message of the song in spite of the struggle he had trying to do so.

As I type this, I'm listening to Don sing "Sometimes It Seems" with the Couriers, on the last album he made with them, "The Sensational Sounding Couriers Quartet"(Canaan 4608/9608). That was another of his classic vocal performances. As Mosie Lister's song states eloquently, "When the morning comes, I know I'm going home."

For Don Baldwin, the morning has finally come. Welcome home, Don.

UPDATE: As promised, here is a link to Cliff Cerce's excellent first-hand impressions of Don Baldwin...you can find it at http://www.sogospelnews.com/index/features/comments/6838/.

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