We hope you enjoyed our first article on Discovering New Artists & we hope that you found a few new artists or songs that you enjoy. Please keep the feedback coming, we love it!
This time we are focusing on a specific genre of music – southern gospel quartets. The southern gospel genre dates back just about as far as any type of “Christian” music. In fact, even a lot of the contemporary/pop and even rock singers in Christian music today began by singing southern gospel in their churches when they were younger. And of these southern gospel groups, one of the most popular & widely-recognized has always been the southern gospel quartets. Three of the oldest & most loved quartets are The Cathedrals, Gold City & The Kingsmen. There are many other quartets that could fall into this category & we will discuss some later but for now, we will focus on these three time-tested favorite groups.
The Cathedrals
The Cathedrals have been called “favorite” by many a southern gospel fan. In 1964, what was called the “Cathedral Trio,” which included Bobby Clark, Glen Payne & Danny Koker, added bass George Younce & became the “Cathedral Quartet.” From 1964 to 1999, the quartet recorded & toured all across the country. The wide-sweeping appeal & impact of this quartet is certainly hard to measure & their legacy lives on today through the songs that they gave us. Some favorites that you should check out if you have not heard or performed them include: ”Can He Could He Would He,” “This Ole House,” “Movin on up to Glory,” “Then Came The Morning” & “We Shall See Jesus.” Whether or not you’re familiar with their music, you should really check out The Cathedrals – a Farewell Celebration. This recording is from 1999 when many of the original singers from the group came back and sang with others who were part of the Cathedrals over the years. It is not only an inspiring collection of music but also a precious tribute to the men who helped form the group & sang with them for much of their lives. The project is also available on DVD. The Cathedrals are definitely a southern gospel group to get to know if you have not already.
Gold City
Another timeless favorite in the southern gospel genre is Gold City. The group began in 1980 & continues singing today. As with The Cathedrals, a lot of members traded in & out of the group over the years. Two artists of note who went on to find their own place in the southern gospel hall of fame are Ivan Parker & Brian Free. Each of these men was a valuable asset to the southern gospel genre when they were a part of Gold City & also as they went on to follow their separate paths within the industry. Favorite songs of the Gold City quartet that you just cannot risk missing include: ”When He Reached Down His Hand,” “It’s Still the Cross,” “One Scarred Hand,” “When I Get Carried Away“ & perhaps THE quintessential song from Gold City – “Midnight Cry” which we carry nine different versions of for you to choose from. Many a standing ovation has been given to performances of “Midnight Cry” through the years. There is also a CD you may wish to look into as well: The Very Best of Gold City.
The Kingsmen
And then there is The Kingsmen. This southern gospel group has been encouraging & inspiring listeners with their unique style since 1956. They too have had members come and go during their 54 years of singing. One artist to note is Anthony Burger who later became the piano player for many Gaither projects & tours until he died suddenly in 2006 at the young age of 44. He and many other talented musicians lent their gifts to The Kingsmen as they wrote, recorded & traveled across the country performing. Favorite titles by The Kingsmen include: ”When Mama Prayed,” “What a Day That Will Be,” “Hello Mama,” & what is probably their most popular and emotional song – “Wish You Were Here” – nine versions on our site to choose from One other interesting fact to note is that in the early 90s, Gold City & The Kingsmen joined forces to create a series called “Kings Gold.”
We hope that these artists & songs have either brought back some wonderful memories to you or introduced you to some music that you will be able to use in your personal ministry. As always, let us know what you think. We love hearing from you.
More in this series:
Discover New Artists
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I first became hooked on Southern Gospel music after attending a Cathedrals’ concert and listening to their CD’s over and over. Then I heard some music by Gold City. What a blessing, so much so that I am now in music ministry myself. Keep up the good work and I would like to encourage you to produce more tracks by Crossway as well as looking at the early days of NewSong when they were more Southern Gospel than Contemporary Christian. They had some wonderful songs that need to be heard today.
Could you please tell me what cd and what the name of the song is that tells of a mother praying for her son who is riding off on his motorcycle to come to Christ, and her prays are answered when he call and tells her he found Christ and his savior. Thank you
I have done some searches but am unable to locate the name of the song. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
~Steven
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