A prediction…

I make no claims to be an "expert" in ANYTHING, still less one in predicting the outcome of sporting events.

But I'll stick my neck out here and make one prediction for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC(my favorite city in the entire world).

The Canadian men's hockey team will win the gold medal on Sunday, beating the United States team in the championship game.

I'll elaborate on this and explain my prediction in a subsequent posting.

I just wanted to get that prediction out there, on the record.

Here’s to the Dean…

I'd like to take a little time(and space)to salute someone who does a LOT to contribute to the education and appreciation of southern-style gospel music online, and in "real life".

Dean Adkins is a native West Virginia resident who loves gospel quartet music, and loves to share that love with others.

When Dean was in high school in Huntington, WV, his teacher for band was a fellow named Harold Lane. Gospel music fans know Lane as a founding member of the Gospel Harmony Boys, a longtime member of the Speer Family singing group, and one of the newest members of the SGMA Hall of Fame.

Dean is also a cousin to the Toney Brothers, one of the leading gospel groups of the 1950s and 1960s, and still active today.

And Dean's brother Will sang bass for the Gospel Harmony Boys for several years, and was one of the lowest bass singers to be in a traveling group.

To top it off, Dean is a Ph.D....and taught biology for many years at West Virginia's Marshall University.

Dean is retired now, but he still finds time to share gospel quartet music with people...and make as many concerts as he can. He is a regular attendee at the Grand Old Gospel Reunion each year, and often makes the National Quartet Convention as well...and attends the annual SGMA Hall of Fame ceremonies as well.

Dean has a large collection of gospel music. He stores his more than 4,000 LPs in a specially created room in his home, where they're all organized, filed, and maintained. I've often joked with Dean that if I ever get back East, and go through West Virginia, I'll take up lodging in his record room. Trouble is, once in there amidst all those golden gospel treasures, I may never emerge.

Dean has garnered a bit of recent recognition for his posting of classic gospel quartet video clips on YouTube. These clips, which include the likes of the Blackwood Brothers, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Statesmen, the Rebels, the Gospel Harmony Boys, the Cathedrals, Gold City, and even the old Happy Two are a MUST viewing for anyone interested in the art form that IS gospel quartet music. Dean does much for the art form by his generous sharing of these gospel video nuggets.

I first met Dean on the various gospel music message boards. He has never failed to courteously answer any questions someone would ask about a gospel artist or a gospel music history fact. I learned a lot from the things he would share.

In fact, there are a number of history articles I wrote for Southern Gospel News that would not have been possible to write without Dean's generous help with pictures or other resources he would provide me with. If you liked what you read there, Dean deserves your thanks as well.

There are two people in this world I would go to if I were stuck on a historical question about gospel music and could not otherwise find an answer. One is John Crenshaw, probably the leading expert on gospel music recordings in the world(certainly the United States, at least), and the other is Dean. I've long stated that if either of those men is unaware of a gospel music fact, it's probably not worth knowing...such is the breadth of knowledge those two men possess.

I recieved a CD in the mail today from Dean....it will be a valuable assist in executing the "flashback" feature of the gospel music radio show I co-host. It's not the first time Dean has helped me and my recording library, and I doubt it will be the last. Dean is always too happy to help anyone who wants to know more about gospel music.

I am proud to call Dean Adkins a friend, and to salute him here in my little corner of the web for all he does to further the cause of the appreciation of gospel quartet music, the world's greatest music.

Take a bow, Dean...and thanks again.

Works every time…

I know, I know...you've heard it all...and you might be tempted to brush this post off as a mere internet infomercial.

And I can understand that,,,,and if you truly feel that this is indeed such a thing, I hear you,,,and I wouldn't blame you for moving on to another page altogether.

For those of you left, thank you for staying and hearing(or should it be reading)me out.You won't be sorry.

Many moons ago, in this very little corner of the web, I told you how, for me, gospel music is my balm in Gilead...it will cheer me up when nothing else can or has.

There is no more sublime music on this earth....and the thoughts that fill my head when I hear it have served to bring me comfort and reassurance like almost nothing else has. And this week, which has been difficult to deal with (due to a number of factors I can't even begin to name here), the strength and joy I got from those songs got me AGAIN through a very difficult time..

So once more, I'm compelled to play a gospel song when I'm down...because I know that the message therein is going to improve my morale and remind me that I'm still special, even though right them I might not feel thst way.

Gospel music is the one human-derived activity that I can depend on 24/7/365 for immediate joy and comfort, not to mention it serves as a kind of "ear candy" to me..I may not be able to provide anyone here with any kind of a "money back guarantee" if this doesn't work for you! Fortunately, I have unshakable faith that it DOES work, if you wiuld be so kind, try it, you'll like it!

For there is nothing more profound than a well-written song about our Lord, taken to heart.

Please give it a try sometime, won't you?

Tiger finally speaks…

...aren't we all relieved now?:-)

When professional golfer par excellence Tiger Woods finally emerged from almost three months of seclusion following the revelations of his marital infidelity and the accident involving his SUV, his wife, and a tree not far from one of his homes, the coverage of his statement announcing his feelings on the matter bordered on the importance given say, the President's State of the Union address.

I guess that's understandable when one considers the celebrity status of Woods exceeds that of most actors in the entertainment business, CERTAINLY most politicians, and even that of items concerning Ernie Haase and Signature Sound on gospel music websites(just kidding there).

Why is Woods so enormously popular? Because he's young, photogenic, EXTREMELY wealthy, and possibly the greatest golfer ever to play in the sport(after all the records are in the book, he probably will be)?

Well, yes, that's probably part of it...

But as is the case with many of our star athletes, we tend to put them on pedestals reserved for mankind's greatest heroes. We hope for them to be role models for us and our children to such a degree that we start to EXPECT such behavior from them, possibly forgetting that they're no different from the rest of us less-athletically skilled people. subject to the same conditions and real-life obstacles all of us human-types are.

So when a multi-millionaire, successful, college-educated athlete(yes, golfers are athletes)like Woods is found to have committed numerous acts of adultery against his equally celebrity-gifted wife, and gets into an auto accident upon the revelation of such activities, our moral indignation is thrust toward Woods as if he were a pope, a pastor, a head of state, or the CEO of a multinational corporation(not that the latter would ever be exempt from such scrutiny ordinarily).

Which is partly why Woods has maintained an extremely low public profile since the Novemeber incident...after all, Tiger Woods is more than a man, a golfer, or even a celebrity...he is a BRAND...and millions and millions of dollars are generated through his name alone.

So he, wishing to finally put aside some of the intense public attention all this has garnered, finally chose yesterday to make a public address(NOT, significantly, a news conference)on this subhect at last.

Did he address the issues satisfactorily, and responsibly, by so doing?

IMO, yes he did. He is not obliged(NOT the non-word "obligated" that is SO popular with SO many in this English-starved age)to do anything more for us, the general public.

For Woods correctly stated that these personal issues involving his wife are between the two of them, and are essentially none of our business. As much as we crave to know everyone's dirty laundry, he is absolutely correct...it isn't.

Why was this only a gathering of family and friends(and NOT, significantly, his wife, who was not there for some unknown reason)and NOT a press conference, where Woods would answer questions from reporters?

Well, it's none of their business, either. And anyone who follows the media in this day and age knows full well the lack of honor, taste, and scruples inherent in most press conference questions these days knows EXACTLY why Woods would not consent to such a circus. If this issue is to be finally put to bed(as it should be), such an event CANNOT be conducted before the vulture-like media at large these days.

Woods was right when he asserted yesterday that no matter how bad his behavior was, there is NO justification for the media and paparazzi to stalk and follow his FAMILY everywhere they go, and report their whereabouts and what they're doing? Why do we need to know all that?

We think we do...because we are part of an ever-sickening society that no longer values decency, privacy, dignity, or self-respect.

Like every one of us, Tiger Woods is a sinner in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. If we start treating him like Jesus would(instead of how a lot of us do), it's possible Woods may feel led to investigate his need for that kind of redemption, and maybe surrender to God's will at last, and subsequently become the kind of father and man he said he wanted to be yesterday.

Isn't us leaving him alone, praying for him, and not being so demanding to follow a moral standard that none of the rest of us even expect of ourselves worth a try?

I think so. And I'll be praying for Tiger Woods, too...care to join me?

It’s official…I’m old…

While at work yesterday, on President's Day, a bunch of us at the radio station were discussing a potential talk show topic, namely, who was the greatest U.S. President of the past 30 years.

Now if we go back 30 years, that takes us to 1980, back to when Jimmy Carter was wrapping up his one and only term as President.

Jimmy Carter?? That's only five Presidents ago...so it shouldn't seem to be 30 YEARS ago, but it is.

I think I'll fetch my walker now, go out, and get my prescription drugs, so I can enjoy these golden years in peace and good health.

Truly the end of an era

With the announcement that the present-day Couriers will no longer be traveling after this coming Memorial Day weekend, a glorious era in gospel music will come to an end, after nearly 55 years of use in service to a calling from God.

And since I have written much about the Couriers(old and new)here in this little corner of the web, perhaps now is the time for me to express some of my thoughts about it right here...especially because(as is often the case with gospel singers)there seems to be a lot of needless speculation concerning the events surrounding this issue.

And to shed some light on that situation, allow me to briefly review the history of the Couriers. I have written on this before(twice in separate history articles for SGN!), but let me do so again in a compressed fashion here, for it seems that the future of the name is attracting undue attention, more so than the group members over the years would probably think it should.

Much of the discussion on the group's name centers around who should have it...the present group that will be disbanding soon, or the iteration that made it most famous...longtime Couriers Dave Kyllonen, Duane Nicholson, and Neil Enloe, who are traveling again these days on a part-time basis as Dave, Duane, and Neil...and who are also unofficially referred to as the "original" Couriers.

It might surprise some of you to realize...that the so-called "original" Couriers are not even the original Couriers!

The Couriers name goes back to the early 1950s when the gospel quartet fad was at a high point...and it was used by some quartets at Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri...and the first known Couriers Quartet was formed in 1953 there. Lem Boyles, Dick Malone, Roger Kling, and Cliff King made up that first Couriers Quartet...and even managed to cut a 78 RPM record during their time as the Couriers. Now these quartet names were the property of CBI as long as the groups sang under their auspices. And when the members left school, the names would go to other students who chose to use them.

Such was the case when one student, Don Baldwin, wanted to form a quartet upon entering the school. Since those first Couriers had disbanded due to members graduating and such, he wanted to use the Couriers' name anew. It was a good name for a gospel quartet...inasmuch as Don's intent for the group was to be "couriers", i.e., messengers of an urgent message, delivered with haste. THAT's what a courier is...and that's what Don wanted his quartet to be.

In time, Baldwin added Kyllonen as his quartet's bass singer, Nicholson as his lead(and later, first tenor), and Enloe as his lead(which moved Nicholson to tenor when he arrived), and this quartet enthusiastically sang whenever and wherever it could on weekends as long as they remained CBI students.

But, students have to graduate at some time...and when Baldwin and Kyllonen were facing graduation, they were faced with the question of what was to become of their fledgling quartet once they were done with school.

After much prayer and deliberation among the members(for Nicholson and Enloe were not ready to graduate yet), the youngsters decided to take a leap of faith into the chaotic and challenging world of full-time gospel singing, taking their name with them.

After a few rocky years, in time that group of young men became one of the top quartets on the circuit, earning the respect of fellow singers and fans alike with their musical abilities, and their staunch commitment to their Christian witness.

Baldwin left the group in 1965, but the group carried on as a trio under Kyllonen's leadership, and eventually became more popular than ever, on the strength of said musical abilities, their unshakable commitment to their calling to be true couriers, and Enloe's renowned songwriting and arranging abilities.

But nothing on earth lasts forever, and by 1980 Kyllonen chose to leave the group, and the Couriers "retired" for the first time.

You can't keep good men down for long, and by 1983, Nicholson and Enloe reappeared as the Couriers were augmented with the addition of Enloe's younger brother Phil, who had been with the group for a couple of years after Baldwin departed. They continued to fulfill the Courier calling, being true couriers of song and deed. But as the 1990s came, the realization that they weren't as young as they once were set in. What to do with the Couriers' ministry in the future?

Nicholson and both Enloes decided to bring in some younger men who shared the same musical and ministerial calling that they did. And when the time came for them to retire once and for all, the younger men would inherit their mantle and continue the Couriers group and calling.

That time came in 2000...when Nicholson and the Enloes chose to step down from the Couriers. They then gave the name to their successors, and the Couriers continued to be excellent musicians and witnesses for Christ...just as they were in their CBI days.

Now, Nicholson and Enloe had no intentions of ever returning to touring. But when they had a reunion with Kyllonen at a PA church around 2004, the three of them felt led to return to a part-time singing ministry, on a limited basis of course.

To avoid confusion, and the appearance of competing with the existing Couriers, they chose to call themselves Dave, Duane, and Neil as they retraced the steps they had trod some 25 years before. They heartily endorsed(and were heartily endorsed in return by)the newer Couriers, and both groups continued to be true couriers(small c)in both word and deed.

But the gospel music road is a tough one to travel, especially in these current difficult economic times. And the new Couriers, for reasons that only they know(and we DON'T)feel led to go into other callings, and cease the musical aspect of their ministry. They will remain "couriers" in the truest sense of the word, they'll just not be doing an itinerant singing ministry any longer.

To me, having been blessed with the friendship of ALL these men in recent years, some of the current dialogue is distressing. I see internet posts suggesting that the current Couriers give their name back to the older Couriers(where it "belongs"), on the presumed basis that they are the ones who made it most famous, therefore they "deserve" it.

It's always hard to follow established "legends" in any field of endeavor. Just ask Franklin Graham, Gary Cunningham, Phil Bengston, Ralph Houk, Bobby Bonds, and Aaron Rodgers, to name a few.

Music is a matter of taste anyway. And if people prefer the singing of the older Couriers to that of the newer ones, does that make the newer ones less worthy of their name? NO!

For the newer Couriers are just as much "couriers" in the true sense of the word as the older ones, or even the REAL original ones! Who are we to decide who is more worthy of such a name?

And the relationship between the older and newer Couriers is very close...such are the bonds of Christ's love.

Dave, Duane, and Neil have been among the most ardent supporters of the young men who LEGITIMATELY inherited their name, and conversely, the younger men are equally enthusiastic endorsers of their illustrious predecessors.

And not that I asked them(I didn't), but I am fairly certain that regaining the Couriers' name is the LAST concern that Dave, Duane, and Neil have at this point in their lives.

For DD&N have always cared more about being true "couriers"(with that small c again)than being the Couriers, and their successors do as well.

And even though the older Couriers were always aware that there would NOT always be a Couriers group to buy and go see in gospel music, the Couriers will never be gone.

For thanks to recordings, and memories, their legacy(then and today)will always ring loudly for us, should we choose it to.

I know it will for me...for I care more that all these men are "couriers" than THE Couriers.

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