The Kingsmen – Singin’ in the Sun…Live (1992)
For their 1992 release, the Kingsmen would return to the stage for, “Singin’ in the Sun…Live”, which I consider to be the last of the great live albums. The golden age of the live albums was over, and I’m so thankful the Kingsmen were able to pull one more exciting and energetic live recording out of the hat with Garry Sheppard and Anthony Burger!
As mentioned in an earlier article, in late 1987/early 1988, Foxie opened Hear Here Studios and Pinnacle Records. By early 1992, Horizon Music Group was created, which housed the studio and record labels, and subsequently created Horizon Records as the entity’s top tier label, under which the Kingsmen would record under. The label also snagged the McKameys from Eddie Crook, as both groups would be Horizon Record’s flagship artists, and “Singin’ in the Sun” would be the first recording released under the new label.
Produced by Eldridge Fox, Jim Hamill, and Anthony Burger, “Singin’ in the Sun” was recorded in June 1992 at the Tupperware Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The Kingsmen had just spent a week at sea on the Singing at Sea cruise, and people from all over the country attended the event after the cruise. This was an annual event the Kingsmen sponsored that began a few years prior, and it had grown into a 2-day event, with “Singin’ in the Sun” being recorded on the second night. They did not record a live video, but rather, opted to do one several months later in very early 1993 in Chicago, Illinois called, “Chicago Live”.
After a wonderful prayer and intro by Dr. Larry Davis, who pastored the First Baptist Church in Cold Spring, Kentucky, the Kingsmen hit the stage with the up-tempo, “Old News, But Good News”, which features Hamill. Written by David Staton and Mickey Mixon, the song was a perfect opening tune before the Kingsmen barrel through probably my favorite song from this recording entitled, “I’m Saved”, which was written by a wonderful songwriter from Georgia named Debra Shepherd. Featuring Parker on the first verse and Ray on the second, along with Garry taking it up a few notches on the final choruses, the song has that classic, energetic Kingsmen feel and was the perfect stage song. As Hamill calls for an encore, he pulls a trick out of his handbook where they bring the energy way down and quietly sing the chorus before ramping it back up for the final choruses, and it just adds to the overall excitement and energy of the song.
A few weeks before they recorded this live album, Hamill came up with an idea to have everyone give a testimony before they sing their song, but didn’t want the guys to overthink what they wanted to say or have it sound too rehearsed. As Hamill introduces the boss, Eldridge Fox, he steps up to the mic to share his thoughts about his feature song, “I’ve Been Waiting”. With just piano accompaniment, Foxie and the Kingsmen just about bring the house down with this Luther Pressley penned gem that was inspired by the last words of the “oldest woman on earth” named “Granny” Geldia Solomon, whose final words were, “I been a-waitin’”. I’ve always enjoyed Foxie’s delivery of this song, as he thoroughly enjoys himself, as does the audience, and it’s a highlight of the recording.
One of my favorite moments on this recording is the Jack and Gail Toney penned tune, “Forever in Eternity”. Recalling the classic sound of the old-time singing convention songs, the song begins with just piano accompaniment, but by the final chorus, the rest of the band kick in for the grand finish, and it’s truly a highlight of the recording, and was the perfect follow-up to “I’ve Been Waiting”.
Next, we come to a routine titled, “Anthony’s Anthology”, where Anthony Burger spends the next 9 minutes sharing his amazing story and playing through the evolution of his piano playing, starting as a 3-year-old kid through joining the Kingsmen at 16 years old. It’s a great walk-through of Anthony’s piano playing from his formative years playing at the Conservatory, as well as his early influences which include such people as Floyd Cramer, Ray Charles, and Jerry Lee Lewis, and the banter between him and Hamill throughout is hilarious. With this being Anthony’s final recording with the Kingsmen, how appropriate they take the extended time for him to share his story in this manner. Prior to leaving, he did release one last instrumental recording titled, “Burnin’ it Up!”, which had one of the coolest cover shots, with Anthony playing an upright piano that is on fire!
As things take a more serious turn, Ray shares his heartfelt testimony of being healed of cancer before turning in an exceptional performance on the Larry Gatlin penned, “Healing Stream”. With Ray on the verses and Tim taking the lead on the chorus, it’s truly a highlight of the recording and one of my all-time favorite Ray features. Originally, this was slated to be a Tim Surrett feature, but given Ray’s healing experience, it made sense to have Ray take the verses, as it was truly his testimony song. This became one of Ray’s signature songs and has been a beloved concert favorite for many years.
Tim takes a few moments as he shares his heart, before he does a great job singing the testimonial, “All the Good Things”, which was written by Sammy Easom. I love Tim’s gritty delivery on the second verse, and the country feel of the song fits him like a glove, before Parker takes his turn sharing his salvation experience before singing the dramatic power ballad, “The Cross Has Won Again”. Starting out with just piano accompaniment, before the rest of the band kicks in on the first chorus, the song concludes with a classic Kingsmen power ending, capped off with one of Ray’s signature bass slides at the end. This was the first single from this recording, peaking at #5 for March and April of 1993, and was written by Larry Gatlin, who pitched it to the Kingsmen to record. This song was Larry’s own powerful testimony song of overcoming cocaine addiction, and it’s one of the most powerful songs the Kingsmen ever recorded. I love the crowd’s reaction at the end, as campmeeting just about breaks out, reminiscent of some of those classic Kingsmen live albums!
After the crowd dies down a bit, Garry steps up to share his heartfelt testimony as he prepares to sing another Sammy Easom song, “He’s All I Need”, which was one of Garry’s favorite songs to sing while with the Kingsmen. With just basic piano accompaniment, this song was one of his greatest performances while with the Kingsmen, and was a wonderful example of what an amazing singer and communicator Garry was. This was the second single from this recording, and it soared all the way to the #1 spot for November of 1993. The song is the crowning jewel of the recording, as it’s such a beautiful and breathtaking moment, further highlighted by Hamill, as he steps into “preacher mode” for a moment before taking the lead on the final tag of the song, amping up the energy to give us that classic Kingsmen ending we all love.
As the recording winds down, the whole premise of everything we’ve heard with the songs and testimonies, all comes down to the exciting and invigorating, “Testimony Meeting” (which would have been a great title for this live recording), which was written by Squire Parsons. With exciting piano fills by Anthony, the song has Hamill taking the lead on the chorus, with Ray enthusiastically singing the verses, and the energy gets ramped up even more on the final choruses as Garry takes the lead, giving the song that classic energetic Kingsmen performance we all know and love. My one disappointment is there was no encore, and this song BEGGED for an encore! I always felt this was a missed opportunity for an exciting radio single, as it encompassed that classic, exciting Kingsmen sound and was the perfect closing song for the recording. As an aside, in 1992 Eldridge Fox produced a recording for Squire called “One Voice”, and Squire recorded “Testimony Meeting” with the Kingsmen, and it was a highlight of that recording.
“Singin’ in the Sun” is one of my favorite live recordings by the Kingsmen. With testimonies by the guys, it has quite a bit more talking than their previous live recordings, but it still has that Kingsmen magic, excitement and crowd participation that is so prevalent on their other live albums. You also notice Hamill is singing less, as he only sings on 3 songs on the recording (not counting the encore on “He’s All I Need”), as Garry, Tim, Parker, and Ray do most of the singing. You still hear Hamill in the background as he manages the stage, encouraging each man, and having himself a good time, but essentially, Tim was pretty much the full-time lead singer. To help Tim combat the rigors of singing so hard and high, he started studying opera to help him become a stronger singer, and you definitely hear some of that influence in his singing.
1992 was a big year for the Kingsmen during the Singing News Fan Awards, as along with the band taking home the “Favorite Band” award again, Parker Jonathan was named “Favorite Baritone” and the Kingsmen walked away with “Favorite Song” and “Favorite Album” honors for the song and album, “Wish You Were Here”. On top of that, they also shared the “Favorite Video” award with Gold City for their “KingsGold” live video which was released early in 1992!
As with most anything, change was a’comin’! After about 15 years, Anthony Burger departed the Kingsmen in early 1993 to embark on a solo career, also joining the Gaithers, playing for the Gaither Vocal Band and becoming an integral part of the Homecoming concerts and video series. In 1998, he joined forces with Ivan Parker and Kirk Talley as the highly popular, “The Trio”, as they performed limited dates together, releasing 3 recordings over the course of about 5 years. Sadly, Anthony suddenly passed away on February 22, 2006, while performing on a Gaither cruise. Additionally, Garry Sheppard departed the group in June 1993 to help pioneer a church near Shallotte, North Carolina, but eventually came back to the quartet circuit, joining Perfect Heart in the fall of 1994, where he remained until 1998. Afterwards, Garry traveled a few years as a soloist, before finally settling down to a normal family life. Garry has joined the Kingsmen throughout the years at various reunion events, as well as re-joining Perfect Heart for a reunion event during the Memphis Quartet Show in June of 2023.
I saw the Kingsmen during this unique time around March/April of 1993 in Sanford, North Carolina. Anthony was already gone, and Randy Matthews had been hired to play piano, but hadn’t officially joined the Kingsmen yet. I believe Randy Miller was already there playing guitar/dobro/harmonica for the group, but Garry Sheppard was still there. Eldridge Fox played piano for the Kingsmen that night and did a superb job! Foxie was no slouch at the piano, but it was a unique concert with the Kingsmen that night, and as usual, they brought the house down!
Within a 6-month period, 2 critical members of the Kingsmen were gone, and we were seeing 3 brand new individuals on stage, as a new era of the Kingsmen was born. I will admit, it was a bit of a shock to my system, but I soon warmed to the new Kingsmen sound, and it was Hamill that made me a fan! He not only sold me on the “new” Kingsmen, but their individual talents spoke for themselves. Very soon though, the Kingsmen would experience a “New Life” and would soon be “Ridin’ High” once again!
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