The Kingsmen – You’re Not Alone (1997)
The months leading up to this recording was another time of great change for the Kingsmen, both professionally and personally. After playing for the Kingsmen for about a year, Tim Lovelace (who had gotten married in 1996) decided it was time to slow down and he departed the Kingsmen. After playing piano for Jake Hess for a bit, he and his wife (Mary Alice) began traveling as a duet for a few years, highlighting Tim’s comedy (with Mary Alice being the straight “man”, so to speak), before she settled into a life as mom and homemaker, but she has continued to enjoy a successful career as songwriter, photographer, speaker and as Director of A & R and Creative Services at StowTown Records, which is the label Tim currently records for, along with such notable artists as Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Collingsworth Family, Perrys, Triumphant Quartet, and Legacy 5. Speaking of Tim, he has continued a successful career as a comedian, musician, and vocalist, as well as a highly acclaimed songwriter having songs recorded by not only the Kingsmen, but the Florida Boys, Nelons, Cathedrals, Karen Peck & New River, Gold City, Kingdom Heirs, Palmetto State Quartet, Greater Vision, and many others. After Tim’s departure, the Kingsmen hired Andrew Ishee to play piano, who brought not only his amazing piano skills, but also his enthusiastic energy to the stage. The next change that occurred was very personal for the Kingsmen, especially for Greg Fox, as in late November of 1996, Eldridge Fox suffered a debilitating stroke, that would drastically alter the remainder of his life, and ultimately in 2002, Foxie would pass away due to ongoing complications. For Greg, this deeply affected him as he was not only helping his mom with taking care of his father, but he also was juggling with managing the Kingsmen and playing drums; a daunting and monumental task for anyone!
With Jim Hamill retiring at the end of 1996, and Eldridge Fox no longer in the capacity to manage the Kingsmen or act as producer, “You’re Not Alone” presented new challenges and opportunities for the Kingsmen, and stepping up to the plate for the challenge to assist Greg with producing was a gentleman named Jeff Collins. Both gentlemen worked together to ensure this newest recording by the Kingsmen was the absolute best it could be, and they both did a wonderful job producing “You’re Not Alone”. The Kingsmen’s last recording, “Beyond the Clouds”, leaned more traditional, but “You’re Not Alone” had a very different feel than any of their previous recordings, as the Kingsmen continued to broaden their musical palette and prove they could do more than just “three chords and a cloud of dust” type singing.
The recording kicks off with the electric guitar/harmonica driven track of the Sandy Knight penned, “Even John Couldn’t Tell It”, and was a fantastic song and the perfect lead off song for the recording. Featuring Bryan on the verses, I love Ray’s step out lines on the choruses, and it was something slightly different for the Kingsmen, but it still maintained that exciting Kingsmen delivery. I am really surprised this never made it to radio, as I think it would have been an outstanding single release.
Speaking of singles, the first single from this recording was this unique tune titled, “Come to the Water”, which was written by a gentleman named John Stone. The Kingsmen found the song when his part-time group, Lighthouse, recorded the song when they were recording an album at Horizon studios. This soothing and meditative song was something very, very different for the Kingsmen, and really pushed them from a musical standpoint, as they were trying some new sounds and styles. Honestly, though it truly is a great song, it just never really resonated with me, but the song obviously resonated with enough people, as it climbed to #15 in the Singing News chart for the months of April and May 1998.
Kicking the tempo back up, we come to the fun, bluegrass tinged “I’m Ready to See My Lord”, which was written by Rodney Griffin along with his wife, Regina. With fun fiddle, mandolin, and piano highlights, this song exuded that classic Kingsmen excitement and was jam packed with lots of musical and vocal touches, making it one of my personal favorites from this recording.
Slowing the pace back down a bit, Parker takes the lead on another Sandy Knight penned tune entitled, “So Much Mercy”. This country flavored, medium tempo song is a highlight of the recording, with Parker doing a great job interpreting the message of the song. I love the modulation into the final chorus with Bryan taking the lead, as it elevates the song to a whole new level.
Next, we come to the title song, “You’re Not Alone”, which was a very personal song that Squire Parsons wrote for his mother, after his dad went on to be with the Lord in 1996. Featuring an outstanding performance by Chris, this was the second single from this recording, peaking at #4 in the Singing News chart for September 1998. Immediately after this song was released to radio, Chris departed the Kingsmen, and they hired Jerry Martin, who was singing tenor with the North Carolina based group, Lumber River. Jerry was rushed into the studio to add his vocal to the song and the record company re-released the song to radio with Jerry singing the song. I feel that had Chris remained with the Kingsmen, would have become his signature song.
The fun, convention feel of “I Love to Tell” is a highlight of the recording, and Ray does a great job with this song. Squire Parsons wrote this tune several years prior and the Inspirations originally recorded it on their 1980 album, “Sing Me a Gospel Song”. The Kingsmen’s version has a bit more “pizzaz” than the Inspirations’ original rendition, and it was an exciting concert favorite for the Kingsmen during this time.
As I had mentioned earlier, Eldridge Fox had suffered a stroke in November 1996, and spurred by a conversation Greg had with his mom concerning if they would ever hear Foxie sing again, the idea for the song, “Family Bible” was born. With the help of modern technology, they were able to extract Foxie’s vocal from the song, which he recorded on an independent solo recording in 1977. They added new music and included a choir of the current Kingsmen along with previous members including Ernie Phillips, Squire Parsons, Frank Cutshall, Raymond McKinney, and Tim Surrett. Making the song even more special, Greg Fox is featured along with his dad on the chorus, and it’s genuinely an emotional highlight of the recording.
One of my absolute favorite songs from the 80’s was a song called, “Here Comes the Bride”, that was recorded by a group called The Sound on their iconic album, “The World Needs to Hear”, which came out in 1986. Originally, the Kingsmen had planned to record “Here Comes the Bride” on a budget/independent recording, but after staging the song a few times and seeing the response the song garnered, they decided to hold the song and add it to this new mainline recording. Featuring Parker on the first verse and Bryan on the second verse, the Kingsmen do an incredible job on this song and it’s one of my personal favorites from this recording.
Picking up the pace, we come to the bouncy “Jesus Won My Battle”, which was written by Doug Riley, who was the drummer for Gold City (as well as the son of Gold City bass, Tim Riley). After Gold City passed on recording the song, Doug pitched it to the Kingsmen, and Ray does a superb job singing this song, before Randy Miller steps up to deliver the goods on the soulful, Pentecostal feel of the Sandy Knight penned, “Use His Name”. Complete with a big choir feel, Randy truly shows his soulful side as he bends those notes to perfection, and I feel this song best showcased what an amazing and outstanding vocalist he truly was.
Another one of my personal favorites from this recording is the Kirk Talley and Steve Lacey penned power ballad, “He is No Stranger to Me”, which features a dynamic performance by Bryan. I first fell in love with this song when I heard Kirk’s version from his 1995 solo recording, “Serenade”. This was yet another unique song for the Kingsmen that didn’t quite fit their normal style, but it’s one of the best songs from this recording and one of my all-time favorite Hutson features. Kirk had pitched the song to the Kingsmen specifically for Bryan to sing, and Bryan does an outstanding job on the song, before the recording wraps up with another tune composed by Squire Parsons titled, “Wake Up”, which was another unique song for the Kingsmen. To kick off the song, the guys stood about 8 feet away from the studio mic to sing the chorus acapella, and as they inched closer to the mic, they got louder and louder before the band kicks in full force. This jazzy tune was a call to the world to “wake up before it’s too late”, and it was a fantastic song to finish out the recording.
I will admit, while “You’re Not Alone” had some amazing songs, it didn’t immediately resonate with me, as it took a few years for me to really appreciate the diversity found on this recording. Sometimes when taking in new sounds and styles from an established group like the Kingsmen, it takes some time to truly absorb everything that is going on, and (at least for me) I had to live with it for a while. As time went on, and I began to listen to it from a more historic perspective and comparing it to other recordings, I eventually concluded that it was a very remarkable recording that should be a celebrated piece of work in the Kingsmen discography. “You’re Not Alone” offered so much musically and vocally, further establishing the Kingsmen as not just iconic legends in the industry, but as trailblazers and forward thinkers!
As I mentioned earlier, during the early part of 1998, after nearly 5 years with the Kingsmen, Chris Collins decided it was time to move on, almost at the same time they released his big song, “You’re Not Alone” to radio. Fact is, Chris had recently married and decided to join his new bride in her family group, the Griffiths. Chris was not your typical Kingsmen tenor, but he brought so much to the Kingsmen, and helped them become an extremely versatile vocal group. For me, Chris was fun to watch on stage because he always seemed to have a great deal of fun when singing.
During the 1997 Singing News Fan Awards, Bryan Hutson won the Horizon Individual Award, and the Kingsmen Band took home the “Favorite Band” award. The Kingsmen Band won this award 17 times between 1978 and 1997, and this would be the last year the Kingsmen Band would take home the award. Interestingly, this would be the last Singing News fan awards the Kingsmen would win, with the exception of winning the 2002 Horizon Group of the Year as the Carolina Boys Quartet, but more about that in a later article. The Kingsmen were one of the most awarded groups in Southern Gospel Music, and I’ll actually go into that in great detail in my final Kingsmen article coming up in a few weeks…but as I stated earlier, the Kingsmen were more than just legendary figures in our genre, they were still forging new territory and blazing trails, and while they always included their past hits in their programs, they weren’t resting on their laurels, as more exciting and amazing new music was still coming from them!
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