The Kingsmen – I Will (2001)
This particular article is rather bittersweet for me, as this will be my final review in the Kingsmen’s discography. Every week since the first week of February, we’ve been talking about the Kingsmen, and we’ve talked through nearly 40 albums over the last 30+ weeks, but we’ve reached the final recording I am going to cover, which is their 2001 release, “I Will”.
Released in early Spring 2001, “I Will” was produced by Greg Fox and Parker Jonathan. Initially, it was intended for Nick Bruno to produce this recording, and he was involved in the early stages of rehearsals and arrangements, but in the end, the record company opted to go in a different direction. Nonetheless, Nick’s fingerprints are unmistakably all over this recording, even though it has a completely different feel than “Proven…” did. I’ve got to say, I’ve never been a fan of the cover for “I Will”, as the cover artwork and picture give little to no indication of what’s in store on this power packed recording! “I Will” boasts a hot mix, killer music tracks and in your face vocals by the Kingsmen, and this ranks as my personal favorite recording by this vocal line-up. Simply put…“I Will” totally rocks!
The recording kicks off with the rollicking tune, “Joy’s Gonna Come in the Morning”, which was written by Daryl Williams, John Darin Rowsey and Rebecca Peck. This energetic song, with its strong electric guitar track along with some enjoyable fiddle/mandolin embellishments, is one of my all-time favorite Kingsmen tunes and was the first single released, peaking at #9 in November 2001 (it should have been a #1). Jerry’s gritty delivery on the verses and Bryan’s charismatic performance on the chorus, along with the smoking hot music track makes this such a fun and exciting song. The Kingsmen were “competing” with the North Carolina based female trio, Rejoice, with the same song in the charts, and I think because both versions were so different from one another, it allowed both groups to do very well in the charts with the same song, but in essence, I think it kept the Kingsmen version from making it higher in the charts.
The straight-ahead Southern Gospel quartet feel of “He is Leading”, which was written by Rodney Griffin and Tim Lovelace, keeps the tempo light and lively before things slow down as Bryan sings the power ballad, “Redeemed”, which was written by Lois Gail (who also wrote “The Judgement”). Originally, the arrangement was for Bryan to carry the lead through the end of the song, but it was keyed so high, Jerry ended up taking the melody on part of the final chorus. It’s a powerful song and Bryan does a phenomenal job on it, before the tempo gets kicked back into high gear for the exciting tune, “One Way Trip”. Written by a lady named Doris May, the song was pitched to the Kingsmen by James Gordon Freeze (former bass player for the Hemphills), as he had published the song through his publishing company, Sparks-Freeze Music. This ended up being the second single released from the recording, but unfortunately it topped out at #26 in March 2002. I love the musicality of the song as well as the intensity of the vocals, and although it wasn’t a huge charting single for the Kingsmen, it has remained a popular concert favorite that is still sung often by today’s Kingsmen.
Slowing the pace back down, Jason Selph is featured on the Rodney Griffin penned, “He Gave Me the Well”, and does an outstanding job on the song before Ray takes the lead on the up-tempo, “My Lord is Able”, which was written by Squire Parsons. Kicking the tempo up even further, we come to the fun and energetic, “Hand Me the Book”, which was written by Tim and Mary Alice Lovelace, along with Joel Lindsey. A true highlight of the recording, the song features everyone in the group, along with a swift beat and fun piano, fiddle and guitar highlights, which is further ramped up by a really cool fake ending, which adds to the overall excitement of the song.
Bryan takes the lead next on the Dianne Wilkinson penned, “Whisper a Prayer”. With its jazzy feel and an exciting horn section, the song was patterned after the Kingsmen classic song, “Say a Prayer”, and is a highlight of the recording, before Jerry is featured on the song from whence the recording’s title comes from, “If it’s Thy Will, I Will”, which was written by Barbara Huffman and Randall Hunley. Jerry shines brightly as he delivers a highly impactful performance of this poignant lyric. This song was especially meaningful to Greg, as despite his father’s failing health, he continued to press on, and is why it ultimately became the title of this recording.
Next, Parker sings the jubilant message of the medium tempo, “It’s a Hallelujah Moment”, which was written by Mark Lanier and Amy Keffer. This was a different type of song for the Kingsmen, and when they get to the bridge, the choir and live brass come in, taking the song to a whole new level, and it’s one of the highlights of the recording. This was the 3rd single release from this recording, stalling out at #26 in October 2002, but I truly felt this song could have done much better, had circumstances been a little different. By the time this song hit radio, the Kingsmen name had been retired and the group was singing under a different name, and things were a bit unstable for the group at the time, and I believe that played a big part in the song not doing as well as it could have.
Picking up the tempo, the LaHona Arnold penned song, “Anchor Deep, Pray Hard, Hold On” was a fun inclusion for this recording. This was originally planned to be included on “Proven…”, but they decided to hold on to it and added it to this recording, which was an added delight for “I Will” and is one of my personal favorites.
Keeping the tempo upbeat, we come to the jaunty, “Nothing Can Separate Me”, which was written by Tim Lovelace and features Ray on the second verse, before Greg Fox steps up next to deliver an emotional performance on the song, “Underneath You Are the Everlasting Arms” which was written by Squire Parsons. Squire intentionally pitched this song for Greg to sing, and it’s only the second time Greg has sung on a mainline studio album. Greg does a great job channeling his dad, as the song sounds amazingly similar to something Foxie would have sung.
The recording finishes out with the up-tempo, traditional quartet feel of “Someday We’ll Know”, which was a song the Kingsmen originally recorded in 1973 on their “Just Plain Singin’” album. With a nice acoustic feel and lilting piano highlights, it rounds out the recording very nicely.
This was one of the most upbeat and energetic studio albums the Kingsmen ever recorded. I absolutely loved everything about this recording, and felt it was the best one the Kingsmen recorded during this era. I have always felt the Jerry, Bryan, Parker, and Ray version of the Kingsmen rivaled any other version of the group…they had a tight sound, could plaster you to the wall with that high, power harmony, but yet could come around and sing something soft and beautiful. They were truly an amazing combination and one of my absolute favorite versions of the group. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and by May 2001, Bryan had left the Kingsmen. Bryan would return to the Kingsmen in 2007, where he would remain until 2011. After his departure from the Kingsmen in 2011, he eventually joined the Soul’d Out Quartet, where he remained for about 4 years. For the last several years, Bryan and his wife Yvonne have enjoyed a very successful ministry together singing, leading marriage workshops as well as ministering in various other capacities. After Bryan left in 2001, the Kingsmen hired Randy Crawford, who had previously sung with Brian Free & Assurance. Despite the success the Kingsmen had enjoyed, by the end of a very tumultuous 2001 National Quartet Convention (9/11 occurred that week and the Bishops disbanded during that week as well), the Kingsmen name was retired for a season out of respect for Eldridge Fox and his continuing declining health, which allowed Greg to focus all his efforts on caring for his dad. The current Kingsmen at the time re-branded as the Carolina Boys Quartet and continued under that name for about 3 years and released 2 outstanding mainline recordings. Sadly, after continuing declining health, Eldridge Fox passed away on November 21, 2002. Eventually, the Kingsmen Quartet was re-born in 2004, under the leadership of Ray Dean Reese.
The Kingsmen has continued to enjoy tremendous success, but as the nature of the music business has gone, they eventually did away with the band (as most every other group had done as well) and began utilizing tracks. The group today sounds very different from the Kingsmen I grew up listening to, but they continue to do a tremendous job and remain one of the best groups on the road today, who is just a little over a year shy of celebrating a wonderful 60-year legacy! The current group consists of Thomas Nalley, Cole Watson, Alan Kendall, and Brady Jones. Ray still maintains ownership of the group, but due to health reasons, he doesn’t travel full-time anymore, but his son, Brandon manages the group on the road.
I’ve been writing these “Discography Reviews” for about 4 years now, and this series with the Kingsmen has been the most enjoyable and fulfilling of them all! I could never have been able to accomplish this series without the help of Alan Kendall and Brandon Reece. Initially, I was concerned with trying to adequately accomplish this feat, but Alan and Brandon were a huge resource in helping get this off the ground. Thank you so much to Ray Reece and Greg Fox who were more than willing to share their road stories with me and were so willing to give their time and talk with me at length about the music of the Kingsmen. Thanks also to former members of the Kingsmen who were more than willing to talk with me and share their memories…Johnny Parrack, Nick Bruno, Squire Parsons, Wayne Maynard, Garry Sheppard, Tim Surrett, Parker Jonathan, Bryan Hutson, and Jerry Martin. Also, a special thank you to those connected with the music of the Kingsmen for sharing their stories as well…Jeff Gibson, Wayne Hilton, Max Rhoades, Jim Stover, and Steve Mauldin.
I can never repay the impact the Kingsmen have made on my life personally through their music, as their music has literally carried me through most of my life! A simply “Thank You” doesn’t suffice, but only eternity will tell the impact that the Kingsmen have made for the Kingdom!
