Gaither Vocal Band

Infobox Musical artist
Name = The Gaither Vocal Band


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Genre = Christian
Years_active = Start date|1980 - Present
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URL = http://www.gaither.com
Current_members = Bill Gaither, Guy Penrod, Marshall Hall, Wes Hampton
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The Gaither Vocal Band is a Southern Gospel music group.

Musical career

Often incorrectly stated as 1981 (even by Bill Gaither, himself) it was formed in 1980 on the spur of the moment before a concert with the song, "First Day In Heaven." Not only did original bass singer, Lee Young confirm the date, one of their early performances of this song (with an explanation and introduction by Bill himself) can be found on the 1980 double record album, "Live Across America". This arrangement is a little different than the one they eventually did on their debut album, the self titled "The New Gaither Vocal Band" in 1981. They chose this name because they didn't want to be restricted to necessarily 4 singers.

Lee Young left the group in 1982, and Jon Mohr was hired as the new bass singer. They then recorded the album, "Passin' The Faith Along". Later, tenor Steve Green left and Larnelle Harris was hired. This group cut the "New Point Of View" album before Mohr left.

At this point the New Gaither Vocal Band became new, but dropped the "new" part of their name. Bill Gaither dropped to the lowest part (although they didn't call it Bass at the time), Gary McSpadden was moved down to baritone and Michael English was hired as lead singer. Although the previous album ("New Point of View") had been more contemporary than its predecessors, the album with this version of the group ("One X 1") took it even further. After this album, Larnelle left and was replaced by Lemuel Miller. The group did not record an album with Lemuel before he left. He was replaced by Imperials alumnus, Jim Murray. They cut one album ("Wings") before Gary McSpadden left to devote more time to his solo career. Mark Lowry was tapped to replace him. Although Lowry admittedly didn't have the natural ear for the baritone part, or the experience, he added a great voice along with his comedy and soon made their sound more smooth. First planned to perhaps be their final album their Gospel roots project "Homecoming" in 1991, caused most Southern Gospel fans to welcome the Vocal Band with open arms. A follow-up recording called "Southern Classics" cemented their relationship with fans.
Jim Murray left and was replaced by Terry Franklin whose tenor voice was heard on the aforementioned, Southern Classics. Later Michael English left to focus soley on his ever growing solo career. He was replaced by Buddy Mullins. Terry Franklin soon left and was replaced by yet another Imperials alumnus, Jonathan Pierce (formerly known by his first and last name Jonathan Hildreth instead of his first and middle name as he has been known since joining the Vocal Band). Strengthened by the popularity of the Homecoming video series, the Vocal Band added Guy Penrod at lead and after Pierce's departure, David Phelps at tenor in the 1990s. After Lowry’s departure, The Imperials alumnus Russ Taff sang baritone for a couple of years. When Taff returned to solo work, Marshall Hall was his replacement. Wes Hampton succeeded Phelps in 2005.

During the 1990s and into the first few years of the 21st century, the Gaither Vocal Band mastered the art of mixing classic Southern Gospel with Country and Inspirational styles. This gave the group a broad fan base that reached beyond the typical domain of Southern Gospel. Despite the immense popularity of the Gaither Vocal Band, they’ve only had two number one songs on the "Singing News" chart. "Yes, I Know" held the top position from July to October of 1997, as did "I Will Go On" in November of 2006. Other popular tunes by the Gaither Vocal Band include "Let Freedom Ring", "Count On Me", "The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor", and "When Jesus Says It’s Enough." The group routinely performs classic Southern Gospel songs including many written by Bill Gaither and/or Gloria Gaither like "He Touched Me", "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary", and "Sinner Saved By Grace."

The GVB recorded a reunion DVD and CD at the Gaither Studios in late July 2008. All but three of the former members were there. The three were Jonathan Pierce, Terry Franklin, and Lemuel Miller.

Members

The Gaither Vocal Band - Complete List of Group Members
*Bill Gaither, Baritone (1980-85); Bass (1985-present)
*Lee Young, Bass (1980-1982)
*Steve Green, Tenor (1980-1983)
*Gary McSpadden, Lead (1980-1985); Baritone (1985-88)
*Jon Mohr, Bass (1982-1985)
*Larnelle Harris, Tenor (1983-1987)
*Michael English, Lead (1985-1994)
*Lemuel Miller, Tenor (1987)
*Jim Murray, Tenor (1987-1992)
*Mark Lowry, Baritone (1988-2001)
*Terry Franklin, Tenor (1992-1994)
*Buddy Mullins, Lead (1994-1995)
*Jonathan Pierce, Tenor (1994-1997)
*Guy Penrod, Lead (1995-present)
*David Phelps, Tenor (1997-2005)
*Russ Taff, Baritone (2001-2004)
*Marshall Hall, Baritone (2004-present)
*Wes Hampton, Tenor (2005-present)

Producers of Gaither Vocal Band Albums

Keith Thomas - 1986 Billy Smiley - 1986-1988 Lari Goss - 1990 Ken Mansfield - 1990 Cheryl Rogers - 1993 Bill Gaither - 1993-present Michael English - 1993-1994 Guy Penrod - 1995-2000 Michael Sykes - 1993-present David Phelps - 2003

Discography

*"The New Gaither Vocal Band" (1981) - Dayspring
*"Passin' The Faith Along" (1983) - Dayspring
*"New Point of View" (1984) - Dayspring
*"One X 1" (1986) - Word Nashville
*"Wings" (1988) - Star Song
*"A Few Good Men" (1990) - Star Song
*"Homecoming" (1991) - Star Song
*"Peace of the Rock" (1993) - Star Song
*"Southern Classics" (1993) - Benson
*"Testify" (1994) - Chapel
*"Southern Classics: Volume II" (1996) - Chapel
*"Back Home in Indiana" (1997) - Spring Hill
*"Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other" (1997) - Spring Hill
*"Still the Greatest Story Ever Told" (1998) - Spring Hill
*"God is Good" (1999) - Spring Hill
*"I Do Believe" (2000) - Spring Hill
*"Everything Good" (2002) - Spring House
*"A Cappella" (2003) - Gaither Music Group
*"Give it Away" (2006) - Gaither Music Group
*"Together" Signature Sound and Gaither Vocal Band (2007) - Gaither Music Group
*"Lovin' Life" (2008) - Gaither Music Group
*"GVB Reunion" (2008) - Gaither Music Group (Recorded, but not released or even slated for release until 2009.) Compilations: (Some contain additional new material or alternate versions than released on original albums)

*"The Best from the Beginning" (1989) - Word
*"Can't Stop Talkin' About Him" (1995)
*"King is Coming" (1994) - Benson
*"Classic Moments from the Gaither Vocal Band - Volume 1" (1999) - Benson
*"Classic Moments from the Gaither Vocal Band - Volume 2" (1999) - Benson
*"Best of the Gaither Vocal Band (2004) - Gaither Music Group

External links

* [http://www.gaither.com Bill Gaither Official Site]
* [http://www.stevegreenministries.org Steve Green Official Site]
* [http://larnelle.com Larnelle Harris Official Site]
* [http://michaelenglishmusic.com Michael English Official Site]
* [http://www.marklowry.com Mark Lowry Official Site]
* [http://buddymullins.com Buddy Mullins Official Site]
* [http://www.davidphelps.com David Phelps Official Site]
* [http://www.russtaff.com Russ Taff Official Site]
* [http://weshampton.com Wes Hampton Official Site]
* [http://jonmohr.com Jon Mohr Official Site]

References