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Sunday Edition


30
Jun
2003
Editorial - Where Has The Quality Gone?


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Deon Unthank

imageThose of you who don?t take advantage of the Message Boards are missing out on some very interesting discussion. One of the discussions has revolved around the statement that some people have made that the quality of Southern Gospel has been going down hill for several years. This really strikes a nerve with me. There seems to be some confusion as to the difference between style and quality. Let me talk about the style issue for a little if I may. Back in the 70s and 80s there was great discussion about the ?country? influence that was coming into Southern Gospel Music. It seems that the ?purists? of Southern Gospel Music didn?t want the ?country? sound that was clearly making an impact on the genre. Such groups as The Rambos, The Happy Goodmans, and The Hinsons were definitely having an influence. Whether it was a good influence or a bad influence is still being debated today. The fact was, there was no other place for groups like these to go. In reality both styles of music were sharing the stage every night, and the fans were loving it. Let me just say that since this discussion has been going on for 30 years, and the country influence is still here, I think that it is pretty safe to say that it truly is a part of Southern Gospel Music, and we need to live with that fact. The inertia of the country influence is too strong to stop it. It really isn?t bad for the genre. The fact is that many of these country sounding groups will fill a building, when the traditional quartet sounds, as much as I love them, do not always draw. Now there are some traditional quartet fans that think the Gold City is the cats meow and the more progressive sounds of the Gaither Vocal Band are just terrible. Then there are those who love the progressive sounds of GVB and The Lesters and think that all quartets sound alike. Add to that the bluegrass fans that think that the Issacs can outsing all of the above and you have to come to one brilliant deduction. Quality is in the ear of the listener. (Not to say that any of these groups mentioned are not "quality groups") Now back to the quality issue. If I prefer the stylings of the more progressive groups, does that make the quality of the quartets inferior? If I love the bluegrass singing, does that make the progressive sounds inferior in quality? No, not at all. Now there are some part time groups out there who are singing flat or sharp or off key or off timing, and that is bad. Those groups however are not at the top of any of the genres. I can remember singing in some pretty ?bad? groups when I was a teenager. When I finally formed my own group, the Sunday Edition, we strove for excellence, but we shared the stage with some pretty bad part time groups. We have the same thing today. However, there were top notch groups back then that everyone went to see, and today we have the same thing. There is no lack of quality in the top notch groups of today. Well this should give you a little idea of the types of things that we discuss on the message boards, so why don?t you come and join us.

Reader Comments

Deon Unthank's avatar Bill, are you saying that there is a glut of quartets with Basses in the baritone range?

Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog

Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown



Commented by On 07/10/2003
No,no Deon,there are some but that was not what I was saying.I did not puncuate that very good.I put a period after male trios.I don't feel that there are a glut of quartets with basses singing that high but for whatever reasons there are some.And I feel that by doing that the blend and sound is a much more contemparary one.But there is a glut of trios of all types.By choice or necessity.That probably cleared up nothing!!


Commented by On 07/10/2003
HELLO EVERY BODY LETS JUST LOAD UP AND GO TO ''CRABB FEST' IT IS THE BIGGEST THING IN GOSPEL MUSIC NOW DONT YOU THINK.SO LETS LOVE EACH ONE AND ENJOY ALL THAT GOSPEL MUSIC HAS TO OFFER.


Commented by DALE MASSEY On 07/10/2003
OH, AND WHAT I HEAR THAY ARE HAVING LIVE MUSIC. YES I SAID LIVE MUSIC HEMMMMMMM I WONDER IF THAY ARE GOING TO HAVE DRUMMMMS HEMMMMMMMM OH KNOW GUITARS TOO! WE BETTER RUN WE MIGHT NOT GET A SEAT AT CRABB FEST OH IS THAT SG HEMMMMMMMM.


Commented by DALE MASSEY On 07/10/2003
There may be more variation in style in today's SG music, but everything you hear, on the radio at least, is the same old vocal cliches, the same old instrumental cliches and the same old lyrics. It's like a dog chasing its' tail, the music just keeps going around in circles.

I guess the example I would use to explain what I think SG music should be like is the Inspirations from the early- and mid-70s. They were able to do a variety of things with their vocal parts that kept it interesting. And if you listened to the instrumentalists, Martin Cook on piano, Roger Fortner on lead guitar and Dale Jones on steel, knew how to interact with each other and the vocals to avoid cliches and make each song an adventure in listening. I guess I miss that.

I realize that everybody has their own style. I just want to hear the same kind of originality and forethought in today's music that I heard in the music put out by a wide variety of artists between about 1975 and 1986. I guess I'm living in the past.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit

- Galatians 5:25. 

My Blog



Commented by Keith Prater On 07/10/2003
Deon Unthank's avatar Keith,
I guess I'm just having a hard time relating to what you are saying. I hear all kinds of diversity on SGM radio. I hear quartets, trios, mixed groups, soloists, I hear song in 4/4 time, 2/4 time 3/4 time 6/8 time. I hear fun songs, novelty songs, ballads, songs where everyone goes a different direction. I'm not understanding your thoughts of no variation. Maybe I should ask, "what are you wanting to hear?" I think that I am hearing as much variety now as I did in the 70s and 80s.

Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog

Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown



Commented by On 07/10/2003
Deon,
This is a great article! I was just talking today about this very subject with a friend of mine and it seems in SGM today we have a certain group of people who want to hold this industry back! Let me make myself clear. When I was just a small boy Iwould go to the radio station and find records with big X's on them or scratched through. There would be orders from the top not to play these terrible artists. I am so glad that the other stations around the nation didn't listen cause a lot of people would have never heard Hovie Lister and The Statesmen! Hovie, Jake, Kenny Hinson, Mike Pain, Dottie Rambo, J.D. Sumner, Rusty Goodman, The Kingsmen, Imperials, are all innovators of a special sound only produced when they performed. There are times they went with there musical feel when maybe it had never been attempted before. They got outside the shape note box and created a sound of their own. Don't get me wronge shape notes are a great teacher but there comes a time when a singer realizes they are an artist and paints a picture that only he or she can paint with their own God given talents! I say keep singing how God has led, be your own singer not what anyone else thinks you should be, present yourself in a professional manner and don't QUIT! Deon, we have got to keep this music creative and alive in which we will be paying the biggest tribute to those who walked before us!

Your Friend
Gunsinger


Commented by On 07/10/2003
YES YES GO FOR IT GUNSINGER!


Commented by DALE MASSEY On 07/10/2003
Sorry, I have been away from my computer for a while and didn't realize that I did not make my point in a way that you could understand.

The issue in the editorial was "quality". I looked up the word in the dictionary and discovered that it means: "The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."
Not to be mistaken for "degree of excellence" or "fitness for use" which meet only part of the definition.

You all must have thought I was referring to "degree of excellence" when I said, "If we apply this definition to the gospel music industry, then I can truthfully say, "the quality of Southern Gospel has been going down hill for several years." I was not. I was referring to "ability to satisfy stated or implied needs".

That's why I also said, "If, on the other hand, you prefer country music or bluegrass music, you can truthfully say, 'the quality of Southern Gospel has improved since the Southern Gospel industry divorced itself from Contempory Christian music and embraced Country and Bluegrass Gospel music.'"

What I consider "quality" is not necessarily what you consider "quality" and vice versa. That doesn't mean you like bad music. It means your "needs" are different from mine. That is why there is a variety (had to look that word up in the dictionary too) of Gospel music styles and they all have their supporters.

The word "entertainers" has nothing to do with my commentary on "quality". Dean used the term "top notch groups" but I didn't want to use "groups" because there are some soloists in the business which are very successful and deserve recognition.

On second thought, maybe I will comment on the word "entertainers". If we eliminate the entertainment part of Gospel Music, we can cut back on the expenses. We won't need musicians. We won't need anybody to sing harmony. In fact, we only need a soloist and he/she doesn't even have to sing. He can read the words to the songs. Better yet, maybe he could just read the scriptures and comment on them. Maybe we'll just call it preaching. There's nothing wrong with that. There's also nothing "wrong" with good entertainment.

Think I'll go check out the message boards. See if I can start a controversary there.

Have a nice day.

Larry Polston
Nicholasville, KY



Commented by On 07/11/2003
This my first ever response to the Message Board. In reference to the "quality if SG music. I've been reading a lot of opinions about this "quality" idea. I agree with someone else who said "quality" is in the ear of the listener. SG has developed a vocabulary of varying terminology. What really worries me is the fact that some of our "artists" are becoming more intent on the marketing of their product than the message of the Cross. Some have lost their "first love" after having reached the "celebrity status". SG is becoming a big business, but let us NOT forget that we need to foremostly be about the Father's business as we deliver His message via southern gospel music!


Commented by On 07/12/2003
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