Lari Goss – Driven By Passion
Known as a singer, musician, songwriter, ordained minister and producer; Lari Goss is someone I have greatly admired and respected for about as long as I can remember. For a man who has had little, if any, formal training in music, Lari Goss is a musical genius. Known for his production work with such artists as the Cathedrals, Hoppers, Gaither Vocal Band, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Larnelle Harris, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Phil Driscoll, and a host of others…Lari Goss is a name synonymous with quality and first class production. I was given the distinct pleasure of sitting with him during the 2006 National Quartet Convention and was able to talk with him and pick his brain for nearly an hour. Below is only a part of the interview and through this, you will clearly see that he has a passion for life, a passion for music and a passion for Christ!
JH: Gospel Music has played a major role in your life. What lit that spark in you that made you want to sing, play and become involved like you have?
LG: Being raised in a family with gospel music, my mom and dad were singers and we all sang as kids as a family group. We migrated to singing as a trio with just my brothers, James and Roni and I, and we sang as trio for quite a number of years. We would travel with the Statesmen, Blackwood Brothers, Oak Ridge Quartet, Harvesters, Prophets, LeFevres and Blue Ridge Quartet and that really sparked our interest and inspired us to want to be out there singing, even though our music was quite different than most back in those days.
Also, we all would play instruments, Roni would play bass, James played guitar and I played piano, and we just loved to create music, not just by singing, but also by playing. Eventually, Meurice LeFevre built a studio in Atlanta called LeFevre Sound and he brought us in as staff musicians and we started recording and playing behind other groups and we made a lot of records back then. At that time, everybody was coming to LeFevre Sound to record and we wound up doing more background work than we did traveling. Traveling became a secondary, and studio work became primary. We could play, do background vocals and it still kept us in contact with all these artists that were on the road. But I have to say, when you come to a place like the National Quartet Convention and you see these groups on the platform and you smell the diesel fumes from the buses…it just stirs something inside you making you wish you were up there doing the same thing! Then you get home and think gee…this is great too! (laughing)
JH: The Goss Brothers were way ahead of their time musically, even by today’s standards.
LG: You know, the music we did just came natural to us. Even though we were raised in a small country church, the kind of music we did just came natural to us because we liked the Four Freshmen, the Lettermen, and groups like that, and we kind of patterned our singing after them. Even though we were singing music that was different than the Statesmen and Blackwoods, we still loved standing backstage and just listen to them sing. They thrilled us…but the funny thing about it is, when we would sing, people would get up and go to the restroom or take a break, but what kept us going were the singers. They were our audience and they would gather backstage and listen to us, and that was thrilling for us and it was such a big encouragement to us.
JH: Did it ever bother you guys that the ‘average joe’ just didn’t “get” the Goss Brothers?
LG: We just sung what we felt and it really didn’t bother us that the audience didn’t seem to appreciate what we were doing. Though they didn’t seem to “get” our music, they appreciated what we were doing and loved us.
JH: Back at LeFevre Sound and during the 1960s and into the 1970s, you guys made some great music and produced some excellent recordings.
LG: The groups didn’t seem to mind if we stretched them a little bit. They would come in the studio with their songs and they’d have a basic arrangement down, then we’d add to what they already had and change things and they didn’t seem to mind the extra production work we’d do, because there wasn’t a lot of that going on back then. You also had to be careful because whatever they did on record, they had to be able to pull it off on the platform with their own band or piano player because they didn’t have tracks and stacks back then! (laughing) And to be honest, had it not been for those times that they gave us a chance to orchestrate things like that and giving us a chance to stretch, I may not be where I am today.
JH: Do you find producing to be fulfilling for you?
LG: Very much so…both musically and spiritually. When I get involved with an artist to produce their record, I never take on that role as a boss that knows all; I take on more of a role as a servant...I am here to help you in any way that I can. I have tracked down songs for artists, taken those songs chosen for a recording and arranged them and track and orchestrate the songs, record their vocals and then go in and do whatever needs to be done to get a recording complete from start to finish. Through that whole process, there have been times that it’s been a great spiritual experience for me, just through the songs and their messages, because you can’t produce and not get involved in the songs themselves, because they’re like sermons, and they can lead you to another level, spiritually. You look back once it’s all over and realize it was so much more than just about the production of a record, it’s what this record did for you spiritually. I find this especially true working with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, where we get involved in some songs and as you’re going through the process of producing, arranging and orchestrating, it’s not about that at all. It’s that spiritual elevation that you get.
Music is my medium through the Holy Spirit to the Heavenly Father…if I lose that and find myself just doing it for an award or whatever, or just to play the role, then I’m done. It’s not the only way I get spiritual satisfaction, but I find a lot of spiritual satisfaction and gratitude through producing and many times it allows me to grow. Being around people like Mike Speck, Jim Cymbala, Nancy Harmon and Gerald Wolfe…I find during the process, we find ourselves even weeping in the studio, stopping and praying because the presence of the Holy Spirit would be so strong that we find it’s not just about the music anymore, but it’s about what God is going to be doing with this song and how He’s touching us and how He’s going to be touching other people through the music being created.
A guy asked me last week how much longer am I going to do this because, as he put it, I’ve made my mark, I’ve done all there is to do. He said why don’t I just hang it up…its time to retire. I told him that I can’t do that, because the music I do is so much more than just music, it’s that connection and passion I have for Christ.
JH: What would be your most fulfilling recording?
LG: Gosh! Honestly? In 1991 I did a live album for Larnelle Harris with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and to this day that is one of my favorite projects I have ever been involved in. From beginning to end, it was a great experience. That was my first record with Larnelle, and I had just started working with the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and the combination of the two was just powerful. The neat thing about that recording was that entire recording was totally live…choir, orchestra, everything was done all live that night. Nothing was done in the studio except to fix things here and there, but that was truly a live record. That record gave me a lot of fulfillment. But honestly, I find some favoritism in all the recordings I’ve produced.
JH: You’ve had lots of highlights in your career. Looking back, what are some of the biggest highlights for you?
LG: That’s a hard question! Of course, the Larnelle/Booklyn Tabernacle project would definitely rank as one. Another would be working with the Cathedrals. We made some great music together. Surprisingly, when I did things with the Lanny Wolfe Trio. We’ve probably done over 25 records with Lanny Wolfe over the years and I loved his music. Working with Christ Church Choir and Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is always a highlight for me. Working with Friends 4 back in the early 1990s was such a treat for me and will always remain a special time for me.
Back in the 1969, the Grammy’s came to Atlanta, and Meurice LeFevre and my brother James was on the NARAS board, and they talked the board into letting me do the music for the 1969 Grammy Awards. They hired the Atlanta Symphony and gave me a chance to really orchestrate some songs and we pulled it all off live, and that was a great moment for me.
Of late, working with Greater Vision’s new hymns recording was such an experience. Also, the recording I did with Signature Sound and Gaither Vocal Band was just a phenomenal undertaking. Putting them two together on one recording was absolutely fantastic.
JH: Roughly, how long is the process for you from beginning to end to complete that recording for them?
LG: Bill Gaither came to my house and we went over the arrangements. Then I took about 3 days and wrote everything out. Then I did the rhythm charts, and we did one day and tracked the rhythm tracks. After that, we took 8 days to do the vocals. Then we took about 7 days to orchestrate it. Then we spent probably 5-8 days mixing. Actual working time, if you figure every day is a working day, we spent probably 30 days putting this together. Of course, that is stretched out over the course of several months.
JH: You mentioned a bit about ago about the new hymns recording by Greater Vision. Tell me a little more about that.
LG: When we got together to do this record, we decided we didn’t want to do a regular hymns recording, but we came up with this concept to do a chronological hymn record. We start with a song about the creation, and so on until we reach the end of the record where we do a hymn about Christ’s return. The reason we set it up this way, was in case we wanted to make it into a musical, we can add narration to it. It wouldn’t take much to put it out as a choral project either. Minds are working hard with this project! (laughing)
JH: You’ve been involved with Gospel Music for so many years and have seen many changes. How has Gospel Music changed since you first started?
LG: Southern Gospel has become so categorized over years and I’ve seen it go from strictly Southern Gospel back in the quartet days, to where we have Southern, Country, Inspirational, Black Gospel and now we have this new brand called American Gospel Music, which encompasses such groups like Greater Vision and the Hoppers, which is kind of a merge between Southern Gospel and Church Music. Another change is we have more people using soundtracks now…
JH: Do you like the use of soundtracks?
LG: You know I have to say that when we had the live bands, it was more exciting. You could do a lot more with a band. On the tracks, you can cheat a little bit and put stack vocals on there…it’s not all bad, because it does sound good. That’s one of the biggest changes, is the major use nowadays of tracks and stacks.
JH: What changes would you like to see?
LG: I’m a musician, I’m an artist, and I’m a purist. One thing I would like to see is a voluntary evaluation counsel or board that would evaluate and help artists. Not to judge them, but to help them. This would be a counsel that would know gospel music, but would show no partiality. A counsel made up of artists and industry personnel that would help an artist in all areas…using them in their respective area of expertise. For instance, I could help in producing, another person could help them in performance, another could help them gain knowledge of business, and so on. But then again, you have to be careful because you don’t want to judge people. This should be constructive criticism. I admit that this is something I struggle with…should you really judge in Christian Music? Because if you’re called, you’re called…I can’t question something like that. It’s different in gospel music than in secular music because gospel music is all about spreading the gospel. It’s not about how much money you make, or how popular you become.
Another thing is I’d like to see record companies put more money into the marketing of good artists. If you market a bad group, that doesn’t help gospel music. If you market a good artist, that is a wonderful testimony for us. From day one, I’ve always been a stickler for quality. My belief is if you do a great record, even though it may cost you a lot, you can still use that music 10 or 20 years from now and it will still sell for you. People still talk about the Cathedrals “Symphony of Praise” or Gold City’s “Pillars of Faith” because they’re not dated.
JH: Any words of advice for artists out there?
LG: Be as good as you can be. One thing that helped the Goss Brothers in the beginning was that we had mentors who helped us and would inspire us. I would advise artists to find someone who can mentor you and be a wise counsel for you. Also, I’d say stay humble, no matter how much success you have. The amount of success you have doesn’t make you, what makes you is your humbleness and staying humble before the Lord. If you do that, God will use you. It’s not about how many hit songs you have, how many great records you make, how shiny your bus is, it’s about the call God has on your life and that this is a ministry, and that is #1, and all the other things will follow. If new groups can get their concepts and their intention’s right from the very beginning, then everything else will follow. Sing every chance you get. Whether you get paid or not, go ahead and sing and don’t chase money, money will chase you. Be driven by passion…you have to have a passion to sing. If you’re not passion driven, I don’t think you’ll make it, I really don’t. And it’s not just a passion for music; it’s a passion for Christ and doing what He’s called you to do.
JH: You’re such an admired and respected individual in gospel music. Who do you respect and admire?
LG: I have a lot of respect and admiration for people like Bill Gaither, Connie Hopper, Gerald Wolfe and Ernie Haase. As far as producers, Michael Sykes and Wayne Haun have always gained my respect for their work. Brown Bannister, who is someone that has worked more in the Contemporary market, is someone I’ve always admired and respected. In the secular field, two individuals’ works that highly respect are Quincy Jones and David Foster.
From just an industry standpoint, past and present, people like Bob MacKenzie, Don Cason at Word Music, Judy Nelon, Clark Beasley and people who work in the media like Singing News and SoGospelNews, both of whom do a tremendous job and have done a great work for Southern Gospel Music.
Lastly, my brother Roni, who’s been with me almost every day of my life; I love my brother and appreciate the bond that we have. Also my wife, Carol and my family, because I could not do what I do if it was not for them; I love all them dearly.
JH: Is there anything you’d like to add?
LG: Yes, thank you James for allowing me to share my heart with you and everyone else. I appreciate this very much!
Find out more about Lari Goss and his work at his website: http://www.larigoss.com
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Written: 01/15/2007 
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