RobertM - “I’ll Pray for You” was Jeff Steele’s idea and the first song we wrote together - it’s power probably lies in its simplicity. Thanks for the feedback, again - we writers don’t get to see the tears or hear the testimonials like the artists do - it means a lot

CG - bless your heart! I’m humbled by your regard for me, but I’m no Avery!

re: #31 …I typed song lyrics, and most of my reply seems to have been lost in the blogosphere. I’m too frustrated to try again, but I wanted to suggest that “Pocket Full of Seeds” by Carl Cartee, recorded by Karen Peck and New River, was a great song. Maybe it’s best that it got lost. Some of you are looking for something magical that apparently no longer exists in your sg musical world. I guess just stick to country where the songs “transcend the genre” or some such subjective nonsense.

Meanwhile, a lot of us are going to enjoy some really wonderful sg ministry this summer. (And, please …you don’t need to remind me again that it is NOT ministry.) Thanks.

I really tried to be conciliatory. We AGREE that God deserve the best. Please stop thinking I’ve missed your point. Your point(s) included a. you couldn’t think of any well crafted works of art from the last 2-3 years, b. sg should attain to the highest standards, c. there isn’t a high enough bar for quality in sg, etc.

You’ve been clear. No points have been missed.

These questions are sincere, but you didn’t answer:

Do you feel that the families and individuals who really love the songs today are less intelligent than those of you who don’t? Why do so many of us consider ourselves blessed by God to have this music today?

I can’t judge your heart, but you seem to be too critical.

How much more imaginative, constructive, and original can you get than God’s grace to sinful men? The story of salvation never gets old.

We agree that some songs are loosely (poorly) written. So, regardless of how my comments sounded, I don’t want to seem combative. What bothers me is that the “industry,” “genre,” “bidness,” has its roots in men’s quartets and families who wanted to sing in church gatherings. What were the topics of their songs? Truths related to the gospel of Christ. This sets southern gospel, as a style of song, apart from country, R&B, bluegrass, pop, and you name it, although sg has borrowed from them all.

Do you feel that the families and individuals who really love the songs today are less intelligent than those of you who don’t? Why do so many of us consider ourselves blessed by God to have this music today?

I’m not saying they aren’t out there, but Marty F. is right. There is simply not a high enough bar for quality in the SG industry.

Marty: You are so right - MANY of the great songs never get radio play. I have written about this before and posed a question to the crowd that I would like someone to tell me how labels choose radio singles - upon listening to many CD’s I would generally choose another song to ship to radio. I don’t know what the label people are thinking most of the time.

I will be playing album cuts on my radio program - not just limiting the list to “radio singles” but playing what I feel to be the best music. This will require using my own personal library of music and relying on the availability of entire projects, not just compliations.

Listening to some of the stuff that comes out on the compilation discs makes you wonder where we made a wrong turn with SG music.

Marty’s post (#21) allows me to continue holding out hope for this industry I continue to love (in spite of itself). Maybe Marty’s (and others like him) persistence, not to mention talents, will eventually rise to the top and SG will someday right itself (with the Lord’s help of course - not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Go Marty (and Avery)!

…Interesting perspective. I guess it’s a slice of life that most of us don’t see. Your work is beyond good, but I can see where writers and composers would get disappointed.

If I remember, you had something to do with a tune called “I’ll Pray for You” from 8 or 10 years ago. It was so simple, but our family was virtually caught up in worship and prayer when we heard it the first time. Would it have passed the artful test? I don’t know. But it really blessed us, and I think fans are more appreciative than many writers realize.

The gospel is not complicated, and often a directly written song does exactly what the listeners want/need it to do.

You’re trying to make it sound as if I’m endorsing mediocrity. That dog won’t hunt, my friend.

I didn’t say anything about “average music” nor am I satisfied by it. As a musician and a teacher, my approach is probably similar to yours: God deserves the best.

Having said that, my reply to you was provoked by this pseudo-gnostic attitude that claims there are no artful songs being recorded and performed.

Do I have my personal favorites? Of course. On the other hand, have I heard some campy songs lately? Well, yes. …But there are MANY, MANY beautifully written songs out there, and I don’t the Lord is holding His singers and songwriters to the same standard as you. If you can’t think of a single “artful” sg song recorded in the last 2-3 years, you may need to reevaluate your motives.