The video — blurred though it is — is almost a metaphor. We now have to look back through opaque memories of past concert moments to remember those magical moments because there has been far more than simply “stylistic” changes in Southern Gospel music. When the instrumentation is on tape there are no variances in meter or dynamics from night to night.

Does anyone remember what it was like to hear the Cathedrals in concert when they were at the end of a tour. There was nothing like hearing them on the night before they were returning home to Stow (let’s say, when they were returning from the West coast) — everyone was “loose,” having a good time. I swear, the piano playing was faster, and guys tried things vocally they wouldn’t normally do, because they knew they’d have a few days to rest it off.

Now with vocal stacks, the singers are doing the rope-a-dope at the end of a tour, barely singing with any energy on the choruses. Why should they? The track will cover them.

I’m sick of DisneyWorld Southern Gospel! Give me real…warts and all. That’s right, they can PhotoShop those out now…

LOL…reminds me of once at NQC when a few friends of mine and I were taking a break in the food court and another friend approached the table and asked what we were talking about.

“Discussing the lowest tenor and highest bass,” I replied.

“Don’t ya mean highest tenor and lowest bass?”

I had to tell my friend that we weren’t discussing singing.

http://www.gaither.com/news/press.php?uid=1595

Should have replaced himself with Gene McDonald.

Steve Lee has a baritone voice that is a true baritone in sound from what I have heard. I would place people like Scott Howard, Jeff Steele and Mark Lanier in this category. Too many baritones in gospel quartets are closer to choir tenors and quartet tenors are more like altos in range. Now, I like groups that can sing this high, but I also like to hear the lower harmonies at times. The Gaither Vocal Band is one that has had people who can do both.

When the tenor takes the lead the baritone does indeed takes what would have been the tenor part, but down an octave. In that case the second tenor takes what would have been the baritone part in the same octave as it would have been.

When singing baritone, I like singing beneath the lead at least most the time. Singing over the lead (as if a tenor part) is okay, but when singing tenor I don’t particularly like singing the fifth although I like doing it an octave down beneath the lead. Same thing with the baritone part when the tenor has the lead. I like singing the tenor an octave down, but when singing second tenor I don’t like singing the what was previously the baritone part between the melody and the baritone (now taking the tenor an octave down.)

So, it depends on the placement of the parts in how much I like to sing them, (except for tenor when it is a third over melody. In that case I don’t mind singing it over the lead or an octave down as a baritone unless perhaps the key is so low it gets muddy an octave down.) Maybe that is why I like baritone. No matter how the part falls, I like it. A third over the lead, beneath the lead taking the fifth, the traditional tenor part down an octave. It’s all good.

On the Oak Ridge Boys version of Where The Soul Never Dies, Duane Allen sings the “baritone” part when William Lee takes the lead. Then when Joe takes the lead on top, Duane takes second tenor which turns out to be the same part he sang as baritone, but up an octave. This goes with what we are talking about of course, but it is interesting that Duane sings “baritone” and then jumps to second tenor. Not unique I am sure, but of interest.

When Danny left and George Amon Webster came, George did not sing in the same range as his predecessor, Danny, and the quartet generally stayed with the more traditional sound of Glen singing on top of the baritone part. Many became acquainted with the quartet after Danny Koker left, and were unaware of how Glen and Danny often switched ranges.

But, when Roy Tremble came to the group (originally as the baritone), and Mark Trammell came later, the group reverted back to many songs with the baritone over Glen, a style they continued with Scott Fowler, who followed Mark.

So, it was common for Glen to often sing the lower part during most of the versions of the group, with the exception of the two different stints George Amon Webster had with the group.

I think American Idol has had a somewhat adverse effect on our Industry. Since their emergence several years ago, there has been more and more attention and demand for proper technique and utter perfection in a performance. We have all become “Simons” - often focusing more on what is wrong with a performance than on what is right with it.

That may sound OK at first, but I believe the influence of AI has caused us to accept technical perfection (or near-perfection) as a substitute for the elements of our music that have historically made it stand out as a genre.

Singers used to sing with all of their heart, used to be able to play with the lyric or the pitch or the rhythm. Now, the music is becoming antiseptically clean - and sterile in many cases.

The Blackwood Brothers, Statesmen and others were not as perfect in their singing as this new standard demands - but they filled the seats in the auditoriums night after night with their emotional singing. Today we have perfection - and empty auditoriums.

This clip illustrates what is right about our music, when the artificial and stringent new requirements are put aside. Four men - clearly having a ball - while creating a sound. Their singing is wrong enough to be right.

Of course, technical perfection should be a goal, but not at the expense of the “feel or groove” of a song - or in a way that fails to connect with the audience in an emotional way.

And, as the comments on this thread reveal, this kind of spontaneous “from the heart” singing is just as contagious and enjoyable today as it was 40 - 50 years ago.