averyfineline

So a radio station has now pulled Gaither Vocal Band’s “Jesus and John Wayne” from the air after listeners complained about the song’s allegedly bad theology. What rubbish.
Regular readers will know that I don’t like the song one bit, but reading this kind of nonsense nearly roused me into a fit of defensive pique, just […]

Shorter Emily Sutherland (h/t, dmp): Wondering about stuff that makes Homecoming look good is just what faithful Christians do. Wondering about stuff we don’t want to talk about is gossipy and unChristian.

Date: Thursday, February 12
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Setting: Germaine Arena
Average age guesstimate: Snow bird
Attendance: ca 6000
If you want to understand what is probably the main reason Bill Gaither made such revanchist splashy changes to the Gaither Vocal Band, sit through the first hour of the show on the Lovin’ Life tour. If you want to know […]

For those of you curious about the partial return of the new old Gaither Vocal Band (sans Lowry), you might want to check out this reader report from a Homecoming concert posted in comments:
With the high tenor lead, they did some switching between Hampton and Phelps…and it was painfully clear that Bill would just point […]

In his response to my critique of the “Satisfied” clip from the Gaither Vocal Band Reunion, David Bruce Murray says:

Besides, the appeal of this upcoming GVB reunion video isn’t about whether or not the singers can still cut it. The appeal is seeing them together again. I enjoyed Danny Funderburk on the Cathedral Reunion Tour […]

From Tori Taff, the Gaitherite wife of Gaitherite Russ Taff:
OK, I do realize that attempting to address the vitriolic Gaither-hating on this site is an exercise in futility, but you know… sometimes the wife of a “histrionic, emotionalistic, over-singing, Gaither-light waving, badly dressed, prematurely atrophied career” singer just needs to get a couple of […]

For the curious or those just wanting a distraction from the wait for election returns, here’s a clip of Jason Crabb holding down the center of “Worthy is the Lamb” with the Gaither Vocal Band at a recent Homecoming event (h/t, S).  I kinda had the same reaction as a friend of mine: “mmm…i never […]

Of the Gaither Vocal Band, I mean. I confess, that was one thought that crossed my mind when I saw Guy Penrod is taking a “sabbatical” from the GVB. I don’t know anything to make me think there’s more to this than meets the eye. Rather, it just seems like a particularly visible evidence of […]

Larknews.com has the scoop (h/t, Tom). The stage will be in the women’s clothing section and Bill Gaither promises a celebration of low prices and gospel favorites:
“For believers, coming to Wal-Mart is like coming home.”
Gloria Gaither may also read a poem over the store’s loudspeakers about cheap affordable grace.

I hadn’t heard of this novel before this commenter brought it up, and as so often happens in these kinds of things, I immediately started seeing references to it. Most recently: today’s New York Times includes a story about the way the novel bubbled up from obscurity to the bestseller list.
I haven’t read the book […]

Apropos our discussion of the Gaither Trio discographical madness, the ever insightful CVH writes:

What I’d like to see, aside from all the Gaither/Homecoming product released today, would be an extensive compilation, like a boxed set, of all the earlier recordings, with outtakes, alternate versions, etc. and extensive liner notes. Bill would have to write […]

So this conference I’ll be presenting at shortly has required me to (re)immerse myself in All Things Bill Gaither. Partly, this has involved rereading Gaither’s books, I Almost Missed the Sunset (1992), and It’s More Than Music (2003). Fortunately, they’re even easier to read the second time through.
Aside from the fact that […]

So as you’ve probably seen, Jason Crabb signed with Spring Hill. Brandon Coomer (whose avfl welcome to the blogosphere is long overdue) makes some salient points about the signing. David Bruce Murray follows up here.

First, I’m not sure why anyone would sign with a label that has a website as badly out of […]

Some stuff that might be of interest but doesn’t really warrant its own post:

-This time of year is when I get really behind on a lot of things that aren’t absolutely necessary. Which means, among things, I have a growing stack of music I need/want to listen to, including but not limited to the […]

Apropos our discussion of what a post-Gaither landscape might look like, longtime reader Ben Harris writes:

Maybe a better question would be who is going to take Gloria’s place? From all I have heard from people who were often on the Homecoming series, she was the one with the plan.

An excellent point. For […]

What will the world look like after Gaither leaves the scene? I have no idea, I should say, but in a way, we’re already post-Gaither. The thing about the world after Himself is that, given what he’s done to Chrisitian music generally and gospel music specifically, it’s no longer a question of (with apologies to […]

Kyle Boreing has an interesting post up about the rise of vocal stacks and the Gaither Vocal Band. It’s worth clicking over to just to hear the 1993 clip of Mark Lowry, Terry Franklin, and Michael English singing “Home.” The song barely rises above a whisper and still manages to be thoroughly electrifying even after […]

Roy Pauley’s June column in the Singing News has all the makings of an interesting read: “Gospel Music’s Biggest Blunders.” And indeed it’s arguably true that, as Pauley has it, prematurely parking the Gospel Singing Caravan and consistently inducting gospel greats into the hall of fame posthumously have lastingly diminished the long-term viability of gospel […]

Breaking news tonight: Hundreds of Homecoming friends record audienceless in front of selves, report best Gaither video ever. Up next: birds of a feather flock together, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock, and flock. After that: methinks thou protesth too much. […]

A lot of you have been asking about the much ballyhooed Gaither Nashville taping this week. This was, you’ll recall, the Homecoming to beat all Homecomings, to which Gaither invited pretty much everyone in southern gospel. Evidently, it wasn’t loud enough for me to hear down here in Florida, but if you want to read […]