The Dove Awards were held earlier this week, and Southern Gospel had quite a showing in the results. Song of the Year went to “Sometimes I Cry,” written by Gerald Crabb and sung by Jason Crabb. Two of the Bluegrass winners also had Southern Gospel connections: “Mountain Top” by Little Roy and Lizzie Long won Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year (you may remember Little Roy from his years with the Lewis Family), and Bluegrass Album of the Year was Singing From The Heart by Dailey and Vincent, who was on the NQC mainstage last year and will also be featured this year, and has Christian Davis of Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet & Mercy’s Mark fame singing bass.

There’s been a whirlwind of hires in the Southern Gospel world that are under the 30-years old mark. Tribute Quartet has made two of those hires, with tenor Riley Clark at 19 years old and bass Anthony Davis at 28 years old, and Legacy Five’s most recent hire qualifies, with pianist Trey Ivey being 21. Now, the Toney Brothers are continuing the trend after the departure of tenor Derrick Boyd. Joshua Horrell, of Teachey, NC, is 19 years old and began singing tenor for the group this week. There are no clips of him with the group yet, but Terry Toney has put some great lineups on stage in the past several years, and I’m sure this will be no exception.

Youtube Finds: I had a couple intriguing videos crop up on Youtube this week, the first being this one from the Mark Trammell Quartet:

I’m not sure how long the group has been staging this song, but this is the first instance in which I have heard them sing it. I’ve always thought that Pat Barker’s voice was similar to that of George Younce’s, and hearing him sing a Younce feature only solidifies the comparison. In fact, on his solo, I had changed tabs to do some work on another webpage after listening to the video multiple times, and completely forgot that I wasn’t listening to The Cathedrals’ Travelin’ Live project. Difference in audio quality aside, that speaks volumes about the hire that Mark Trammell made in Barker. The whole group does an excellent job resurrecting this often overlooked Cathedrals tune.

The second video I found was, coincidentally, some Cathedrals footage, singing another song from Travelin’ Live. This was taken in January of 1999, the group’s final year on the road, at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL. For those that are interested in hearing a fully orchestrated version of “Boundless Love” as sung by the final lineup of the original group to record it, take a look:

What is even more interesting is, in addition to have a full orchestra and choir backing them, the arrangement of the song is basically lifted from the original recording of it. Take note especially of the drum licks in each part; if I’m not mistaken, they follow the exact pattern found on the original. I love tidbits like that!

Via an email sent out this morning, as well as a post on Southern Gospel Blog, Liberty Quartet is looking for a lead singer. I won’t recount it all here, but rather encourage you to go to Daniel Mount’s site and watch the video interview that was posted. As a commenter there stated, the bar has been raised on how to handle a lineup change. Rather than put out a written press release about the change (although that can certainly get the job done well and in a classy way, see any posts on here pertaining to a change in Southern Sound Quartet), the group leader and another member go on camera and break the news. This particular case is a great example; it is clear, it is classy, and it leaves no doubt as to whether or not the member leaves on good terms. Dan Gilbert certainly does, and the video alone is evidence of that.

While many in the “main” realm of Southern Gospel music have probably not heard Dan sing since Liberty Quartet is based out of Idaho, I can say from experience that he is one of the most underrated vocalists in the genre. He certainly will be missed, best wishes to him, and I have no doubt that Liberty Quartet will not miss a step with their next hire.