Hat tip goes to Daniel for this one: check out this clip of a new quartet that was just announced. The lineup is tenor Matt Hagee (pastor of Cornerstone Church), lead Aaron Crabb, baritone Michael Sykes, and bass Tim Duncan.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRZfopUAlZI

Tim Duncan had this to say on his Facebook page:

I am so excited to finally be able to tell you about the new quartet!! Canton Junction consists of Pastor Matt Hagee, Aaron Crabb, Michael Sykes and myself. These guys are great and I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing new group! Stay tuned for more information!!

No real word yet on whether this group is full-time or part-time, but I have a feeling that with Hagee’s pastorate, it will be part-time. The Youtube video description also bills them as the “new Cornerstone Church quartet,” which further leads me to believe it’s a part-time deal. I’ve been surprised before, though.

Either way, these guys have a really good sound (a la the Ryan Seaton Quartet), so hopefully we’ll get a recording out of them at least.

Yesterday, the Old Paths officially announced that they have hired 21-year old bass singer Daniel Ashmore of Southaven, MS to take that position following the departure of Brandon Barry for the LeFevre Quartet. Now, via their official Youtube channel, comes a clip of his singing. Here is “Going Home:”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZsOcbuFl-M

Ashmore is already garnering a lot of attention from fans and artists alike. For being such a young age, his voice is surprisingly mature. The comparison that comes to my mind is Chris West, but I can hear shades of Mike Allen as well. When he is so inclined, he can also sound like Pat Barker. For evidence of that, and a taste of his lower range, see this clip that was released around NQC time, when he was still “unknown” and the group was trying to get people to guess his age:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqv5b6FW_0Y

Daniel certainly has a bright future in Southern Gospel music, as evidenced by getting such a warm reception already. From the artist’s side of things, I read a post where the Dove Brothers and The Old Paths were on the same program. Dove Brothers bass Burman Porter made the remark that “when that boy gets a little more age on him he’ll sound like a fog horn.” How’s that for a vote of confidence?

When a change hit the Toney Brothers earlier this year that left bass singer and group owner Terry Toney as the sole full-time member, many wondered what the future held for the long-standing quartet. Over the past couple of months, I’ve observed some movements taking place in that regard, but tonight, an official statement was released from Mark Blackwood and Terry Toney about the situation:

Blackwood Quartet and Toney Brothers have joined forces!

The history of the Blackwood family and the Toney family goes all the way back to the 1940′s, when Alden Toney joined the Blackwood Brothers to sing tenor when the group was based in Shenandoah, IA. He stayed as tenor through the move to Memphis, TN in 1951 and together they introduced great songs such as, “Lead me to that rock”.

Some 30 years ago, Mark Blackwood and Terry Toney became friends and for many years have had a close working relationship. They have filled in for each other’s group in times of need, helped each other in scheduling, and have lended moral support to each other. Mark and Terry have often discussed the possibility of merging these two groups. The timing just was not right, until recently.

Effective immediately, the Toney Brothers and the Blackwood Quartet have merged. Mark Blackwood and Terry Toney will now bring their collective talents together as the Blackwood Quartet. Terry Toney says “Mark is a good businessman, strong vocalist, and great stage manager. I am really excited to join forces with him.” Mark says “Terry brings not only his strong bass voice, but 39 years of experience to the stage. Terry has a winning personality and provides great comic relief”.

A new project is underway. Be sure to check the group’s schedule so you can come see them soon.

As expected, the group is filling both dates that the Blackwood Quartet had already scheduled and dates from the Toney Brothers’ calendar. The current lineup is: tenor Derrick Boyd, lead/baritone Mark Blackwood, baritone Roger Robinson, and bass Terry Toney. This sounds like a strong enough group that I am looking forward to hearing the new project.

I wonder if Toney will bring over some songs from his group’s repertoire to sing. I, for one, would like to hear this quartet cover “Just As He Is,” a song recorded by the Toney Brothers that was never released on a project but is a strong enough song that it would provide good radio presence to the group if they singled it. You can still hear it at the Toney Brothers webpage, and interestingly enough, it features Blackwood Quartet members Derrick Boyd and Terry Toney, giving a preview of sorts for the new Blackwood Quartet sound.

By now, it has made the rounds; popular Gaither Homecoming solist Jessy Dixon died this morning. He was 73 years old. His sister stated he was sick, but did not explain further. ABC News has the story here.

Please be in prayer for the Dixon family.

Came across this article on the Singing News website:

Singing News has learned that Charles Burke has passed away today (Friday, Sept. 23) at around 7 a.m. at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Early indications suggest that Mr. Burke suffered a brain aneurysm late last night at his home near Maiden, North Carolina. He had just celebrated his 75th birthday Sunday, Sept. 18.

Mr. Burke is generally regarded as a “behind-the-scenes” guiding force of Southern Gospel music. Among his numerous contributions to music in bringing life harmony are his distinguished service as a Board Member of the Southern Gospel Music Association and the Southern Gospel Music Hall Of Fame. An entrepreneur with several diversified businesses to his credit, including partial ownership of the National Quartet Convention, Mr. Burke was a driving force behind the outstanding quartet, The Singing Americans, and, with his son Michael, owned Tape Corporation Of America.

A tremendous discoverer and encourager of new musical talent, Mr. Burke was instrumental in the careers of such persons as Clayton Inman and David Sutton of The Triumphant Quartet, Ivan Parker, Danny Funderburk, as well as such groups as The Whisnants, The Reggie Saddler Family and The Dove Brothers.

In a conversation this morning with Michael Burke, Michael says that the family appreciates all the prayers during this time. He further states that funeral arrangements are pending, but will be shared as soon as they are finalized.

Mr. Burke made an indelible mark on Southern Gospel music; one that is, sadly, often overlooked. I suppose that is part of being “behind the scenes,” but the list mentioned in the press release is only a part of his many accomplishments and influences on this music.

I couldn’t find the original version of the song from when Michael English was singing lead, but here is a song from the Singing Americans featuring Clayton Inman that is a fitting tribute for Mr. Burke. Listen to the words that he heard early this morning: “Welcome to Heaven, my child.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHWazjrfVjk

Jerry Pelfrey. He’s apparently sung in some regional groups, and he’s from Chattanooga, TN. He just put on his Facebook that he is the new lead. A press release should be forthcoming soon.

He should be appearing at NQC on Thursday (h/t, Brandon.) Brandon has some clips of Jerry’s singing, and he sounds like a young Ivan Parker. It appears Gold City will not be losing a thing in the lead department.

Nate Stainbrook has the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth at NQC: West is leaving because two days a week at home is not enough time to raise his son. The quote here:

“Well, you see I have never traveled with a Southern Gospel group before, and I have a ten year old at home that has been used to seeing his daddy home every day. At first it was fine as my son thought it was real cool that his dad was a singer; but after awhile it started getting to my son that he only gets to see me maybe two days a week. My wife told me one day that our son was not doing well at all without his dad at home. So I went and talked to my son about it, after some gentle prodding, he told me that really wants me to be home with him again. Well you see I myself had been feeling like I was not putting my family first and then when my son verbalized his feelings to me about the situation which convinced to start really seeking God’s will. One day while I was running some errands my old boss saw me, and said he wanted to talk to me about something. So we went to lunch where he asked me if I were interested in coming back to his company. After which he told me that God had been impressing it on his heart to talk to me about working for him again. Well I knew then what I had to do. I got ahold of Danny and let him know what was going on.”

Gold City has had a lot of changes take place over the past couple of hires, and I won’t go into the nature of all of them here, but this is probably one of the most clear-cut reasons out of the bunch. Family is important, and often, juggling family and work becomes a full-time gig in and of itself. Some artists (and their families as well) can handle Dad being out on the road so much better than other singers or their spouses/kids, and they make it work. Others don’t handle it quite so well, as is the case here. It is perfectly understandable why Craig is stepping down; there’s no hidden agenda here, and Stainbrook finally going and asking him about it can put the rumors to rest better than any press release about the departure. Yes, he’s leaving, and it is to spend more time at home. As disappointing as it may be to some, Craig is just doing the right thing, the honorable thing, and there’s no juicy story.

Craig West is a tremendous young talent, as I have said many times. His contributions to Gold City’s sound, though short-lived, was profound, and I will miss hearing what he brought to the table. Perhaps one of these days, we will see and hear him again with another big group.

I have been told that Gold City has already found a new lead singer from a regional group, but I will refrain from posting who it is until I get the green light. I wonder if he has already put his vocals on the upcoming project…

I got this in my inbox this morning. The Old Paths have hired this singer after Brandon Barry’s move to the LeFevre Quartet.:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqv5b6FW_0Y&sw

Can you guess the age of this bass singer (or who it is?) I feel like I really should know who he is, but my mind is drawing a blank! From the angle the camera is shooting, the guy almost looks like Pat Barker, and the sound is reminiscent of Barker’s as well, but I’m pretty positive that he hasn’t left the Mark Trammell Quartet. We will soon know for sure who the guy is! My guess for the age is somewhere in the 20-25 range.

The official announcement of the LeFevre Quartet’s new bass singer was sent yesterday. It is also worth noting that, contrary to some of the rumors floating around, Jeremy Easley still holds the tenor spot.

Nashville, TN: The LeFevre Quartet welcomes new bass singer, Brandon Barry to their line-up. For the past several months, popular Homecoming artist, Mike Allen has been filling the spot on a temporary basis. According to Mike LeFevre, “Mike Allen has been so gracious to fill in for us and we will miss not having him here. I would like to thank him publically for being such a blessing to us and everyone we’ve sang to while he’s been here. We are very excited to have Brandon on board and can’t wait to see how God will use him in this ministry.” Brandon has been with several groups, most notably The Stamps Quartet. The new vocal line up for The LeFevre Quartet is Jeremy Easley (Tenor), Jordan LeFevre (Lead), Mike LeFevre (Baritone) and Brandon Barry (Bass). (Emphasis mine.)

It turns out that Brandon Coomer was right about a “reworked LeFevre Quartet;” a press release was sent out today regarding lead singer and group co-founder David Staton’s departure from the group. This comes right on the heels of the news that Old Paths bass singer Brandon Barry is joining the LeFevre Quartet.

Staton will be doing solo work, and is actually currently at work on a solo project with guest vocalists such as Jeff & Sheri Easter, The Ball Brothers, The Rick Webb Family, Taranda Greene, and others. He will also presumably still retain his position as Vice President of Song Garden Music Group.

Statements from both Staton and Mike LeFevre point toward this move as one that involves no bad blood or anything of that sort. It’s just a move that happens in careers sometimes. I will say that David gave the group a sound that was very recognizable, and his songwriting contributions went a long way to enhancing their repertoire, and I wish him well in his new endeavor. I believe this is also the first time I have ever actually seen a departing member comment on his replacement; Staton has nothing but good things to say about Jordan LeFevre (Mike’s son and soundman/former drummer for the group), who is stepping into the lead spot and is a very talented vocalist in his own right. You can read the entire press release for yourself after the jump:

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