Merry Christmas to you and yours! May you have safe travels as you go to be with your families, and remember why we celebrate this time of year: Jesus.

No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth!

Life sometimes get crazy, especially when you’re a senior in high school. Between school and extracurricular things, as well as other commitments, it seems I haven’t had a spare moment for myself or the blog! So, I apologize that I haven’t been able to give my take on all the recent news items popping up (be sure to read the other blogs for their views, though!), but hopefully life will start calming down a bit soon. I will hopefully have some more CD reviews up starting tomorrow evening, and then try to get back into the swing of things.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Be sure to take time today to thank God for everything He has given you, and enjoy the holiday!

In an update from The Bluegrass Blog, the former Shenandoah lead singer announced not long ago that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

“Dear friends, I am humbled at the thousand of emails, letters, and phone calls I have received  since last week on the news of my condition. Words cannot express my deepest gratitude to all of you. I am back home getting my strength back (from Melanie’s good cooking) and I am looking forward to being at  IBMA on Saturday. I can’t wait to play again and I am really looking forward to seeing many of you there. IBMA  is a great event not only for the performers, but also for all the great fans that support us all year long. 2011 (because of you), I believe will be my best year ever.

May The Lord bless every one of you. Pray for the people having a hard time right now in our great country, and please remember our troops who are fighting to keep all of us free!”

After several early reports of his passing that were in error earlier today (he was taken off the ventilator but breathing on his own), Tony Greene passed away today at 4:25 PM. From the Singing News:

Anthony Elden Greene, known to most Southern Gospel music fans as “Tony,” passed away today, September 28th just before 4:30pm Eastern Time at the age of 41. Tony had been in Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., since September 21 due to several health complications.

Tony is survived by wife, TaRanda, and their children, Isabella (age 6) and Jocelyn (age 2). He is also survived by his brother Tim, sister Kim Greene Hopper, and his mother, Carolyn Greene, and several nieces.

The son of (the late) Everette and Carolyn Greene, Tony was born in Boone, N.C., on October 17, 1968, the youngest of three children. By the early 1980s, Tony and his siblings were singing Southern Gospel music professionally as The Greenes, garnering several No. 1 songs and appearing on the nation’s leading concerts.

In addition to being noted as a gifted lead vocalist, Tony has also been included in the list of leading concert promoters of Southern Gospel music. Throughout the years, Tony’s promotions encompassed dozens of states, while providing Christian music in not only churches and auditoriums, but also aboard cruises, bus tours and more. He was also a key factor of the success of the long-running Gospel Singing Jubilee multi-day concert held in Boone, N.C., for almost 30 years.

Tony married the former TaRanda Kiser on February 13, 2001. Together, they continued the ministry of the Greenes, while also being involved in several other ventures that include work with Abraham Productions (concert promotions featuring the Singing In The Sun in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Gatlinburg Gathering in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and other locations), and the Good Shepherd Funeral Home in Indian Trail, North Carolina.

On August 25, 2009, Tony underwent a successful kidney transplant, with TaRanda providing the donor kidney. He returned to traveling within a month and though he encountered some minor health difficulties, he continued with the Greenes until additional health issues forced his hospitalization on September 21, 2010.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

In tribute to Tony, here are the Greenes at NQC 2009 singing one of their best-known songs, “Hold On,” soon after Tony’s kidney transplant. Please pray for the family during this difficult time.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPXBnJOSx48

Reports have indicated that Tracy’s surgery is going well. They were grafting veins from his legs and he was in stable condition. Thank you all for your prayers!

Update: The surgery went off without a hitch. They are planning on taking the chest drainage tubes out and getting him  to walk around a little. He is in a lot of pain, but praise God he is doing well thus far!

Via Libbi Perry Stuffle’s Twitter page, Tracy Stuffle, the bass singer for The Perrys, has been taken to the heart center in Nashville. He was complaining of chest pains, and an EKG was done that revealed that his heart has four to five blockages, a couple of which are 99% blocked. There will be a bypass surgery tomorrow morning. Please keep he and the family in your prayers.

Update: The surgery has been put on hold because the doctors have discovered there may be an aneurysm on Tracy’s heart.

The following videos popped up on my facebook feed earlier tonight that were shot by Wendy.  They are of Jason Crabb, Adam Crabb, Gerald Crabb, and David Sikes singing w Blaine Johnson playing piano.  These were shot at a camp meeting.  According to the caption most everyone had left and they were just messing around,  The second one was shot before the meeting.  They are not perfect but enjoyable.

Just a Little Talk with Jesus

Going Home (before the service)

Going Home (during the service)

A few days ago Aaron posted that Brian Alvey was leaving Tribute Quartet and Riley Clark was replacing him.  It is always exciting to see what a new group member is going to offer to a group when he comes in.  This is the first video I have seen of Riley with the Quartet.  I think he is going to be a good one.  Thanks to Diana Brantley for shooting the video.

From the press release at Singing News:

Nashville, TN – Crossroads recording artist, Tribute Quartet, is pleased to announce the addition of eighteen-year-old Riley Harrison Clark as its new tenor. Riley is originally from Fairland, Okla., and is a graduate of the Steve Hurst School of Music. Riley replaces Brian Alvey, who left the group to accept a position in marketing and promotions.

Group manager Gary Casto says, “We are absolutely thrilled to have found a wonderful Christian young man to join Tribute Quartet. He brings to the group a strong and natural tenor voice that we know our fans are going to love. In the short time I’ve known him, Riley has shown maturity and spiritual character, as well as a love for people. We believe his passion fits perfectly with the mission and message of our group, as well as all of southern gospel music. Josh Singletary, Dennis Dugger, and I cannot wait to introduce Riley to our fans across the country.”

Brian Alvey leaves Tribute Quartet with the blessing of Gary as well as the other group members. “For the past two years our tenor vocalist has done an outstanding job not only as a singer, but also as a musician and song writer,” Gary says. “He leaves us with a spotless record of service and our best wishes for much success in his future career. The Bible says to everything there is a season, and during Brian’s season with Tribute, he managed to make many fans and friends who I know join us in our support of Brian and his future endeavors.”

Riley joins Tribute Quartet just as it is gearing up for a busy summer and fall tour. Make your plans to find Tribute in concert soon and welcome Riley to the wonderful world of Southern Gospel Music. For more information on Tribute Quartet, visit its website at www.tributequartet.com. Tribute is booked exclusively by The Harper Agency, www.harperagency.com.

Count me in the camp of those eager to hear the new tenor. It will be interesting to see whether he possesses a vocal quality similar to that of either of Tribute’s previous tenors, Jacob Kitson & Brian Alvey, or if he will bring something entirely different to the table. A hire of such young talent is enough to catch my attention to start with; obviously, he caught Gary Casto’s attention as well.

Looking forward to hearing how the group will sound.

Update: Hat tip goes to Daniel Mount (and NewSoGoFan as well!) for being the first to post this video of the new tenor in a solo appearance.

Even though he’s not singing in tenor range for this song, I’m already looking forward to hearing his upper range with Tribute. What intrigues me most is the amount of maturity and control he has in his voice for such a young singer. Looks like Gary Casto made a great hire.