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Paid in Full started in 1991 and really took off when the late Jake Hess started mentoring the group in 1996. For years, they have been content to be weekend warriors, even as an increasing chorus of critics and fans say that they’re on par with the best out there.

It’s not the sort of situation where “potential” is the topic of discussion. Gaither Homecoming artist Woody Wright has produced or co-produced all their releases since their 1998 debut recording In All I Do, and he returned for this recording. This provides stylistic consistency with their other recordings, though the added talents of David Staton and Gus Gaches are particularly evident in the album’s more progressive tracks.

Wright’s contributions were not limited to producing; he also contributed a two songs. The first was a quartet song, “My Soul is Firmly Anchored,” recorded with a guest bass vocal by Gene McDonald. It’s the same song Legacy Five recorded on Just Stand; it’s a tossup which rendition is better. The other song Wright contributed was probably the biggest standout track for aficionados of thought-provoking lyrics: “Light Doesn’t Make a Sound.”

PIF baritone Bradley Littlejohn co-wrote “Lead On” with Dianne Wilkinson. His lyric fits well with a melody that has the unmistakable Wilkinson groove.

The album closes with “The Other Side,” a track with a timeless feel that makes you feel like you’ve surely heard it before, that it must surely already be a classic that you’ve heard done by a half-dozen other groups. It features lead singer Lance Moore and was written by Gaither Homecoming artist Stephen Hill.

This album will delight current PIF fans, and undoubtedly win the group new fans.

Rating: 4 stars. ♦ Average song rating: 3.7 stars. ♦ Group members: Lance Moore, Bradley Littlejohn, Brock White. ♦ Produced by: Woody Wright, David Staton, Gus Gaches. ♦ Available from: Group. Review copy provided. ♦ Song list: Truth Be Told; I Go to Jesus; This is the Day; Praise Makes the Walls Come Down; Lead On; My Soul is Firmly Anchored; Waiting for the Morning; Light Doesn’t Make a Sound; It Takes Faith; Faith Moved a Mountain; The Other Side.

Several years ago, the founding members of the Couriers handed the name on to a new generation of the group. The leaders of today’s Couriers (www.thecouriers.com) have made a decision to disband the Couriers effective Memorial Day 2010.

Dave Kyllonen, Duane Nicholson, and Neil Enloe perform a limited concert schedule as Dave, Duane, and Neil (www.daveduaneandneil.com); this limited schedule included a showstopping mainstage set at the National Quartet Convention last year and includes an upcoming mainstage slot on NQC 2010’s schedule. It is unclear whether they will take on the Couriers name once again; if they are, they are probably holding off on an announcement as a courtesy to today’s lineup.

As with everything else the group does, this transition was handled with the epitome of class. In a statement issued by Duane Nicholson for Dave, Duane, and Neil and posted on SoGospelNews.com, they stated:

These fine Christian men, who were asked to take over The Couriers, have carried on the ministry with integrity and grace. We wish them nothing but the best as they pursue other ministries that will be ongoing. Dave Kyllonen, Duane Nicholson and Neil Enloe will continue to sing the gospel as long as the good Lord provides the health and strength and venues to use our talents for the Lord. Our relationship with the disbanding Couriers remains strong and we commend them for a job well done.

Editor’s note: This review was scheduled to appear in several months; however, with today’s announcement of the group’s disbanding, I bumped the review up while their webstore was still up.

Though the Couriers started in 1955 as a quartet, their best known configuration, from the 1960s on, was as a trio. From that point through their last recording in 2007—The Real Deal, reviewed here—they had always had (at least) three members. However, when their lead singer left, tenor Larry More and baritone/bass Tim Beitzel decided to continue for the time being as a duo.

Fortunately, this was relatively short-lived—only for a year or two—as they added lead singer Terry Smith last December. In the interim, however, the Couriers did release one album, For Such a Time as This, as a duo.

Or, I should say, this project was released nominally as a duo recording; at a number of points throughout the recording, a third vocal is in the mix. On some songs, noticeably the acapella track opening the recording, the third part is featured as prominently in the mix as the other two.

The recording is about half new songs and half classics. The new songs were composed by the two members of the duo; Larry More had three songs cut on the project, and Tim Beitzel had two. There were also three hymns (“We Would See Jesus,” “Come Unto Me,” and “Zion’s Hill”), two earlier Couriers songs (“God Smiled” and “What a Way to Go”) and one Jesus music classic, “Jesus is the Answer,” penned by Andraé and Sandra Crouch.

This project shows that the Couriers actually quite decent as a duo, but it’s still better to see them as a trio again.

Rating: 3.5 stars. ♦ Group members: Larry More, Tim Beitzel. ♦ Produced by: None Credited. ♦ Available from: Artist. Review copy provided. ♦ Label: Independent. ♦ Song list:  We Would See Jesus; Come Unto Me; Born to Praise the Lord; God Smiled; Jesus is the Answer; Live For Jesus; My Life to Give; The Day I Kneel; What a Way to Go; Zion’s Hill; Wouldn’t You Rather Be a Christian.

The other day, I was thinking about success and what it really is. Dictionary.com defines it as         

1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. a successful performance or achievement. 

But is that the true definition of success? At the end of my life, I will feel successful if I have stayed close to my Savior … if I’ve fulfilled His purposes in my life … if I was a light in a dark world to lead others into relationship with Him. If I’ve done all that, nothing that the world terms success will matter because it will all burn one day anyway. I can’t take worldly success with me when I die but I can take the people who come to know Christ as a result of me being a Godly success and, to me, that is worth more than anything this world has to offer.

SGConcerts.com’s indefatigable Diana Brantley—the same person who gave us our first look at the new Gold City lineup a couple of weeks ago—is back with more.

As this lineup continues to gel, they’re coming closer and closer to the levels of the great Gold City lineups of the past. If they stay together, they will probably get there.

I have never measured my value as a Southern Gospel journalist by the distance I maintain from the genre.

Some hold that the more distance you keep from your topic, the more accurately you can write about it. But I incline toward the opposite view: The more contacts and friends I make, the more accurate I am. Over the last few years, I’ve been making contacts and friends at every opportunity. Earlier this month, one of these friends offered me a job.

I have accepted a part-time position helping Crossroads develop artist community sites. This is the same label I helped two years ago at NQC 2008 with TalleyTree-o.com, and last year with five sites. (Side note to local friends: This is in addition to my day job, and I will be staying in Ohio for the time being.)

I have received the green light to continue this site. There should be so few changes that readers who missed this post probably won’t notice anything different.

I am looking forward to helping artists develop online communities. And I am equally looking forward to keeping this site going, hopefully even stronger and more insightful than before.

Via texjoy77, here is one of the best videos of the new Legacy Five lineup yet:

More videos from that concert can be found on her channel.

After Canaan (more or less) closed its doors six months or a year ago, its artists have had the choice to either seek a new label home or record independently. Canaan’s flagship artist, the Hoppers, chose the independent route, at least initially. They released a table project, Unforgettable, at the National Quartet Convention.

The other day, I heard an ad on the radio that referred to them as a “Mansion recording artist.” And sure enough, they are now listed on Mansion’s website, along with fellow artists Marty Haggard, Bonnie Dueschle & Celebration Choir, the Doerfels, and the Shireys.

At last year’s National Quartet Convention, I had the chance to sit down with Boise, Idaho’s Liberty Quartet—tenor Keith Waggoner, lead Dan Gilbert, baritone Jordan Cragun, and bass Royce Mitchell. I interviewed Keith Waggoner a couple of years ago (http://www.southerngospelblog.com/archives/822), so I exempted him from several of the general questions.

A formatted pdf version of the interview (with photos) can be viewed here: http://www.southerngospelblog.com/features/201002.pdf.

Right before the interview started, Royce mentioned that he was hungry, so I handed him a pack of crackers. (Having some crackers handy saves several dollars in food court costs, money that can then be spent on CDs and LPs!) The interview started with him munching . . .

Keith: You know what, I’d better hold those [crackers], ’cause you can’t talk and eat at the
same time.

Royce: He’ll tell me when it’s my turn.

DJM: It’s your turn.

Royce: These [crackers] are really good; Daniel got me one.

Keith: All these group’s he’s interviewed, and here’s Royce chewing . . .

Royce: And it’s zero grams trans fat.

DJM: So, could we start off by each of you explaining individually where you come from, how you became interested in Southern Gospel, what groups you sang with before joining Liberty, and so forth. Keith, we could skip you, since I interviewed you a couple of years back.

Royce: This is Royce.

DJM: Oh, and if you want to know what groups Keith was in before he was with your group, you have two options: You can either read the interview on my website, or ask him, whichever’s easier.

Royce: I pick A. I’m gonna read the interview on your website, Daniel. And it is my favorite website.

DJM: Thanks!

Royce: . . . blog. And what was the question again? Oh, see, the first Southern Gospel group I was in was called the Gospel Four. I was thirteen years old. I sang tenor. And then my sophomore year in high school, it just dropped [said in a sad voice]. So I was stuck with what I had now. Let’s see, my ninth grade year through my twelfth grade year, I was in barbershop quartets, too, to learn that tight harmony. And then, let’s see, in college I was in a different traveling group every summer. One was Faith Freedom Trio, another was Spirit of Love. And have you guys have seen the guitar strap on that? I still have it today.

Keith: Yeah. Those were definitely 1970s groups! Spirit of Love . . . nice! [All laugh]

Okay, we can get back to you.

Royce: God’s Bible School graduates…

DJM: You went to God’s Bible School as well? [Keith did go there]

Royce: No. I went to Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. Let’s see . . . what else. New Creation was a quartet I was in. We were full-time for a while. Then I was a schoolteacher after that.

Keith: Tell him about your concert schedule with New Creation for that summer…you know, how many concerts you did.

Royce: Seventy-three concerts, seventy-three days.

DJM: That’s . . . insane.

Royce: By the time we finished, it was just a duet. But we were doing Gaither things then, early Imperials . . . had a great time.

DJM: You were doing Gaither things in terms of Gaither songs, or appearing at Gaither events?

Royce: Gaither songs. Gaither events? No. Bill doesn’t know me.

DJM: His loss.

Royce: I’ll get you a free drink if you’ll introduce him to me, though.

Dan: Dan Gilbert. Lead singer. Liberty Quartet. Where lead is king.

Royce: . . . rumbles the way only a bass can . . .

DJM: I might have to start posting the audio of these things!

Dan: My parents are from the south, Columbus, Georgia. My father being military, he got sent to Vietnam. So we were transferred back to Columbus, Georgia, to live there—mom and four boys, for the year that he was gone. And I remember going to church, Edgewood Assembly of God, and hearing different Southern Gospel groups, and just fell in love with that.

Royce: Oh, and by the way, my dad’s from Texas, and that’s where I got my influences in Southern Gospel.

Dan: See, you weren’t really listening to the question.

Royce: I was listening, I just didn’t remember all of it.

Dan: So that’s where [bursts out laughing . . . ] [regains composure] So that’s where I got that influence. [bursts out laughing again . . .] Sorry, Daniel! Hang on, it gets better! (Continue Reading >>>)

There’s no question about that—and it doesn’t hurt anything to have Tim Riley on the bass part, either: