NEWS OF THE WEEK The Dixie Echoes announced they have hired former Florida Melody Boys member Shannon Yates to sing baritone. Randy “Scoot” Shelnut Jr. who has carried the baritone part since 1995 will be the group’s bass singer going forward. Shelnut Jr. replaces Mark Cates who left the group earlier this year. REMEMBERING Long-time Florida concert promoter Ronnie B. Joyce Jr. passed away on Monday, April 8. A funeral service for Joyce is planned for Tuesday, April 16 in Cantonment, Florida. PRAYER REQUEST Joseph Habedank has requested prayer for an individual who was under the influence of ..read more

One of the most popular albums in the Hemphills’ discography was this gem from 1987 titled, “Revival”. Featuring a classy cover shot of the group, the soft pastel color pallet of the cover perfectly contrasted the vibrant colors of their last 2 album covers. By the time this album came out, I had discovered Paul Heil’s radio program, “The Gospel Greats”, on a local radio station and first heard some of the songs from this album on his show when the Hemphills were the featured artists. I loved hearing the songs, as well as hearing some of the stories behind those songs from that show. What I he ..read more

NEWS OF THE WEEK Ernie and Debbie Peters (The Joyaires) were honored with a presentation from the Southern Gospel Music Association recently celebrating their 45 years in gospel ministry. Gold City announced they have hired Lori Wise to manage their current and future concert appearances in-house. Absolutely Gospel announced the Top Five for their annual awards and opened the final round of voting. Click HERE to vote. The awards will be presented on May 7 at the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon, Tennessee. REMEMBERING Former Chuck Wagon Gang singer Norah Lee Allen passed away on Sunday, March 31. A ..read more

By 1986, the Benson Company had dropped the Heartwarming label as lots of changes were going on within the company during that time, and in the process, the Hemphills signed with RiverSong Records. RiverSong was actually started in 1983 by Bill Traylor, and by 1986, groups such as the Speers, Cathedrals, Singing Americans, and others had signed on with the label, and in a unique move the Benson Company bought out RiverSong, and basically replaced Heartwarming with the new imprint. With the upheaval within the Benson Company, Wayne Hilton had left and began working with Squire Parsons as he be ..read more

APRIL 1, 2024: MusicScribe owner and writer, David Bruce Murray, is excited to announce the recent rebranding of his site to Bill Gaither’s MusicScribe effective immediately. “When I saw how successful Mr. Gaither has been with previous periodical ventures such as Homecoming Magazine, I simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity to add Bill’s brand to our site,” explains Murray. “I can’t wait to see how the Gaither brand will enhance MusicScribe!” Among the changes expected in the coming days are a complete removal of any articles not specifically related to Bill Gaither, the Gaither Vocal Ban ..read more

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies. ~John 11:25 This morning, I’m thinking of two friends who passed away recently. One was a church greeter who used to greet us on Easter morning with the words, “He is risen!” The other, a widow friend that I would have emailed this morning with the same words. “He is risen” is not a cliche but a truth that should fill our hearts with joy. Some struggle to grasp why a loving God allows suffering, and I don’t pretend to have the answers, but I do know that His love led Him to Calvary ..read more

(photo credit: Brandon Hull) NEWS OF THE WEEK Bluegrass Gospel band, Chosen Road, recently performed for a session of the Tennessee State Senate. The Frosts announced the launch of a new weekly southern gospel show in Branson, MO called “Southern Gospel Sundays with The Frosts” at The Americana Theatre. The state of Tennessee’s bipartisan-supported Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act was signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week. The new law’s intent is to protect artists when their voices are impersonated/cloned by artificial intelligence software. RELEASED ..read more

Ok, so first of all, I don’t have a problem with the rebranding of Bill Gaither’s enLighten. It’s business. The station still has a good chunk of the same playlists as before (for better or worse). What I DO have a problem with is how a large number of Gaither-related releases are credited. At some point, they seem to have just quit trying to credit artists and just label it “Gaither” as the artist. Who sang that? Oh…”Gaither.” Now keep in mind, a good chunk of Gaither Gospel Series releases include a variety of artists. Standard album credit goes to “Various Artists” with individual songs c ..read more

Coming off the tremendous success generated from their “Together” album, the Hemphills released another exciting album called, “Excited!” in 1985. It truly was an exciting time for the Hemphills as they were continuing to enjoy immense success via radio and in their concerts, and this latest album would garner them even more success, as the album spawned 2 hit songs as well as winning the Dove Award in 1986 for Southern Gospel Album of the year! The album was once again produced by Trent Hemphill and Wayne Hilton. Also, Wayne assisted with the co-writing process for 4 songs on this album. For ..read more

NEWS OF THE WEEK Singing News announced the Top 10 nominees in 20 Fan Awards categories. Subscribers will vote in May to choose the Top 5. Artist Resource Services (ARS) announced they have added Southern Gospel veterans Steve Ladd and Debra Perry & Jaidyn’s Call and newcomer Tate Emmons to their roster of artists. Sea Walker Media Corporation announced Dr. Tim Hill has joined their Board of Directors. Hill is the General Overseer of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). The National Quartet Convention announced they have added riser seating for the 2024 event. NQC had previously anno ..read more