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Oklahoma Howdy to All,

I am a fan of old fashioned Gospel music, and I doubt that I will ever change. I've listened to some of the modern Christian music, and I just don't enjoy it very much. I'm stuck in the 50s and 60s or music with that type of style. My favorites would have to include the many Gospel quartets of that time. I think that it's a combination of the words, the beautiful harmony, the delivery, and maybe even a little bit of a beat from time to time.

The young folks here won't even know what I'm talking about.   ;D  The top of my list would have to be:

The Sunshine Boys Quartet of the 50s. Some of the members changed over the years. My favorite combination involved J.D. Sumner as the bass and Ace Richmond as the tenor. Their range is awesome, and their harmony is beautiful.

So, here's my vote for some old Gospel music that had beautiful words and harmony from folks who really love the Lord.


I do enjoy some modern groups, but most of them sing and play in the old style. Bill Gaither and friends always has beautiful Gospel music done in the older styles.

If anyone is interested, I'll post some links that are completely free to listen to 24/7.

Love In Christ,
Tom

And the Gann Brothers!  :D

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

I'm trying to remember the Gann Brothers. Are they new or old? I'm still trying to find out who some of the older groups are. I actually have a stack of very old 78 records that my grand-dad used to listen to. I'm trying to find a completely safe way to listen to them once and record them. We used to listen to them on large family gatherings.

Help me out with the Gann Brothers.   :D

Love In Christ,
Tom

The Mighty Clouds of Joy are heavenly.

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

 :D  Grandpas are allowed memory problems once per hour, so I guess that I have 23 left for today. Listening to the really old Gospel music is really fun. I can remember some of the melodies and definitely remember listening to them at one time, but I have a hard time with the name of the group and the name of the song. I haven't heard some of these songs in 50 years, and many of them have beautiful words, harmony, and tunes. They are definitely songs that honor our Saviour.

I'll work on my memory if I remember.   :D

Love In Christ,
Tom

I think they'd fall under the 'old' category: http://www.gannbrothers.com/thegroup.html (http://www.gannbrothers.com/thegroup.html)

But they're Southern Gospel, so that might be why you haven't heard of them?  :-\

One of my all-time favorite songs is "Lift Me Again" which Calvin Gann wrote!  :D

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

ACTUALLY, I've listened to so much Bluegrass, Southern, and Black Gospel music that I can't remember the names of the songs or the artists.   :D  I think that the history of Southern Gospel music is fascinating. I have a collection of lyrics from many VERY OLD (early 1900s & before) Southern Gospel songs somewhere.

Thanks for the link to the Gann Brothers. I bet that I've heard them and didn't know who they were.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ah, a man with taste!  ;)
That collection sounds awesome! We have just about worn out the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack! LOL!

One of my favorite Country Gospel songs is Donna Fargo's "You Can't Be a Beacon (if Your Light Don't Shine)"!

Now you have me curious about the historical aspects of Southern Gospel!  :D

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

Reference the history of Southern Gospel music:

I'm getting ready to go to Tulsa real early in the morning, so I'll have to write more later. My dad was raised in a huge family during the great depression. My grand-dad on my dad's side of the family was a sharecropper near Clyde, Texas. That obviously meant that all of the kids were also sharecroppers. They all worked long, hard days, and some of the kids had to work instead of go to school to survive. Lots of people in the area did the same thing, and the fields were loaded with people working from sunrise to sunset. Much of the Southern Gospel music has its roots from people who sang while they did back-breaking work in the fields. As an example: it's not "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jerico" - it's "Joshua Fit' the Battle of Jericho".

Some of the songs were adapted from existing music, and maybe nobody knows where some of the songs came from. Some were sung by generations of hard-working country folks while they worked. Some are known as Negro Spirituals, but there were tons of folks of all colors who sharecropped, worked the land, and harvested the crops to survive.

Here's a few:

In That Great Gettin' Up Mornin'
Oh, Rock A My Soul
Roll Jordan Roll
We're Climbin' Jacob's Ladder
Blow Your Trumpet Gabriel
Go Down Moses
I'm Goin' Up Yonder
Just Over In Glory Land

They added numerous verses to some existing music and also made up their own music. When they were tired and worn out for the day, they brought out their instruments and sang some more before calling it a day. Southern Gospel is also a style that was shaped many times with what instruments they could make, so a lot of it was like Bluegrass music. Some of those home-made instruments sound pretty good.   :D  We always had our own music at dad's family gatherings, and many of them played numerous instruments. Dad played guitar, banjo, mandolin, and several other stringed instruments. By the way, they all eventually got store-bought instruments.

Love In Christ,
Tom  

I'm getting ready to go to Tulsa real early in the morning, so I'll have to write more later.

I look forward to it!  :D I sense a homeschool research project coming on..... ;D

Some of those home-made instruments sound pretty good.  :D

Too cool! And what did they make them out of? And how are they made? Sorry!  :-X Sounds like a fun project to try!  :D

There is certainly a wide range of titles to choose from.

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

I'll have to check and see what I can find. Most of my aunts and uncles on dad's side of the family have already gone home to be with the Lord. Their dads and uncles did wood carving with a variety of hand tools. I'm sure they looked for the best and most appropriate wood for the project, but it wasn't at a lumberyard.   :D  The same was true for furniture and toys. The adults doing most of the making would have been born before 1900. I do have a cousin who is known as the family historian, but I'll have to find him first. Many poor folks even did their own skinning, blacksmithing, and much more. They really didn't have a choice since they didn't have any money.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

 :D  Well, I thought that I had posted a free link to listen to Gospel music on the Internet, but I guess that I forgot. I've made lists to help me remember, but I forgot where I put them.

http://www.live365.com/ (http://www.live365.com/)

You will also need player software to listen. Winamp is an excellent freeware player that you can download just about anywhere (Tucows, NoNags, WebAttack, CNet, etc.).

 ;D  If I can remember, I'll try to remember better.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Oklahoma Howdy to Shawn924,

First, I don't think that I've had an opportunity to welcome you, so WELCOME TO CHRISTIANS UNITE.


The artists in the Southern or Bluegrass Gospel category would number in the hundreds. This would represent only the ones who left recordings for us to listen to.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Strangely enough, our family is slowly getting away from all the modern conveniences. Except for a dishwasher! Even if I have to pitch a tent and run a cord..... :-X

My husband is an extremely talented man! He's made a lot of our furniture using some old-fashioned tools. It's beautiful! And it gives me more pleasure than any of the store-bought stuff! And the vegetables from our garden taste a lot better! Which is why I'd love to try making (ok, my husband will get the brunt of it :-X) the homemade instruments!  :D

Does that mean we're becoming Amish?  8)

Anything you can find out (at your convenience) will be greatly appreciated!  :D

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

You know, I think that the Amish people have many good ideas. They work hard, live simply, and they don't have a lot of the problems of this world. You don't have to worry about what your kids are watching on television if you don't have a TV.   :D  I doubt they are very worried about the gas prices either.

I joked once with my wife about wanting to make things really simple for retirement. I suggested no cars, no telephone, no electricity, and a very small log cabin heated by a fire place. My wife told me to write and let her know how I was doing.   ;D

It sounds like your husband already has a lot of the tools to make a musical instrument. I will find out something for you. I remember hearing my dad talk about it when I was young. I remember him telling me the first and most important step was selecting the right wood for the specific instrument. I also remember that it was a lengthy process with many steps. I'm sure there are quicker ways, but they wanted good sound quality. I'm almost sure there is a curing process first. Remember, they selected their wood from a live tree, and they started over if the wood didn't cure right. I might have a location for my cousin now, and he may even have some of the instruments older family members made. So far, I don't think that he has a telephone. You guessed it - he never married.   ;D

Love In Christ,
Tom

LOL! See? That's what I mean!  ;D We're not worried about gas prices at this point!  :-X We've been growing fruits and veggies. Fresh eggs. Venison and wild turkey. We have no television reception though we are enjoying watching videos and DVD's as a family. And the less we have that's wordly, the more we enjoy the riches of the Lord's blessings. God is so good!  :D But I do draw the line at the clothing!  :-X

ROFL! I've got my poor husband so scared because I'm at the point where all that sounds good!  :-X


Sounds good! I know my husband would actually enjoying doing that with us! Ok, he'd have to! I'm clueless!  :-X

Oklahoma Howdy to Sincereheart,

I'm still working on the instructions for old fashioned home-made instruments. I was looking for something to watch the other day and stopped on the DIY (Do It Yourself) channel. Believe it or not, they currently have a series on making instruments. I looked on their website diynetwork.com/ (http://diynetwork.com/) , and they do have a listing time for each episode, but they don't have the plans on the site. I watched most of episode #1 on making a guitar. Most of the wood came from the top of a red spruce, and some of the finishing wood was rosewood. Nearly all of the tools were hand tools, and the supplies included heated hyde glue and numerous types of delicate wood clamps.

From what I saw, it might take a month for an absolute expert to make a good guitar. For the normal person, it might take a year or more. I'll keep looking.

Love In Christ,
Tom