AMY TURNER
Congratulations to Dalton Gay of The Perrys!
Dalton and his wife, Katie welcomed their first child Saturday 8 March at 8:52 P.M.
Their son, Seth Franklin Gay weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 18 and a half inches long!
Category: Top articles
Mark Bishop Celebrates a New Kind of Love with “Grandkids”
JEFF TURNER
Mark Bishop, a well-respected figure in Southern Gospel music, has released a new song called “Grandkids”. This is his first new music with Sonlite Records since his album “Home” from last year. The song is a heartfelt tribute to the special experience of having grandchildren.
Before he became a grandfather, Bishop heard many people say that the love for a grandchild was unlike any other. He remembers thinking, “‘wait… I love my wife and my daughters as much as I could love anyone… so it’s like that right?’ They said, ‘no… it’s a whole new love.’ I immediately dismissed it, thinking, ‘yeah, right.'”. However, Bishop now understands this unique bond, saying, “But it turns out that they were right”. He explains that “It really is a whole new love,” and “that ‘new’ love… that’s what this song is about”.
The song “Grandkids” starts with a piano melody that appears before each part. The first verse and chorus feature Bishop’s voice accompanied by gentle finger-picked guitar. As the song progresses, more instruments and harmonies are added, but they never become too loud, keeping the focus on Bishop’s personal delivery. The lyrics describe simple and joyful moments like “Chasing butterflies without a hope of catching one” and “Holding onto little hands, wading in the creek”. It also paints pictures of “Sitting on the front porch swing… falling fast asleep”. The song is meant to bring joy to anyone who has grandchildren or looks forward to having them.
Mark Bishop has had a long and successful career in Gospel music, spanning forty years in 2024. He is a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning artist. Before his solo career, Bishop was part of the family group The Bishops from 1984 to 2001, along with his father and brother. The Bishops were popular, appearing on television shows like TNN’s Nashville Now and The Grand Ole Opry. They had many successful songs and received numerous awards.
Many of The Bishops’ well-known songs were written by Mark Bishop. He continues to be a busy songwriter, creating music for his own albums and for other artists in the genre. After The Bishops retired, Mark started his solo career in 2001 and continued to have chart-topping songs. He was recognized as “Soloist of the Year” at the Singing News Fan Awards in 2005. His album “Beautiful Day” was nominated for a GRAMMY Award in 2020. In 2022, he received the “J.D. Sumner Living Legend Award”. Through his music, Mark Bishop aims to help people see the importance of God in their everyday lives. With “Grandkids,” he shares a deeply personal experience of love and joy.
A New Chapter Begins for The Guardians
JEFF TURNER
The southern gospel quartet known as The Guardians is about to enter a new phase in their journey. Dean Hickman, who has led the group for a long time, has announced that John Darin Rowsey will become the new owner on April 1.
Dean Hickman reflected on the beginnings of The Guardians. He remembered a call in 1987 from Del Yurick, asking if he could help with some shows in Michigan with Del’s sons, the Yurick brothers. Dean then contacted his friend Harold Patrick, with whom he had previously sung as the Centuries. As Dean recalled, “So I called my buddy Harold Patrick and we had been singing as the centuries, but then we shut down So I said Harold, you still on the bus? He said yeah, I said let’s go up and help him So we did a few dates and then people started calling us and we said wait a minute. We can’t be the Yurick brothers So And it got together in 1988 and said, ‘Oh, let’s go ahead and see where God wants to take this.'”.
This led to the formation of The Guardian’s Quartet in 1988. Dean Hickman explained that they “always sang meaty songs, just loved to minister” as a regional group.
Over the years, The Guardians faced changes. Harold Patrick passed away in 2001. Homer Fry, who had sung with the Gospel Harmony Boys, joined the group and stayed until 2012. Dean noted that both Harold and Homer continued to sing shortly before their deaths. John Darin Rowsey joined The Guardians in 2012, and Homer Fry passed away in 2014.
Dean Hickman recognized the potential of the group with John Rowsey. He said, “And then we did a CD and I called John. I said, ‘John, we’ve got blend. You know, maybe God’s wanting to take this somewhere.'”. Dean also shared his philosophy on leadership: “And when you don’t care who gets the credit for done it’s easy you know you get put people in great spots you give them in power you stand back you don’t you don’t need to really do anything just stand back and let them do it”.
Today, The Guardians consist of John Darin Rowsey, Pat Barker, Scott Mullins, and Paul Lancaster. Occasionally, founding member Dean Hickman still joins them on stage. They are known for their unique sound and tight harmony, and their main goal is to share the gospel through their music.
The Guardians have been blessed with three Dove Award nominations, multiple #1 songs, and Fan Awards. Their commitment as a group is to glorify Jesus Christ, and their guiding principle is John the Baptist’s words: “He must increase but I must decrease”. With the upcoming ownership transition, The Guardians are looking forward to continuing their ministry in southern gospel music. Dean Hickman has been involved in southern gospel music for over 60 years.
Texas Gospel Canada Top 30 – March 2025
DAVID INGRAM
Welcome to the Texas Gospel Canada Top 30 Songs of March 2025! This list is meticulously compiled based on the actual number of plays each song received in the previous month (February.) The Texas Gospel Top 30 is proudly submitted to top Southern Gospel publications including The Singing News and SGNScoops.
1 Grateful For The Gospel – Brian Free & Assurance – Daywind/New Day
2 More Than You Know – Tim Livingston – Diamond Mill Music
3 Bigger On The Inside – Legacy Five – StowTown/Provident-Sony
4 Big Ole Stone (Victory) – Triumphant Quartet – StowTown/Provident-Sony
5 The Good, Bad And The Ugly – Justified Quartet – Big Picture Records/New Day
6 The Hour I First Believed – PromisedLand Quartet – StowTown/Provident-Sony
7 No One Greater – Browns – StowTown/Provident-Sony
8 My Name’s Already There – Inspirations – Horizon/Crossroads
9 When It’s Gone For Good – Gold City – New Haven/Provident-Sony
10 Come On Let’s Go To That Land – Tribute Quartet- Daywind/New Day
11 What Are You Waiting For – Tim Menzies (with The Isaacs) – ARS/New Day
12 Rock Bottom – 11th Hour – Sonlite/Crossroads
13 Jesus Walked In – Joseph Habedank – Daywind/New Day
14 We Still Believe – Hyssongs – ARS/New Day
15 Can He, Could He, Would He – Mark Trammell Quartet – Crimson Road
16 There’s A River – High Road – New Day Records/New Day
17 I’d Rather Hear Preachin’ – Greater Vision – Daywind/New Day
18 If Not For Christ – Whisnants – Independent
19 I Left It In The Water – Southbound – Daywind/New Day
20 I Remember Lost – Poet Voices – StowTown/Provident-Sony
21 Keep Turning Your Eyes On Jesus – Booth Brothers – StowTown/Provident-Sony
22 Count For Something – Jay Stone Singers – ARS/New Day
23 Things We Cannot Change – LeFevre Quartet – New Day Records/New Day
24 By Grace – Lore Family – Horizon/Crossroads
25 Thank You Jesus For The Blood – Lauren Talley – Horizon/Crossroads
26 I Just Stopped By On My Way Home – Kingsmen – Horizon/Crossroads
27 God Won’t – Nelons (featuring Autumn Nelon Streetman) – Daywind/New Day
28 Good Ole Gospel Sing – Kelly Garner – Independent
29 Old Blind Bartimaeus – Jonathan Wilburn – Daywind/New Day
30 God Has A Way Of Workin’ It Out – Chronicle – ARS/New Day
The Unexpected Journey of Triumphant Quartet
TEXAS GOSPEL STAFF
Triumphant Quartet is now one of the leading groups in Southern Gospel music, but according to Tenor David Sutton, the quartet almost didn’t exist.
“Eric and myself and Jeff Stice at the time were with the Kingdom Heirs at Dollywood,” Sutton recalls. While performing there, they became acquainted with country music star Louise Mandrell, who owned a theater in Pigeon Forge. Through a mutual friend, Barry Gibbs, the singers began participating in a Sunday morning praise and worship service at the theater.
“Well, that thing really took off, and she would have 700 to 1,000 people there on Sunday mornings,” Sutton says. The growing service led Mandrell and her general manager, Sandy Weiss, to look for a gospel quartet to perform regularly. When the Blackwoods, who had previously filled that role, moved to another venue, Weiss approached bass singer Eric Bennett about forming a new group.
“At first, Eric basically said, ‘Don’t really know of anybody,’” Sutton explains. But Mandrell and Weiss continued encouraging the idea. “Finally, myself and Eric and Jeff said, ‘You know what, we’ll pray about this.’” After much prayer and discussion, they sat down with Mandrell and Weiss to explore the possibility.
“I can honestly say if there’s something that I know that was prayed over, this thing was prayed over,” Sutton affirms.
What began as a suggestion turned into a group that has become one of the most respected quartets in gospel music today. Thanks to persistence, faith, and a little encouragement, Triumphant Quartet was born.
Texas Gospel Canada Southern Gospel Radio 