Tag: Southern Gospel Radio

The Down East Boys’ “He Looked Beyond My Fault” offers a profound message

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (May 3, 2024) —  Even as the title track of their last collection, “There’s A Song For That,” rises in the charts, the Down East Boys are keeping fans happy with a new single — this time, a beloved classic from Dottie Rambo, who wrote its simple, yet profound lyric more than 50 years ago.  

Written to the melody of “Londonderry Air,” which also supplied the musical framework for the popular Irish ballad, “Danny Boy,” “He Looked Beyond My Fault” offers, in just eight lines, a profound account of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s mercy:

Amazing grace shall always be my song of praiseFor it was grace that brought my libertyI’ll never know just why He came to love me soHe looked beyond my faults and saw my needs

I shall forever lift my eyes to CalvaryTo view the cross where Jesus died for meAnd how marvelous the grace that caught my falling soulHe looked beyond my faults and saw my needs

Though the field is crowded, the Down East Boys’ arrangement of this majestic hymn stands out as an original, thanks to a rare — and powerful — bass lead vocal from Alex Utech on the song’s lone verse before the rest of the group joins him in a series of alternating solo and fully harmonized lines and passages. Indeed, it’s unusual and compelling enough a performance that it may take the listener some time to notice the absence of typical Southern Gospel instrumentation — a bold musical move that underlines the majestic orchestral accompaniment, arranged and conducted by producer Jason Webb.

“An emotional lyric penned by one of the greatest lyricists our genre will ever know,” says the group’s usual lead singer, Ricky Carden. “Words that bring a spirit of praise when you realize He looked past all of our faults and saw our need for a Savior.”

Listen to “He Looked Beyond My Fault” on Texas Gospel Canada!

StowTown announces release of new Legacy Five project

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SPECIAL STOWTOWN RECORDS

NASHVILLE, TN (April 12, 2024) â€“ StowTown Records has announced the release of a brand-new recording from popular, multi-award winning quintet, Legacy Five. The recording, appropriately titled 25, hits retail outlets today and celebrates the group’s 25-year legacy of sharing the message of the Gospel in song. “I can’t believe Legacy Five is in our 25th year,” group co-founder, Scott Fowler shares. “This recording is a labor of love, and we hope audiences will enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

This “labor of love” is a heartfelt acknowledgement of the blessings God has bestowed upon the group for the past two and a half decades. After the retirement of the popular Cathedral Quartet, the internationally known group Fowler traveled with for nearly a decade, he and fellow Cathedrals’ member and longtime friend, the late Roger Bennett, formed Legacy Five. Since that formation, God has brought them through numerous challenges and mountain-top experiences, His goodness and mercy sustaining them and allowing the group to enjoy much success. They have risen to the pinnacle of the Southern Gospel music genre. 

Produced by multi-Grammy and Dove Award winner, Wayne Haun, 25 features nine classic L5 songs, re-recorded by the group’s current personnel, as well as four new songs which are sure to become L5 hits. This 13-song effort is filled with hope, encouragement and speaks of the steadfast grace and goodness of God. 

The recording follows up the group’s Something New recording, which received the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award nomination for Southern Gospel Album of the Year, and features songs from such prolific writers as Belinda Smith, Joel Lindsey, Sue C. Smith, Gina Boe and Legacy Five group member Lee Black. The first-class male harmony is complemented by a full symphony orchestra with arrangements from the world’s finest orchestrators, including Haun, Brian Eads and Joel Mott. 

The debut single from the project, “You Have Always Been My Shepherd,” was released to radio in February and is being embraced by audiences nationwide. Co-written by producer Wayne Haun, industry veteran Dave Clark and renowned CCM hit-maker Don Koch just weeks before Koch’s death, it is a compelling and heartfelt message of the Great Shepherd’s guidance each day and into eternity. 

Longtime fans of Legacy Five will enjoy the group’s remake of “I Stand Redeemed,” one of their most popular songs ever released. This fan-favorite has been reimagined and arranged for the current L5 line-up, comprised of Fowler, Jake Losen, Matt Fouch, Lee Black and pianist Tim Parton. 

StowTown Records President and CEO Landon Beene is delighted to release this new recording, commemorating the 25-year anniversary of the group, on the StowTown label. “Legacy Five has been a household name in Southern Gospel Music for more than two decades,” Beene states. “This project is the perfect balance of the fresh, new sound of L5, mixed in with those monumental moments that L5 fans have loved for 25 years. We are so honored to be a part of this great release!”

Legacy Five’s 25 is distributed worldwide exclusively by Provident/Sony and is available to download or stream here. 

25 Track Listing:


1.     Homeward Bound
2.     Bigger on the Inside
3.     You Have Always Been My Shepherd
4.     Never Just Another Sunday 
5.     Hello After Goodbye
6.     Strong in the Strength 
7.     He Made a Change
8.     Strike Up the Band
9.     I Stand Redeemed
10.   Vessel of Mercy
11.   The People God Gives You
12.   I Found Grace
13.   God’s Been Good

About Legacy Five:

When the Legendary Cathedral Quartet retired in December of 1999, Scott Fowler and Roger Bennett decided to continue the rich musical tradition of Southern Gospel Quartet singing. Legacy Five was organized and had their official debut in January 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that day, they have made a major mark on the Southern Gospel Music world. Legacy Five has received over 90 Singing News fan awards nominations and multiple GMA Dove Award nominations. Their project, Pure Love, was the winner of the 2020 Dove Award for Southern Gospel Album of the Year. Viewers across America have seen Legacy Five on TNN, TBN, Sky Angel, INSP, GMT, The Odyssey Network and a host of local channels on programs such as Gaither and Friends Homecoming, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley and on Dr. David Jeremiah’s Turning Point in El Cajon, CA. The rich four and five part harmony for which Legacy Five has become known is the result of a masterful weaving together of five unique and versatile talents. Legacy Five consists of Scott Fowler (lead), Lee Black (tenor), Jake Losen (baritone), Matt Fouch (bass) and Tim Parton (keys). 

Links:

https://legacyfive.com
https://www.instagram.com/legacyfive/
https://www.facebook.com/legacyfive
https://www.youtube.com/LegacyFiveSings

Sound Street signs with Sonlite Records, announces upcoming single

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS MUSIC

Arden, North Carolina (January 4, 2024) — Sonlite Records is excited to announce the signing of Southern Gospel trio Sound Street â€” and their first single release with the label. “Mansions,” an up-beat and exciting song that reminds us of a place being prepared for all who believe in Christ, will be released January 19.

“We are very excited and honored to become a part of the Sonlite family,” says Jarrod Vanderslice, who’s joined by daughter Jaylie Vanderslice and family friend Ryan Bilby in the trio. “We look forward to working along with this great team of experienced and dedicated people, who will help chart and plan our steps as we continue to grow as an artist. We anticipate God to bless these efforts, as we desire to see our music go further than we could ever do by ourselves.”

Since launching their career in July of 2020, Sound Street has garnered the attention of Southern Gospel music fans and tastemakers alike. The trio was selected from the National Quartet Convention’s Regional Artist Showcase to perform on the Main Stage at 2021’s gathering, and was a top 10 nominee for favorite new artist in 2022’s Singing News Fan Awards. Their radio single, “I’ll Take The Old Highway,” peaked at #34 on SGNScoops Magazine’s Top 100, and “The Old Story” debuted at #67 on Singing News’ March 2022 chart.

Adds producer Roger Talley, “I have worked with Sound Street since they began singing. Jarrod Vanderslice and Ryan Bilby have always been great singers and talented communicators. Jaylie inherited the natural, God-given musical talent and is now taking an important role center stage with Sound Street.”

That role is highlighted in “Mansions,” where Jaylie’s compelling vocal carries listeners through joyous reminders of what’s waiting for them in Heaven.

“There is no limit to what this beautiful, talented young lady is becoming,” Talley continues. “She, along with her father, Jarrod, and Ryan are the most exciting new group I’ve heard in a long time. This new recording is a ‘must hear’!”

The Kingsmen’s new lineup takes on fan-favorite, “I Just Stopped By On My Way Home”

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (December 1, 2023) — With new single — and first new music since 2022’s Christmas EP, ‘Tis The Reason â€” “Unstoppable God” racing up the charts, The Kingsmen are wasting no time in following up with a new version of an old classic that’s sure to bring a flood of memories to long-time fans and a smile to new ones.  

First recorded by the group in 1991, “I Just Stopped By On My Way Home” quickly became a staple of the legendary quartet’s performances. As baritone singer Alan Kendall notes, “The Kingsmen rode high during the 90s with this high-octane classic. Over time the song took on a life of its own, with the band playing it even faster and the group singing it even livelier than on its original studio cut. It has been one of our most requested since I joined the group, and we were happy to finally honor our fans’ requests!”

The new recording offers only a gentle update of the original backing that serves to underline the latest line-up’s vigor, with producer Jeff Collins contributing rolling piano, studio ace David Johnson recapping the 5-string banjo part that lends the song a special flavor — and, notes Hall of Fame bass singer Ray Dean Reese, a special guest, too. 

“After many years of singing this song nearly every night, I feel like I have a better feel for it now than when I first recorded it,” he says. “We even brought former Kingsman Randy Miller into the studio to play harmonica for this one. As much as I loved the original, I believe this arrangement may be even stronger!”