Eddie Crook began his career in 1961 as the pianist for The Tennesseans. That started a music career that included doing session work at RCA Studios in Nashville. In 1964, he joined The Plainsmen Quartet. He’s spent decades of his life as a part of southern gospel music, both on the stage and behind-the-scenes.
Mr. Crook tells us one of the highlights of his career was “Playing the Grand Ole Opry with Marty Robbins on Saturday night with everybody going.”
From 1967-1970, he played for “The Sego Brothers and Naomi” and went on to become the pianist for “The Happy Goodman Family.”
In 1977, Eddie Crook began efforts to propel other artists through The Eddie Crook Company. The record label put many groups on the map. Some of the groups who were with The Eddie Crook Company include The Crabb Family, Carroll Roberson, Issacs, Bishops, Perrys, Booth Brothers, Heirline, Dixie Melody Boys, Dixie Echoes, Wilburns, Palmetto State Quartet, Jimmie Davis, and many more.
Speaking about the groups through the years he said, We were in the right place at the right time. We were fortunate to work with them.”
Our congratulations to Eddie Crook, recipient of The Southern Gospel Music Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award!
Southern Gospel trio Southbound has released their latest single, “I Left It In The Water”. The digital release happened 11 October following the renewal of their recording relationship with Daywind Records. The song addresses the concept of baptism as a symbolic act of spiritual cleansing and forgiveness, as reflected in its lyrics.
The lyrics of “I Left It In The Water” reference past mistakes and the idea of being absolved through baptism. It begins with acknowledging our past errors: “I had a past I carried so long. Didn’t get it all right. Got a lot of it wrong”. The act of baptism is described as a form of burial: “When they laid me down in that watery grave, came up without a trace. It was covered by grace”.
The central theme of the song is expressed in the repeated line, “I left it in the water”. This phrase is directly linked to the concept of forgiveness received during baptism: “when I was baptized. I left it in the water. Buried in the tide, my past was forgiven. That very hour, guilt, sin, and shame no longer remain cuz I left it in the water”. The lyrics suggest a complete separation from the past self: “If you look for old me, friend, don’t even buy Father, there’s just a headstone saying that man is gone. Cuz I left it in the water”.
Clint Brown of Southbound gave us some context for the song’s message. He said while some people may consider themselves saved, baptism holds a specific significance. Brown explained that “I Left It In The Water” offers an opportunity to communicate the meaning of baptism as representing “the cleansing uh power of God in your life”.
The release of this single coincided with Southbound’s renewed partnership with Daywind Records. Clint said the continued collaboration comes with the value of associating with experienced professionals in the industry and expressed his anticipation for their ongoing work together to “bring hope, help, and blessing through the songs we sing”.
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.
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.
(The Guardians) Dean Hickman is a founding member of The Guardians.Â
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.
(The Guardians) John Darin Rowsey
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.
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
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