We've all had a discussion about how in the world there's a possiblity that NQC could be any bigger and better than it was this year. It was as good as it gets in my book. And it's always been good, but I see no possiblity ever of it getting any better. We feel like we have literally spent the last 4 days sitting in a seat for approximately 12 hours a day listening to Southern Gospel music. And that's not an exaggeration by any long shot.
On Friday we left the hotel room a little after 11 a.m. to go start the concerts and arrived back into the room a little after 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning. It was all good, but today (Saturday) took the cake. I just need to tell you a little about it. Today was the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Southern Gospel Music. And it was quite a celebration. Ed Leonard, the president of Daywind Records called it the greatest early Christmas present a person could ask for or want. And he wasn't kidding......
The celebration started off with a reunion of the Rambos. That included Reba and Dony McGuire, Reba's daughter Destiny and Buck Rambo. Buck only sang the last few songs with them due to the fact that he's on oxygen and just didn't have the breath to do much more. I've made the statement that I'm really not liking the fact that they sang as beautifully as they did, because looking at them gave you a creepy feeling of the dark side (as I am not into the gothic look), but oh my goodness.........I could say on the appearance matter, but I'll refrain... I never heard them sound better. If I had not looked at them before I heard them sing, I would have declared that this had to be a piece of heaven! But I have to admit, Heaven came a little later.....I'll get to that in a minute!
In what had been a nerve wrecking dread for me, actually turned out to also be another little surprise. That was the Downings Reunion. That consisted of Ann Downing, Joy Gardner, and Dony McGuire. It had a few songs the Downings made famous like "Operator" and "Greater is He That is In Me." I must admit that this "set" was not my favorite, but there was something included that almost brought the tears. Dony sang "It's My Desire To Live For Jesus." I don't guess I knew that was a Downing song. I also didn't know Dony McGuire sang it. That song has always been one of my absolute favorite songs and Mom sings it quite frequently, so it hit a real tender spot...... And just a note, Joy Gardner has definitely aged much more gracefully than Reba Rambo. Joy Gardner really looked good. She has lost quite a bit of weight since the last time I saw her, so I was happy to see her looking so good. As much as I enjoyed these two "sets" of music, I had this gnawing tinge of regret the entire time that they had been overcome and their influence destroyed by what one blogger termed as outright "scandal."
There were a few other "sets" that were OK, but didn't rock my world. However, what did rock my world was the set that we had awaited anxiously and I had already mentioned a few posts back. That was the reunion of the Hinsons. Now let's talk about a piece of Heaven!! Oh, my! It just rocked my little world. It was fabulous.
I guess it's always means a little more to have them as personable as they are. Ronnie Hinson has got to be one of the nicest guys. We have met him in the aisles of the halls for the past two years and he's been quite a gentle man to speak with. This year he was the only artist that Jeremy and I got pictures with.
Anyway, back to the music.....The Hinsons only sang 3 of their classics..."I'm So Glad He Found Me," "He Can," and "The Lighthouse" - which was sang by Bo Hinson. I could have stayed there all day and let them sing, but I think that being that they are no longer used to that, I'm not sure how much breath they had left! They got standing O's on every song!
The Gold City and Singing American Reunions were very good as well, but I have to admit, the Hinsons were definitely the star of the show. There was also a reunion of the Nelons, the Speers, and the Lewis Family along with Jeff and Sheri Easter. The Nelons did a very good job! Gold City sang a few old songs with the original group of Ivan Parker, Brian Free, Mike Lefevre, and Tim Riley. It was good, but you can tell their voices have changed quite a bit since the last time they sang together 19 years ago! Brian and Mike had to be barely 20 if that when they sang, so age has definitely had time to mature their voices, and they are both still major influences in the world of Gospel music in their own right. And Tim Riley will always be a legend of the bass part, I assume. Ivan continues his solo thing, but I'm not exactly a follower.
The Singing Americans consisted of Rick Strickland, Michael English, Clayton Inman, Ed Hill, and Dewayne Burke. I remember the Live and Alive Record that we had when I was a kid that included all of the listed men except Clayton Inman. He became a member after Mike English left. It was a good reunion.
It was definitely an event of a lifetime for us to get to see all of this put together, although with age, each group had a moment or two that was less than stellar, but that wasn't the point! It was enjoyable all the way around and we were all happy to be on the front row screaming and throwing things!! lol Just kidding! We didn't throw anything, but we did do our share of yelling!! Anyway, this event alone will be hard to match ever again! I'm thrilled to death I had the chance to see it! It was definitely worth the trip!
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