This recording is truly a treasure that should be owned by true Southern Gospel fans, and the title song (written by Ernie Haase & Joel Lindsey)  is one of the most interesting songs the group ever recorded. I love the arrangement, and in my opinion, it still sounds fresh today. The group has brought back one song from this album, “I Could Never Praise Him Enough” which was written by Allman. It would be awesome to hear this one again as well. So here’s a performance of “Take Him At His Word”,  taken from a video recorded at the 1995 National Quartet Convention. Hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane!

Last fall, Tom Durham (bass vocalist & group manager) asked me to fill in and sing baritone for them at a concert and it went very well. After the concert, Tom asked if I would be open to filling in here and there, as the need would arise, and I agreed. I have filled in on several occasions, and just truly enjoyed myself. Not only are these guys great singers, but wonderful Christian gentleman.

The New Destiny Quartet L-R, Wes Van Wyk Tenor, Doug Busam Lead, Tom Durham Bass, Brian Fuson Baritone

This past Tuesday, I officially became a part of the group and will be their baritone vocalist. Here is the Press Release the group issued.

The New Destiny Quartet is pleased to announce the addition of Brian Fuson as their new baritone vocalist.

Brian, 28, has been singing in various ministries and groups since his teenage years. Most recently he was the baritone vocalist for Broken Pieces, joining that group in 2010.

“I am so thankful that God has allowed me to do what I have always loved to do,” says Brian. “I could not be more excited about joining a group of Christian men and anointed singers like The New Destiny Quartet.  I have been a fan of NDQ and now I look forward to seeing what the future holds with this great quartet, especially this line-up of individuals as they are top-notch vocalists.“

Brian will begin touring with the group immediately. In fact he has been filling in for them in recent weeks.   Brian lives in Wyandotte, Michigan.

My first official concert as the new baritone will be next Sunday in Port Huron, Michigan. Therefore, in light of this taking place, I wish to clarify a few things quickly, because I wish to be completely honest with all of you. I never started this blog as an attempt to get in a group. The Lord has opened a door that I never dreamed possible, and I’m so thankful to be able to walk through it. But the reason I started this blog, along with co-founding the Southern Gospel Fan Central Facebook page, is because I love this music, and wanted to share my thoughts, opinions, commentary, and musical suggestions with Southern Gospel fans.

Secondly, I will not turn my blog into an advertisement for The New Destiny Quartet. We have a website, Facebook, and Twitter page, and they are for that purpose, advertising & promoting the group. From time to time when noteworthy things are happening in the group, I will share them with you here. But I can assure you that Fuson’s Findings will continue to be a Southern Gospel blog that will focus on preserving the rich history of our music and promoting the great Gospel music that is being created by artists today.

I hope you all will take a moment and check out the groups website, as well as our Facebook & Twitter pages. We will be starting work soon on rehearsing & recording the groups next project, and my first with them. Thank You so much for continuing to follow the blog, and I hope you continue to enjoy the content that I post. God Bless You all, and have a great weekend.

The Kingsmen are pleased to announce the addition of Chris Jenkins as our new tenor vocalist.

Chris, 25, has been singing in various ministries and groups since his teenage years, most recently tenor vocalist for the Vintage Quartet since 2010. Prior to joining The Kingsmen, Chris worked as a loan officer and banking manager for the last six years.

“I am so thankful that God has allowed me to do what I have always loved to do,” says Chris. “I could not be more excited about joining a group with such a legacy and rich history as The Kingsmen. I have been a fan of The Kingsmen since I was very young. I look forward to seeing what the future holds with this great quartet, especially this line-up of individuals as they are top-notch vocalists. It is a real honor to follow in the footsteps of some of my heroes.”

Chris will begin touring with the group immediately. In fact he has been filling in with us in recent weeks. Chris, along with his wife Kimberly, and two children make their home right outside of Greensboro, in the piedmont area of North Carolina.

Chris is looking forward to meeting many friends and fans of The Kingsmen as he begins this new chapter in his life. To find out when the Kingsmen Quartet will be in a city near you please visit us at www.kingsmenquartet.com also visit our facebook page atwww.facebook.com/kingsmenquartet

I have to honestly say I’ve never heard of the Vintage Quartet or Chris prior to this announcement. Upon a little YouTube research, I found this video of him singing “Oh What A Savior”. I’m not really sure there is anyone whom you can compare his voice to. I hear shades of a young Ernie Haase, but its hard to say without hearing him live. It will be interesting to see what the new vocal blend sounds like for the group. Be sure to see the Kingsmen when they come to your area, and welcome Chris to the group!

This arrangement features Charles on the verses, and is very well done by the group. Each verse builds, and the end of the song features a full, rich harmony that is present throughout this whole album. If you have this Revealing Sounds in your library, bring it out and take a listen. If you don’t have this album in your collection, you can find it on iTunes and other digital music sites. Here is a link to the album on iTunes.

I’d like to thank the Dixie Echoes for allowing me the opportunity to live out my dream for the past 14 years. I joined the group when I was 17 years old. Randy and Scoot Shelnut have became like family to me, and it’s been a blast traveling with some great guys through the years.

I realize that when people put out statements saying they want to spend more time at home, it seems to be a cover for …unhappiness within the group. That is not the case here. I simply have the desire to come off the road for a while. I wish nothing but the best for the Dixie Echoes, and pray that one day, if it’s God’s will, I can return to Gospel music.

I have no future plans at the moment and will be filling in for the group until a replacement has been found. Thanks also to the many friends that I have made while traveling! It has been an honor to get to meet so many fine people. I will still be active behind the scenes promoting the music that I love. Anyone interested in auditioning should contact Randy Jr. at scoot@dixieechoes.com

You always hate to see a great talent like Stewart decide to come off the road. He’s been such an integral part of the Dixie Echoes over the years, that it will be difficult not seeing him sitting at the piano bench for the group. Stewart is not only a great pianist, but a wonderful gentleman & great guy as well. I worked with the group a few months ago at a concert I promoted, and enjoyed getting to know Stewart a little bit.  He loves Gospel Music, and is very involved in concert promoting and various other avenues. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors, and pray the Lord will lead and guide both him and the Dixie Echoes in the days ahead.

Please visit us, at http://www.facebook.com/SouthernGospelFanCentral. Stop by click, the like button, and follow our page!

Recently, with the blessings of many of the former members of the group, the Rebels have re-organized, and will travel on a limited schedule across the Southeast. The group is comprised of Rick Fair (formerly of Hovie Lister & The Statesmen, Palmetto State Quartet, & Southern Sound) singing bass. Alan Kendall (Melody Boys Quartet & Freedom) singing lead and is the groups emcee.  Rick’s son David Fair singing baritone, Mike Young at tenor, and pianist Barry Patrick.

Both father & son Fair, Young, and Patrick, all recently spent time with Southern Sound Quartet. The group made its debut this past Sunday in Cumming, Georgia. Our friend Diana, at sgconcerts.com, was there and posted some videos. Here is a video of the group singing a Rebels standard, Everybody Ought To Know.

I’m excited to hear a group like these guys singing traditional quartet music, and am looking forward to hearing more good things from The Rebels. Its my hope they browse some of the old albums and bring back songs like “He Set Me Free”, “Theres Just One Way”, “Somebody Touched Me”  and other gems from that era.

You can find out more information at the groups website.

The group rearranged and the song and included it on their newest album, Here We Are Again, with new bass vocalist Ian Owens taking the lead, but its nowhere close to the greatness of the original cut.

Heres the original lineup singing it, from their first video. Enjoy!

The group kicking off our countdown at #10 accomplished something significant that no gospel group had done prior or since their formation. Perfect Heart was formed in 1990, and was dubbed “The Million Dollar Quartet”. The lineup consisted of former Cathedral tenor & fan favorite Danny Funderburk, powerhouse lead singer Dale Shipley (The Song Masters Quartet, Bob Wills & The Inspirationals), dynamic baritone & skilled songwriter Mark Lanier (Bibletones and later Poet Voices), and a solid bass vocalist Mike Presnell (The Sound). The group was further complimented by pianist Jeff Stice & bass guitarist Aubrey Stephens, who both came from The Nelons.

Perfect Heart’s first single, “Somebody Touched The Lord”, raced to the top of the charts, making them the first group to debut with a #1 song, and also was voted Song Of The Year in the 1991 Singing News Fan Awards.  The groups early albums were some of the finest material recorded by any group in Gospel Music. Their blend was superb, and the team of Funderburk & Shipley was one of the most powerful lead/tenor combinations in history. Add a tremendous baritone in Lanier & Presnell’s smooth bass, and it was a dynamite sound. This clip of the group performing “They That Sow”, from their first live project, Perfect Heart Live, showcases that sound.

With Funderburk, the group also recorded 3 exceptional live projects  (Perfect Heart Live, Command Performance, Live At The Forum), and continued to record solid studio albums. Looking For The Wounded in 1992 and I Hold A Clear Title in 1993 were fantastic as well. However the group would encounter their first big personnel change, when Funderburk left the group in 1994. In losing their most recognizable member, and a fan favorite, the next tenor of Perfect Heart would have large shoes to fill, and nobody would have expected the group to hire the man that they did.

Garry Sheppard, formerly of the Kingsmen and known to the Southern Gospel world as “Squeaky” (thanks Jim Hamill), replaced Funderburk in the summer of 1994, and the rest would be history. The group would  release their first mainline album with Sheppard, 1995′s On Time God, which I reviewed here a few weeks ago. This album is a classic, and should be in the library of anyone who loves Southern Gospel Music. Some of Sheppard’s best recorded work is on On Time God. The group also score with a great song from that project, Theres A King On The Way, which was a radio favorite.

This lineup would record another fine project together, Turning Point, which gave them another great song, Because He Is (written by Lanier).The winds of change would blow again in 97, when Lanier left to begin a solo ministry, and was replaced by Darren Doyle.  However Doyle did not possess a baritone voice, and was incapable of singing Lanier’s solos, which were in turn sang by Shipley. I must honestly say that I was never a fan of Doyle’s singing and still am not. Doyle would take over the lead position when Dale Shipley departed the group (leaving Presnell & Stice as the only charter members).

With Doyle moving up to lead, the group hired Joseph Smith (then known as Joey, who would go on to sing with the Booth Brothers & Mark Trammell Trio) to fill the baritone spot. Joseph was a great hire and in my opinion one of the finest singers I’ve ever heard. The group now had a balance of experience (Stice, Sheppard, Presnell)  and youth (Doyle, Smith, and drummer Jonathan Presnell, who is also Mike’s son).

The lineup of Sheppard, Doyle, Smith, Presnell, Stice  recorded one album, 1998′s Keepin The Faith, which would be the groups final album. Although the album did not measure up to the groups previous work, it had a few bright spots on it. Below is a rare video of that group, performing ‘Walk, Talk, Serve”, featuring Smith.

The following year would see the group disband. Stice would move on to become pianist for the Kingdom Heirs, then later help start the Triumphant Quartet, where he is currently the groups pianist, arranger, and producer. Presnell sang briefly with a quartet Safe Harbor, and did some solo work.  Sheppard has also done some solo work, and in recent years sang tenor with the Songfellows Quartet.  Doyle is involved in studio work back home in Kentucky.

There have been a couple attempts at reforming the group, one in the early 2000′s, which featured tenor Jodi Hosterman (Inspirations), and one a few years ago, with Mike Presnell and tenor Matt Felts. While its sad that the group disbanded, and talentled men, such Dale Shipley & Mike Presnell are not on the road, they can be proud of their accomplishments. From 1990-1996, Perfect Heart was one of the elite quartets in the industry, and in my opinion, their accomplishments land them a place in my top 10.

If you’ve never heard any of the groups projects, heres some of my recommendations, that I call Required Listening.

Perfect Heart: Required Listening

1992 Looking For The Wounded or Command Performance

1995 On Time God

1996 Turning Point

I hope you’ve enjoyed this walk down memory lane, and my recollections of this great group. Be watching for the post, #9, in the coming days. I look forward to reading your comments!

So if you were to rank the top 10 groups, or select the top group, who would it be? Be sure to check back with us later in the week, to see who makes the list!