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'{{Multiple issues|refimprove = February 2011|primarysources = February 2011|original research = February 2011}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Gaither Vocal Band | image = Gaither vocal band.jpg | caption = Gaither Vocal Band, 2009. | image_size = | background = group_or_band | alias = New Gaither Vocal Band <small>(1981–1982)</small> | origin = | genre = [[Christian music|Christian]], [[southern gospel]], [[contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]] | years_active = 1981–present | label = Spring Hill Music Group | associated_acts = [[Ernie Haase & Signature Sound]], [[Larnelle Harris]], [[Russ Taff]], [[Steve Green (singer)|Steve Green]] | website = {{URL|1=http://www.gaither.com/artists/gaither-vocal-band/|2=Gaither Vocal Band}} | current_members = [[Bill Gaither (gospel singer)|Bill Gaither]]<br /> [[Mark Lowry]]<br /> [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]]<br /> [[David Phelps]]<br /> [[Wes Hampton]] | past_members = }} '''The Gaither Vocal Band''' is an American [[Southern Gospel]] vocal group, named after its founder and leader [[Bill Gaither (gospel singer)|Bill Gaither]]. Since 2009, it consists of [[David Phelps]] and [[Wes Hampton]] (tenors), [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]] (lead), [[Mark Lowry]] (baritone), and [[Bill Gaither (gospel singer)|Bill Gaither]] (bass). Although the group started out recording [[contemporary Christian music]], it became known for [[southern gospel]] after the popularity of the [[Gaither Homecoming]] videos.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gaither Vocal Band|url=http://vovtz.wordpress.com/gaither-vocal-band/|accessdate=1 November 2011}}</ref> The lineup of the band changes often, with artists leaving to work on solo careers, and new ones coming to replace them. Besides Bill Gaither himself, singers with the longest tenure in the band include [[Guy Penrod]] (1995–2008), [[Mark Lowry]] (1988-2001, 2009-present), and [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]] (1985-1994, 2009-present). The band has released 27 albums (not including compilations), at least 19 of which have charted. The band has also released 10 DVDs, which feature many other Christian artists as well. The Gaither Vocal Band has been honored with 2 [[Grammys]], and 16 [[Dove Awards]]. == History == === Beginnings === The Gaither Vocal Band is named after gospel legend and leader, [[Bill Gaither (gospel singer)|Bill Gaither]].<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/august-28-2009/gaither-gospel-singers/4081/ |title=August 28, 2009 ~ Gaither Gospel Singers &#124; Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly |publisher=PBS |date=2009-08-28 |accessdate=2012-08-13}}</ref> It was the successor-group of the [[Bill Gaither Trio]]. By the 1980s, Bill Gaither, along with wife [[Gloria Gaither]], were both very successful [[songwriter]]s.<ref name="allmusic">[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-gaither-p2283/biography Bill Gaither Biography] [[Allmusic.com]]</ref> For example, their song, "He Touched Me" was covered by [[Elvis Presley]], after which he even named his album ''[[He Touched Me (Elvis Presley album)|He Touched Me]]''. Presley won a Grammy for the album. <ref name="elvis">{{cite web|last=Bush |first=John |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15661 |title=He Touched Me - Elvis Presley : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |date= |accessdate=2012-08-13}}</ref> Bill Gaither felt that his trio had reached its peak in the mid-1980s, but his desire to make another gospel hit kept the trio going.<ref name="pbs"/> The original Vocal Band (called the ''New'' Gaither Vocal Band) was formed spontaneously, backstage of a Gaither Trio concert. It consisted of Bill Gaither and Gary McSpadden of the trio, along with two of the trio's backup singers, Steve Green and [[Lee Young (gospel singer)|Lee Young]]. The quartet sang "Your First Day in Heaven" on stage that night.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gaither Vocal Band|url=http://www.singers.com/gospel/gaithervocalband.html|publisher=United Singers International|accessdate=16 May 2011}}</ref> Their debut album, the self titled ''The New Gaither Vocal Band'', debuted in 1981. Lee Young left the group in 1982, and Jon Mohr was hired as the new bass singer. They then recorded the album, ''Passin' The Faith Along''. Later, tenor Steve Green left and [[Larnelle Harris]] was hired. This group cut the ''New Point Of View'' album before Mohr left. === Widespread popularity === [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]] was hired as the new lead singer, so McSpadden was moved down to baritone, and Gaither dropped to the lowest part (Bill stated they never called it bass at the time as it wasn't a true bass part).{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} At this point the group dropped the "new" part of their name. Although the previous album (''New Point of View'') had been more contemporary than its predecessors, the album with this version of the group (''One X 1'') took it even further. After this album, Larnelle left and was replaced by Lemuel Miller. The group did not record an album with Lemuel before he too left. He was replaced by [[The Imperials|Imperials]] alumnus, Jim Murray. This line up cut one album (''Wings'') before Gary McSpadden left to devote more time to his solo career. [[Mark Lowry]] was tapped to replace him. Although Lowry admittedly didn't have the natural ear for the baritone part, or the experience, he added a great voice along with his comedy and soon made their sound more smooth. Their Gospel roots project ''Homecoming'' in 1991, caused most Southern Gospel fans to welcome the Vocal Band with open arms. Jim Murray left and was replaced by Terry Franklin. The album ''Southern Classics'' was released in 1993 with the hit ''I Bowed On My Knees''. Later Michael English left. He was replaced by Buddy Mullins. Despite being only a temporary fill-in, Mullins did record the album ''Testify'' with the group, in place of Michael English. Terry Franklin soon left and was replaced by yet another Imperials alumnus, [[Jonathan Pierce]] (formerly known as Jonathan Hildreth, his first and last name—then changed to his first and middle name). Strengthened by the popularity of the Homecoming video series, the Vocal Band added [[Guy Penrod]] at lead. After Pierce's departure, Gaither hired [[David Phelps]] at tenor. After Lowry's departure, Imperials alumnus [[Russ Taff]] sang baritone for a couple of years. [[Marshall Hall (singer)|Marshall Hall]] was his replacement. [[Wes Hampton]] succeeded Phelps in 2005. The group has had two number one songs on the ''[[Singing News]]'' chart. "Yes, I Know" held the top position from July to October 1997, as did "I Will Go On" in November 2006. The group has routinely performs classic Southern Gospel songs including many written by Bill and [[Gloria Gaither]] like "He Touched Me", "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary", and "Sinner Saved By Grace." ===Reunion=== In July 2008, the vocal band recorded a reunion DVD at the Gaither Studios—''The Gaither Vocal Band Reunion, Volumes 1 and 2''. Except for [[Jonathan Pierce]], Terry Franklin, and Lemuel Miller, the rest of the former and present members appear and perform. The two CDs debuted in the top two positions on Billboard’s Contemporary Christian Album chart, marking not only the Gaither Vocal Band's first No. 1 on the Christian Album chart, but also their first No. 1 debut on that chart as well. The DVDs of the same title debuted in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on the Music Video charts as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Gaither Vocal Band Receives Early Valentines|url=http://www.gospelmusicupdate.com/_news/gvbgrammybillboard.shtm|publisher=The Judy Nelon Group|accessdate=9 February 2011}}</ref> ===The quintet=== In January 2009, Marshall Hall and Guy Penrod left. Gaither brought back some former members: Michael English as lead vocal, Mark Lowry as baritone and David Phelps as high tenor. The first album by this five-member version was ''[[Reunited (Gaither Vocal Band album)|Reunited]]'', released in September 2009. It was also the first album of the vocal band ever to feature only songs written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. A live album called ''Better Day'' was released in January 2010. In August 2010, they released the long-awaited album called ''Greatly Blessed'', followed by ''I Am A Promise'', a children's album, released in August 2011. Their most recent album is ''Pure & Simple'', released in September 2012. ==Members (past and present)== {| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="width: 700px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;" |+ <big>Line-ups in eras</big> |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1981–1982 <small>(Under the Name "The New Gaither Vocal Band")</small> | * [[Steve Green (singer)|Steve Green]] – Tenor * Gary McSpadden – Lead * [[Bill Gaither (gospel singer)|Bill Gaither]] – Baritone * Lee Young – Bass | *''The New Gaither Vocal Band'' (1981) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1982–1983 | * Jon Mohr – Bass * Green – Tenor * McSpadden – Lead * Gaither – Baritone | *''Passin' the Faith Along'' (1982) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1983–1984 | * [[Larnelle Harris]] – Tenor * McSpadden – Lead * Mohr – Bass * Gaither – Baritone | *''A New Point of View'' (1984) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1985–1987 <small>(Under the Name "The Gaither Vocal Band")</small> | * [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]] – Lead * Harris – Tenor * McSpadden – Baritone * Gaither – Bass | *''One X-1'' (1986) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1987 | * Lemuel Miller – Tenor * English – Lead * McSpadden – Baritone * Gaither – Bass |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1987–1988 | * Jim Murray – Tenor * English – Lead * McSpadden – Baritone * Gaither – Bass | *''Wings'' (1988) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1988–1992 | * [[Mark Lowry]] – Baritone * English – Lead * Murray – Tenor * Gaither – Bass | *''A Few Good Men'' (1990) *''Homecoming'' (1991) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1992–1994 | * Terry Franklin – Tenor * English – Lead * Lowry – Baritone * Gaither – Bass | *''Peace of the Rock'' (1993) *''Southern Classics'' (1993) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1994–1995 | * Buddy Mullins – Lead * [[Jonathan Pierce]] – Tenor * Lowry – Baritone * Gaither – Bass | *''Testify'' (1994) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1995–1997 | * [[Guy Penrod]] – Lead * Lowry – Baritone * Pierce – Tenor * Gaither – Bass | *''Southern Classics, Vol. II'' (1995) *''Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other'' (1997) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 1997–2001 | * [[David Phelps]] – Tenor * Lowry – Baritone * Penrod – Lead * Gaither – Bass | *''Still the Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1998) *''God is Good'' (1999) *''I Do Believe'' (2000) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2001–2004 | * [[Russ Taff]] – Baritone * Penrod – Lead * Phelps – Tenor * Gaither – Bass | *''Everything Good'' (2002) *''A Capella'' (2003) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2004–2005 | * [[Marshall Hall (singer)|Marshall Hall]] – Baritone * Penrod – Lead * Phelps – Tenor * Gaither – Bass | *''The Best of the GVB'' (2004) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2005–2009 | * [[Wes Hampton]] – Tenor * Hall – Baritone * Penrod – Lead * Gaither – Bass | *''Give It Away'' (2006) *''[[Lovin’ Life]]'' (2008) *''Christmas Gaither Vocal Band Style'' (2008) |- ! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 2009–Present | * Michael English – Lead * David Phelps – First tenor * Mark Lowry – Baritone * Hampton – Second tenor * Gaither – Bass | *''[[Reunited (Gaither Vocal Band album)|Reunited]]'' (2009) *''Better Day'' (2010) *''Greatly Blessed'' (2010) *''I Am A Promise'' (2011) *''Pure & Simple'' (2012) |} <timeline> ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:77 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1980 till:31/12/2011 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:tenor1 value:rgb(0.9,0.2,0.3) legend:FirstTenor id:lead value:rgb(0.2,0.4,0.9) legend:Lead id:barit value:rgb(0.4,0.7,0.9) legend:Baritone id:bass value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) legend:Bass id:tenor2 value:rgb(0.4,0.8,0.4) legend:SecondTenor id:album value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7) legend:Albums id:scale value:rgb(0.777,0.777,1) Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1980 # gridcolor:scale LineData = width:1 at:01/07/1981 color:album layer:back # The New Gaither Vocal Band at:01/07/1982 color:album layer:back # Passin' the Faith Along at:01/07/1984 color:album layer:back # A New Point of View at:01/07/1986 color:album layer:back # One X-1 at:01/07/1988 color:album layer:back # Wings at:01/07/1990 color:album layer:back # A Few Good Men at:01/07/1991 color:album layer:back # Homecoming at:01/07/1993 color:album layer:back # Peace of the Rock at:01/07/1993 color:album layer:back # Southern Classics at:01/07/1994 color:album layer:back # Testify at:01/07/1995 color:album layer:back # Southern Classics, Vol. 2 at:09/09/1997 color:album layer:back # Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other at:01/07/1998 color:album layer:back # Still The Greatest Story Ever Told at:18/05/1999 color:album layer:back # God Is Good at:24/10/2000 color:album layer:back # I Do Believe at:13/08/2002 color:album layer:back # Everything Good at:30/09/2003 color:album layer:back # A Capella at:21/09/2004 color:album layer:back # The Best of the GVB at:24/01/2006 color:album layer:back # Give It Away at:15/04/2008 color:album layer:back # Lovin' Life at:30/09/2008 color:album layer:back # Christmas Gaither Vocal Band Style at:08/09/2009 color:album layer:back # Reunited at:01/07/2010 color:album layer:back # Better Day at:10/08/2010 color:album layer:back # Greatly Blessed TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy PlotData = textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(3,-5) width:15 bar:B.Gaither from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1984 color:barit bar:B.Gaither from:01/07/1984 till:31/12/2011 color:bass bar:S.Green from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1983 color:tenor1 bar:G.McSpadden from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1984 color:lead bar:G.McSpadden from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1988 color:barit bar:L.Young from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1982 color:bass bar:J.Mohr from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1984 color:bass bar:L.Harris from:01/07/1983 till:01/04/1987 color:tenor1 bar:M.English from:01/07/1984 till:01/04/1994 color:lead bar:M.English from:01/07/2009 till:31/12/2011 color:lead bar:L.Miller from:01/04/1987 till:01/08/1987 color:tenor1 bar:J.Murray from:01/08/1987 till:01/07/1992 color:tenor1 bar:M.Lowry from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/2001 color:barit bar:M.Lowry from:01/07/2009 till:31/12/2011 color:barit bar:T.Franklin from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1994 color:tenor1 bar:J.Pierce from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1997 color:tenor1 bar:B.Mullins from:01/04/1994 till:01/08/1994 color:lead bar:G.Penrod from:01/08/1994 till:31/12/2008 color:lead bar:D.Phelps from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/2005 color:tenor1 bar:D.Phelps from:01/07/2009 till:31/12/2011 color:tenor1 bar:R.Taff from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2004 color:barit bar:M.Hall from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2009 color:barit bar:W.Hampton from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2009 color:tenor1 bar:W.Hampton from:01/07/2009 till:31/12/2011 color:tenor2 </timeline> ==Discography== {{main|Gaither Vocal Band discography}} ==Awards== ===Grammys=== *1991: Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel or Bluegrass Gospel for ''Homecoming'' *2008: Best Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel for ''[[Lovin' Life]]'' ===GMA Dove Awards=== ====Southern Gospel Album of the Year==== *1992: ''Homecoming'' *1994: ''Southern Classics'' *1999: ''Still the Greatest Story Ever Told'' *2000: ''God Is Good'' *2001: ''I Do Believe'' *2007: ''[[Give It Away (Gaither Vocal Band album)|Give It Away]]'' *2009: ''[[Lovin' Life]]'' *2010: ''[[Reunited (Gaither Vocal Band album)|Reunited]]'' *2010: ''Greatly Blessed'' ====Southern Gospel Song of the Year==== *1993: "Satisfied" *1994: "I Bowed On My Knees" *1999: "I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary" *2001: "God Is Good All The Time" *2002: "He's Watching Me" *2007: "Give It Away" *2011: "Better Day" ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.gaither.com/artists/gaither-vocal-band/ Official Gaither Vocal Band page on Gaither Music site] {{Gaither Vocal Band}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaither Vocal Band, The}} [[Category:American Christian musical groups]] [[Category:Southern Gospel performers]] [[Category:Grammy Award-winning artists]] [[es:Gaither Vocal Band]] [[it:Gaither Vocal Band]] [[nl:Gaither Vocal Band]] [[pt:Gaither Vocal Band]]'