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'{{Refimprove|date=February 2011}} {{Primary sources|date=February 2011}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | Name = Gaither Vocal Band | Img = | Img_capt = | Img_size = | Landscape = | Background = group_or_band | Alias = | Origin = | Genre = [[Christian music|Christian]], [[Southern Gospel]], [[contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]] | Years_active = Early 1980s–present | Label = Spring Hill Music Group | Associated_acts = [[Ernie Haase & Signature Sound]], [[Larnelle Harris]], [[Russ Taff]] | URL = http://www.gaither.com/artists/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 a Grammy-winning [[Southern Gospel]] (originally [[contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]]) group. ==History== {{Original research|date=February 2011}} The Gaither Vocal Band was formed in the early 1980s on the spur of the moment before a concert. Their debut album, the self titled ''The New Gaither Vocal Band'', debuted in 1981.<ref>[http://www.gaither.com/artists/gaither-vocal-band/ Artist Bio]</ref> 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. At this point the New Gaither Vocal Band became new, but dropped the "new" part of their name. Due to baritone becoming high for Bill and lead becoming high for Gary McSpadden, Bill Gaither dropped to the lowest part (Bill stated they never called it bass at the time as it wasn't a true bass part). McSpadden was moved down to baritone and [[Michael English (singer)|Michael English]] was hired as the new lead singer. 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. They 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 to focus solely on his ever growing solo career. He was replaced by Buddy Mullins, who agreed to sing with the group while concurrently remaining with his family group, Mullins & Co., which later became ''Sunday Drive''. Despite being only a temporary fill-in, Mullins did record the album "Testify" with the group, in place of Michael English, who had initially planned to record that album with the group. Terry Franklin soon left and was replaced by yet another Imperials alumnus, [[Jonathan Pierce]] (formerly known by his first and last name Jonathan Hildreth instead of his first and middle name as he has been known since he began recording). Strengthened by the popularity of the Homecoming video series, the Vocal Band added [[Guy Penrod]] at lead, freeing Mullins to concentrate solely on his family group. 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. When Taff returned to solo work, [[Marshall Hall]] was his replacement. [[Wes Hampton]] succeeded Phelps in 2005. During the 1990s and into the first few years of the 21st century, the Gaither Vocal Band mastered the art of mixing classic [[southern gospel]] with [[Country music|country]] and Inspirational styles. This gave the group a broad fan base that reached beyond the typical domain of Southern Gospel. 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. Other popular tunes by the Gaither Vocal Band include "Temporary Home," "Let Freedom Ring," "Count On Me," "The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor," and "When Jesus Says It's Enough." The group 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." ===Recent times=== In July of 2008, the vocal band recorded a reunion DVD at the Gaither Studios—''The Gaither Vocal Band Reunion, Volumes 1 and 2''. It was released on CD format in January 2009. All of the former members were there except for Jonathan Pierce, Terry Franklin, and Lemuel Miller. 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> In January of 2009, Marshall Hall and Guy Penrod (starting a solo career) left the Gaither Vocal Band. Gaither brought back some members of the past, namely Michael English as lead vocal, Mark Lowry as baritone and David Phelps as high tenor, joining Wes Hampton, whom Gaither described as occupying that "sweet spot" between tenor and lead. 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. In August of 2010, they released the long-awaited album called ''Greatly Blessed''. On February 18–19, 2011 they will be having a tour in South Africa. ==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>'''Gaither Vocal Band line-ups</big> |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1980–1982 <small>(Under the Name "The New Gaither Vocal Band")</small> | *'''[[Steve Green (singer)|Steve Green]]''' - Tenor *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Lead *'''Bill Gaither''' - Baritone *'''Lee Young''' - Bass | *''The New Gaither Vocal Band'' (1981) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1982–1983 | *'''Steve Green''' - Tenor *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Lead *'''Bill Gaither''' - Baritone *'''Jon Mohr''' - Bass | *''Passin' the Faith Along'' (1982) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1983–1984 | *'''[[Larnelle Harris]]''' - Tenor *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Lead *'''Bill Gaither''' - Baritone *'''Jon Mohr''' - Bass | *''A New Point of View'' (1984) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1984–1987 <small>(Under the Name "The Gaither Vocal Band")</small> | *'''Larnelle Harris''' - Tenor *'''[[Michael English]]''' - Lead *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''One X-1'' (1986) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1987 | *'''Lemuel Miller''' - Tenor *'''Michael English''' - Lead *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1987–1988 | *'''Jim Murray''' - Tenor *'''Michael English''' - Lead *'''Gary McSpadden''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Wings'' (1988) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1988–1992 | *'''Jim Murray''' - Tenor *'''Michael English''' - Lead *'''[[Mark Lowry]]''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''A Few Good Men'' (1990) *''Homecoming'' (1991) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1992–1994 | *'''Terry Franklin''' - Tenor *'''Michael English''' - Lead *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Peace of the Rock'' (1993) *''Southern Classics'' (1993) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1994 | *'''[[Jonathan Pierce]]''' - Tenor *'''Buddy Mullins''' - Lead *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Testify'' (1994) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1994–1997 | *'''Jonathan Pierce''' - Tenor *'''[[Guy Penrod]]''' - Lead *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Southern Classics, Vol. II'' (1995) *''Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other'' (1997) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1997–2001 | *'''[[David Phelps]]''' - Tenor *'''Guy Penrod''' - Lead *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Still the Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1998) *''God is Good'' (1999) *''I Do Believe'' (2000) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 2001–2004 | *'''David Phelps''' - Tenor *'''Guy Penrod''' - Lead *'''[[Russ Taff]]''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Everything Good'' (2002) *''A Capella'' (2003) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 2004–2005 | *'''David Phelps''' - Tenor *'''Guy Penrod''' - Lead *'''[[Marshall Hall]]''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''The Best of the GVB'' (2004) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 2005–2009 | *'''Wes Hampton''' - Tenor *'''Guy Penrod''' - Lead *'''David Phelps''' - Tenor (Only in concerts with GVB) *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone (Only in concerts with GVB) *'''Reggie Smith''' (Only in December concert with GVB) *'''[[Jason Crabb]]''' - Lead (Only in November concerts with GVB) *'''Marshall Hall''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''Give It Away'' (2006) *''[[Lovin’ Life]]'' (2008) *''Christmas Gaither Vocal Band Style'' (2008) |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 2009–Present | *'''David Phelps''' - First Tenor *'''Wes Hampton''' - Second Tenor *'''Michael English''' - Lead *'''Mark Lowry''' - Baritone *'''Bill Gaither''' - Bass | *''[[Reunited (Gaither Vocal Band album)|Reunited]]'' (2009) *''Better Day'' (2010) *''Greatly Blessed'' (2010) |- |} <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(0.4,0.5,0.9) 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]]'' ====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" ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.gaither.com/artists/gaither-vocal-band/ Gaither Vocal Band page on Gaither Music site] {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaither Vocal Band, The}} [[Category:American Christian musical groups]] [[Category:Southern gospel performers]] [[Category:Grammy Award winners]] [[es:Gaither Vocal Band]] [[it:Gaither Vocal Band]] [[pt:Gaither Vocal Band]]'