The Gospel Harmony Boys
GHB Convention Showcase
November, 2009
Harmony Boys' showcase at NQC, 2009
The National Quartet Convention in Louisville each year means a lot of long hours on your feet and short nights in a hotel, but more importantly, it means getting to meet lots of new friends, visiting with some past GHB members, and getting to spend time with many friends we don’t get to see nearly often enough. In the midst of all that, we even found time to conduct a bit of business, booking dates, promoting the group and moving a few CDs. But the time with other artists and all of the folks who came by the GHB booth to say hello was the true highlight of the week.
Clacy and Greg manned the GHB booth most of the week and we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Dean Adkins and David Miller. These are two of SGMs most avid record collectors (we’re talking vinyl here). David always has a huge music store at NQC where he makes some wonderful vintage gospel music available to folks who attend the convention. Dean is his right arm and together I truly believe they can answer nearly any question you might think of regarding SGM. One thing for sure, if you don’t want to know, don’t ask.
Ron Booth, Sr., Steve Black (GHB lead 1988/1990, Dave Kyllonen, Neil Enloe, and Clacy
One of the best times of the week was the opportunity to become better acquainted with Joel Borg, lead singer for Kings Hearlds. Though we’ve know Jeff Pearls for several years, it was a pleasure to talk with Joel and share our open and honest convictions about our faith. Joel was truly a joy to be around. It was inspiring to talk with him about our relationships with the Lord and share a few moments in prayer together. Former GHB lead singer, Steve Black 1988/1990, joined in that conversation and we look forward to our next opportunity to share with Joel.
The Little River Trio
Just down the aisle from the GHBs booth was a group of folks that appeared to be a family. It was a real pleasure to get to know them, the Michael Williamson family who are also known as the Little River Trio. Michael and his sons, Colton and Trenton make up the trio but I was impressed with the true family support and cohesiveness we observed. I hope we’ll get to see a lot more of our new friends from Mississippi.
Another highlight of the week was a wonderful opportunity to visit with our old friends from the Couriers, Neal Enloe and Dave Kyllonen. We were joined by the elder Ronnie Booth for a great visit and some NQC chicken back in the snack bar area of the exhibit hall. We ran into them again a few weeks later at the SGM Hall of Fame induction where Neal, along with Harold Lane, became enshrined in the Hall.
Our internet friend, Fernando Mendez, Clacy, and Luciano (Clacy is the one not from Brazil)
Another exciting moment during the week was when Fernando Mendez, an email pal and GHB friend from Brazil, came by the booth with and his friend Luciano. These guys are true gospel music fans and came from Sao Vincente, Brazil to attend the convention. Fernando became a friend through the internet where he heard the GHBs and got in touch with us regarding some of our personnel. He and Luciano have a group in Brazil and I am looking forward to hearing them as soon as they send me a CD or tape (get the hint Fernando).
Clacy swaps CD's with Bobby Clark
Of course it’s always a pleasure to visit with Bobby Clark. Bobby is, without question or doubt, one of the greatest tenors to ever step on a gospel music stage. We first met Bobby during his tenure with the Cathedral Quartet when they were part of the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, OH. More recently, Bobby did a marvelous job with the Men of Music out of Texas. If you haven’t ever, I hope you will soon make the opportunity to hear Bobby. Get some old codger like Clacy or Greg to loan you a vintage piece of Cathedral vinyl (particularly the “With Brass” or “With Strings” albums) to hear one of the finest tenor vocals ever recorded.
GHB encore at NQC Artist Showcase
The GHBs were privileged to be asked to perform on the NQC Artist Showcase on Saturday afternoon where we had the opportunity to sing to a wonderful crowd who obviously enjoyed great gospel music. At the conclusion of our performance, we were asked back to the stage to encore our set. It was a wonderful, yet humbling experience and we praise God for the opportunity to represent Him to all those folk. You can view some video of this event from here.
If you’ve read this far let me say thanks for sticking in there with me. There were lots of other wonderful things that happened and friendly folk that we ran into at NQC this year. Some we’ll spare you, like the score card from Clacy’s golf outing with Scott and Nathan Wiley from the Gospel Barn in Hillsdale, Michigan. But a few others are pictured in the NQC gallery. There are even some photos from the Artist Showcase. I hope you will take a bit more of your valuable time to browse through and vicariously enjoy our week with us. It was truly an honor to spend it with many of the folks who make gospel music what it is today, the fans who enjoy, the promoters who provide, and artists who serve.
