Gospel Singing Jubilee

Thanks to Terri Cleveland for reminding me about the Gospel Singing Jubilee. I can’t believe I could write an article about Sundays in my childhood without mentioning that TV show. Watching it was undoubtedly a part of our household routine on Sunday mornings. I can’t say for sure, but I have a theory. Terri remembered because she can sing, quite well, in fact. On the other hand, I can’t sing a lick – as the old folks used to say, “couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.”

To be completely honest, I have never been a fan of traditional hymns. There are a few that I love, like “It Is Well” and “A Mighty Fortress,” but those are exceptions. That did not bode well for a kid growing up in Dutchtown in the 1960s because you were going to be in church, and that was all the singing you were going to hear. That began to change as we approached the 1970s and beyond. I think much of that was due to the “Gospel Singing Jubilee.”

The show was initially hosted by Les Beasley of The Florida boys. Some of the groups were traditional all-male quartets, like The Florida Boys and the Inspirations. But, there were many other family groups like The Hinsons, The Happy Goodmans, and The Hemphills where women were also featured. I may not have paid much attention to Southern Gospel had it not been for the Gospel Singing Jubilee. I thought if you got on TV, you must be excellent. You have to remember we didn’t have 500 channels back then. We had three, and they didn’t even broadcast 24-hours a day.

Another factor was probably that momma and daddy took us to many gospel singings. It wasn’t easy to be in that environment and not be impressed with the musical abilities on display. I guess the number one reason we went to Atlanta was to attend Southern Gospel concerts where a handful of groups would be there for a long night of music. I remember being allowed to run up and down the ramps after intermission, just a bunch of kids running loose while the music played on. I suppose you could do that back then without any worries. You probably wouldn’t think of it today, even in that kind of crowd.

But even if we didn’t travel to see them, sometimes these big-time gospel groups came to us. Many of them appeared at County Line Church. They would come in their colossal tour buses. Sometimes a third of the church would be filled with them and their fancy equipment. They had sound systems that were big enough to raise the roof if they had wanted. They were good, they were loud, and I loved it. After the music was over, they would load back up and get ready for the next town. If you hung around, they might let you carry a mike stand or something trivial and maybe let you think you were part of it all, if only for a moment. I don’t say too much when I’m out, and I said even less back then. You might mistake that for disinterest, but I am usually taking it all in and quite interested in just about any environment. From  watching these gospel singers up close and personal, I determined they weren’t much different from Dutchtown folk. They were regular people doing the best they could with what God had given them…and doing it well.