Bluegrass & Southern Gospel Music

My Tribute to the Gaithers

As many of you already know, I am a Gaither fan. The Gaither Vocal Band has been one of Gospel music’s most prolific success story over the past 30 years. I actually rate the recent line up of Bill Gaither, Guy Penrod, David Phelps, and Marshall Hall as the very best GVB ever – although substituting Russ Taff for Marshall Hall will make it a close run thing. The outstanding talent of these four or five guys has inspired and thrilled me beyond measure. Yet, more than that, the words of the songs themselves speak of the raw faith that drives Bill & Gloria Gaither to keep the band going year after year after year.

To see their concert venue DVD’s is simply amazing. Sure the humour is so corny it is chronic – except when Mark Lowry is doing it. To see the quartet I nominated singing Alpha and Omega is breathtaking. You see, they don’t do it standing together. They are on a circular platform and they stand at the compass points about as far away from each other as they can get. Now I have sung some of this stuff and believe me, when singing in a close harmony quartet, you all watch each other closely if for no other reason than timing. To stand as they do to render this song must take hours of practice and total trust in each other. Also, we had perhaps their most beautiful accapella rendering of ‘Oh Love that will not let me go’ at our wedding last year.

Taking away all the razzamatazz and looking a little deeper into their music, I have found two songs with real penetration. Songs that can pierce the heart and cause a sinner to cry to the Lord. Songs that convict you and bring you to repentance.

Words like these :-

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

© William & Gloria Gaither

Jesus Jesus Jesus, there's just

something about that name.

Master, Saviour, Jesus, like the

fragrance after the rain

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and

earth proclaim

Kings and kingdoms all will pass away

But there's something about that Name!

Or these

He Touched me

©2002 William & Gloria Gaither

Shackled by a heavy burden,

'Neath a load of guilt and shame.

Then the hand of Jesus touched me,

And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,

And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know,

He touched me and made me whole.

Since I met this blessed Savior,

Since He cleansed and made me whole,

I will never cease to praise Him,

I'll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,

And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know

He touched me and made me whole.

Wonderful songs, wonderfully sung – a fantastic asset to any outreach or revival meeting where the Gospel is preached and souls are sought for salvation. The anointing on them is simply amazing.