Singing his praise

Bill Gaither, a Southern gospel singer/songwriter, is still making music at 85

Bill Gaither (left) and the Gaither Vocal Band and other singers will be performing at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock on Oct. 2.
(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Bill Gaither (left) and the Gaither Vocal Band and other singers will be performing at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock on Oct. 2. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

Bill Gaither has made his mark on American culture over the past half century, claiming space not only on the Billboard charts but also in The Baptist Hymnal, among others.

At its peak, the Gaither Homecoming Series dominated America's music video sales charts and helped pack its performance halls.

He and his wife, Gloria, were named Christian songwriters of the century by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Their albums have sold by the tens of millions.

After decades of success, Bill Gaither remains, at 85, a creative dynamo, recording new music while also reviving old standards.

He's touring the country, too, along with the Gaither Vocal Band; the group is set to sing at Immanuel Baptist Church in October.

There'll be plenty of other performers taking the stage as well. Kevin Williams, Gene McDonald, Ladye Love Smith, Greg Ritchie, Matthew Holt and Kevin Moore are also expected to appear.

Gaither isn't a Southern Baptist, though they'd happily sign him up.

He got his start, musically, in the Church of the Nazarene and was later associated with the Church of God of Anderson, Ind.

His melodies and his lyrics would eventually be embraced by American Protestants of all stripes -- and plenty of Catholics, as well.

"Bill Gaither is a legend in Christian music. His name is synonymous with Southern gospel and with some of the great songs that we have been singing over the last 40 years," said Jason Breland, Immanuel's worship pastor.

There are four Gaither hymns, by Breland's count, in the Sunday songbook favored by Southern Baptists: "Because He Lives," "There's Just Something About That Name," "The King Is Coming" and "The Family of God."

Plenty of other hymnbooks, Breland said, would yield similar results.

Millions of Americans have sung Gaither's songs. Many of them know each note and remember the words of each chorus.

"He's written hundreds of songs that have been published and printed," Breland said. "His writing and his music have had a global impact."

The Gaither Homecoming Series introduced Southern gospel legends to a new generation of Americans, capturing an audience in the millions.

"Bill Gaither," Billboard Magazine wrote at the time, "has done for gospel music what MTV did for rock."

DRAWN TO THE BIBLE BELT

Gaither grew up in the Hoosier State, and continues to live in Alexandria, Ind., a town of 5,149 people, roughly 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

But he was drawn, early on, to the rhythms and rhymes of the Bible Belt.

The attraction, it turns out, was mutual.

"We love Arkansas and for some reason they seem to love us, so it's always good to come back," Gaither said.

While still in college, he formed the Gaither Trio along with his younger brother, Danny, and his baby sister, Mary Ann.

In Arkansas and elsewhere, Southern gospel fans greeted his music enthusiastically.

He was 20 years old, or thereabouts, the first time he was invited to Central Arkansas.

"We started coming to Little Rock back way before you were born," Gaither told the Democrat-Gazette's Generation X religion editor. "We started coming to Little Rock back in '56, '57, '58."

"By that time, we were getting a little success and people outside the state [of Indiana] were calling us, and Arkansas was one of them. A lot of good memories and a lot of good friends in the Little Rock area," he said.

"Originally, we'd come to the old Barton ... Coliseum? Is that still there?" he asked. (It is.)

Eventually, he would marry Gloria Lee Sickal, teaming up to write and sing some of the century's best-loved gospel songs.

By the time the Gaither Homecoming Series reached it peak, the Gaithers had moved up to the Alltel Arena (now Simmons Bank Arena) in North Little Rock.

'FIT LIKE A GLOVE'

These days, Gaither continues to perform with the Gaither Vocal Band, joining forces with fellow vocalists Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles and Reggie Smith.

The Grammy-winning group has been performing since the 1980s, although its membership has evolved over the years.

"I've played probably [with] 16 different personnel," Gaither said. "I think all the singers that we've had have been quite good and quite outstanding."

The current group has incredible chemistry, he said.

"This particular bunch is just amazing to me. They fit like a glove," he said after wrapping up a recording session in Nashville earlier this month.

'WE'LL GET STARTED'

"We were there all day today. And by the end of the day, hugged each other, and said 'Hey, I'll see you tomorrow,'" he said. "Yesterday we did tracks, and tomorrow we'll do some vocals. We won't get nearly all of it done but we'll get started."

Gaither has lost count of the precise numbers of albums he has made. Dozens, at least. The music remains strong and the work is still enjoyable, he said.

Asked the difference between performing in a church and a cavernous sporting arena, Gaither said the religious settings more than hold their own.

"These days, some of these new sanctuaries are better equipped than the city-owned [venues.] They have so much good technical stuff. ... I am amazed sometimes," he said.

In many locations, "it used to be pews and now it's individual seating. The video equipment they have, it's just extra good," he said.

"It's a more intimate [setting] than a coliseum," he said.

In a sporting arena, "it's fun and I enjoy it and we've done a ton of them. But I'll be honest with you, there's less stress in the church because everybody is so close and it just a more intimate situation, I think," he said.

MORE THAT UNITES US

Asked what he wants his audience to walk away with, Gaither said: "Hope. Optimism."

"It's no secret that the culture is pretty divided these days. I think we've always been a uniting factor. I don't know who said it first, [but] there are more things that unite us than those things that divide us. I believe that," he said.

Retirement isn't in Gaither's repertoire.

"I've been asked a question many times: 'Why are you still doing this?' And it's very simple, and Little Rock is one of the reasons. I fell in love with this music style, which basically came out of the Southland, out of Dallas ... out of Atlanta ... Little Rock. I mean, those folks were doing this kind of music way before we were getting it up in Indiana."

On the farm where he grew up, the airwaves introduced him to Southern gospel.

"I heard it on the radio and I loved the four-part harmony, and I loved the music style and I loved the vocals. And I'm not the only one," he said. "Elvis Presley grew up in that area and fell in love with the same kind of [music.]"

The Tupelo, Miss., native, who grew up in the Assemblies of God, recognized the Indiana native's talents early on, and recorded a Gaither composition, "He Touched Me," a half-century ago.

Southern gospel sounds are sensational, but the lyrics matter, too, Gaither noted.

"I just believe in the message. I just believe that Christ can still make a difference in a family; I think he can still make a difference in a life," he said.

RESTORES THE SOUL

The positive music, Gaither believes, not only restores the soul, but also renews the mind.

"At my age, I look at people who are aging, and I think people who age with a faith, they just age better. There's not as much bitterness and cynicism," he said.

After listening to Southern gospel music for three-quarters of a century, or close to it, Gaither is still in love with the genre.

"You never get it out of your system," he said.

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Gaither Vocal Band

When: 6 p.m. Oct. 2

Where: Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock

Tickets: General admission tickets $30; senior citizens 60 and up $27.

Ticket information is available at tinyurl.com/3t3swt4w.

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