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The Imperials
The Imperials are an American Christian music group that has been active for over 55 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There have been many changes for the band in membership and musical styles over the years. They would go on to win four Grammys, 15 Dove Awards and be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Group history Jake Hess and the Imperials The band had its genesis when long-time Statesmen Quartet member Jake Hess retired from that group on December 7, 1963. Southern Gospel News.com article Accessed May 5, 2008 Hess wanted to start a new group recognized as "king" of the Southern gospel field and thought the "Imperials" would be a good moniker. After getting the go-ahead from Marion Snider for permission to use the name (Snider had previously operated an Imperial Quartet named after its sponsor Imperial Sugar), he gathered together pianist Henry Slaughter fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russ Taff
Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contemporary country music, and rhythm and blues. He first gained recognition as lead vocalist for the Imperials (1976–81). One of his best-known performances is the song "Praise the Lord". He has also been a member of the Gaither Vocal Band, and occasionally tours with Bill Gaither in the Gaither Homecoming concerts. As a solo artist and songwriter, Taff is known for the 1980s anthem "We Will Stand". Taff has received various Dove and Grammy awards either as a solo artist or part of a larger musical group, most notably the Imperials. Early life Russ Taff was born to Joe and Ann Taff on November 11, 1953, the fourth of five sons, and grew up in Farmersville, California. Taff's father was a pastor of a small Pentecostal church - the Eastside Taber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherman Andrus
Sherman Andrus (born June 23, 1942) is an American gospel singer, who is probably best known as the man who broke the "color barrier" by becoming the first African-American lead singer of a mainstream Christian music group (The Imperials). He has been a very prolific artist who has been involved in one way or another with forty gospel albums to date.http://www.shermanandrus.com/Biography2.html, paragraph 1. Retrieved June 17, 2008. Biography Andrus began in gospel music by singing with his mother's gospel group in his boyhood hometown of Mermentau, Louisiana.http://www.shermanandrus.com/Biography2.html, paragraph 4. Retrieved June 17, 2008. His next step came with a band called COGICs named after the denomination of the church that the band's founder, Andrae Crouch, attended (Church of God in Christ). Andrus continued his association with Crouch as he formed the popular contemporary Christian music act Andrae Crouch and the Disciples in 1964. That group would not only gain notor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Warming Records
Heart Warming was a gospel record label started by John T. Benson Jr. Heart Warming and their chief rival Canaan Records (owned by Word Records) were arguably the two biggest and best gospel labels in their time. The Oak Ridge Boys, Jd Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, Jake Hess & The Imperials, Dottie Rambo, Bill Gaither Trio and Speer Family all signed to it and had many recordings on it. The Cathedral Quartet produced two of their most popular albums on it With Brass and With Strings. Producers for the label included Bob Benson (John Benson's son), Bob MacKenzie (died Oct. 20, 2000), and Don Light. Bob MacKenzie in particular produced some of the best gospel albums of that era and some of the best albums of the groups above. Eventually the Benson company dropped the Heart Warming label instead having RiverSong be the southern gospel division and Impact Records and later Benson labels be their contemporary labels. Finally in 2006 it was announced that Heart Warming, along wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benson Records
Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, RiverSong, StarSong, Power Discs and Home Sweet Home. In the 1970s, Impact became the top label with artists such as New Dawn, the Imperials, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, the Rambos, Dottie Rambo, the Archers, the Bill Gaither Trio, the Speer Family and Sandi Patty (her Impact catalog is owned by Word Records). History In 1980, Paragon Associates formed a partnership with Zondervan to own/operate Benson Records. Paragon Assoc. was founded in 1975, by Bob MacKenzie and Bill Gaither (gospel singer). Paragon sold its interest to Zondervan in 1983, where under the leadership of Bob Jones, Jr. saw the Benson company grow even bigger in the 1980s. Artists included Gold City, The Kingsmen Quartet, DeGarmo & Key, Dallas Holm, and others ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speer Family
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn (1902–1979) and Logan Claborn (William Logan Claborn; 1896–1981). Harold Lane was also member of this group Early years Both George Thomas and Lena came from musical families. G.T. and Lena began the group to supplement their income, which otherwise came from farming. Before them, almost all gospel groups were made up solely of men. The Speer Family are considered pioneers in featuring women singers. Within two years, the group had become so successful that G.T. Speer decided to make the group full-time. In the late 1920s, the group established a working relationship with the James David Vaughan Music Company, selling songbooks. However, the group's success proved to be insufficient to support two families' budgets. In 1925, Logan and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country music.Carter, Walter"Oak Ridge Boys: Inducted 2015," 2015, (adapted from the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's ''Encyclopedia of Country Music,'' Oxford University Press) Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, retrieved September 6, 2020"Country Music Hall Of Fame Inductees: Jim Ed Bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weatherford Quartet
The Weatherfords (also Weatherford Quartet and Weatherford Trio) is an American southern gospel music vocal group. The Weatherfords were formed by husband and wife Earl Weatherford and Lily Weatherford, who began singing together in the mid-1940s in Long Beach, California, after their marriage in 1944. Earl had founded the group prior to this as an all-male troupe, and Lily began filling in on the tenor parts in 1948, eventually becoming the group's most visible member. They moved several times over the next few decades, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, Akron, Ohio, Fontana and Sacramento, California (as part of the staff of Calvary Temple), and Paoli, Oklahoma. The group sang on California radio stations ( KFOX- KBGR-KBIG ) in the 1940s, and was offered a full-time spot on radio station WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1949. In the 1950s, they recorded for RCA Victor. In 1959, The quartet's ''In The Garden'' album for RCA was produced by Chet Atkins, and also featured guitar work by Atk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Slaughter
Henry Thaxton Slaughter (January 9, 1927 – November 13, 2020) was an American Southern gospel pianist and singer-songwriter. He won five Dove Awards, and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Since the 1940s, he worked with such memorable groups as the Stamps-Ozark Quartet, The Weatherford Quartet (1958–61), The Imperials (1964–66), and since the 1970s as Henry and Hazel Slaughter, including numerous appearances with Bill Gaither, the Gaither Praise Gatherings, and the Gaither Homecoming series. Biography Slaughter was born on a tobacco farm near Roxboro, North Carolina, to parents Moses "Chummie" and Lila Slaughter. At the age of seven Slaughter was able to take piano lessons. Until then, he had health issues, including a heart murmur and scarlet fever. After graduating from high school with honors, he attended the Stamps-Baxter School of Music in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After a few months there, he was called to join the Army in World War II. In the 1940s, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. The company was established in 1843 and has undergone ownership changes multiple times. The current name, Imperial Sugar Company, was established after a change in ownership in 1907. The company went through major expansion through acquisitions beginning in 1988, but filed for bankruptcy in 2001, emerging in the same year and embarking on a downsizing strategy. In May of 2012, the company was purchased by Louis Dreyfus Group of the Netherlands. History The company has been headquartered in Sugar Land since its inception. The city itself is named for the company and the company's crown logo is featured in the city's seal. The company was founded in 1843 by Samuel May Williams and passed through a series of owners until its purchase in 1907 by the I. H. Kempner family of Galveston. The company was later renamed the Im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statesmen Quartet
The Statesmen Quartet (also known as Hovie Lister and The Statesmen Quartet) were an American southern gospel quartet founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered the most successful and influential gospel quartet of the 1950s and 1960s and had a wide influence on artists during that time from the gospel, country, pop, and rock and roll genre. Along with hits spanning many decades, The Statesmen Quartet had many notable successes including being the first Gospel group to receive endorsement deals. Additionally, they made television commercials, appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, and were signed to RCA Victor before launching their own record label, Skylite Records, with The Blackwood Brothers. Formation (1948) The Statesmen Quartet was founded in 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia by Hovie Lister, a Baptist minister and convention-style piano player. Lister constructed the quartet as a hand-picked group o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Music Hall Of Fame
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a Hall of Fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music. Inductees This is an incomplete list of those inducted into the GMA's Gospel Music Hall of Fame, listed alphabetically with the year of induction. Many of these were honored posthumously for their contribution in gospel music. Individuals * Lee Roy Abernathy (1973) * Bentley D. Ackley (1991) * Yolanda Adams (2017) * Doris Akers (2001) * Charles M. Alexander (1991) * Bill "Hoss" Allen (2010) * Brown Bannister (2014) * Cliff Barrows (1988) * E.M. Bartlett, Sr. (1973) * Clarice Baxter (1981) * J. R. Baxter (1973) * Les Beasley (1989) * Samuel W. Beazley (1992) * George Bennard (1976) * John T. Benson, Jr. (1981) * John T. Benson, Sr. (1982) * John T. Benson III (2006) * Robert "Bob" Benson, Sr. (1991) * James Blackwood, Sr. (1974) * P. P. Bliss (1989) * Pat Boon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the music industry worldwide. It was originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone. The Grammys are the first of the Big Three networks' major music awards held annually, and is considered one of the four major annual American entertainment awards, alongside the Academy Awards (for films), the Emmy Awards (for television), and the Tony Awards (for theater). The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor the musical accomplishments of performers for the year 1958. After the 2011 ceremony, the Recording Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. History The Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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