The fourth Gospel Music Association (GMA) Music Awards were held in 1972 for accomplishments of musicians for the year 1972.

Background

An indication that gospel music was fast approaching professionalism was a bona fide scandal over GMA's 1971 Dove Awards. The incident involved one of gospel music's premier groups,

The Blackwood Brothers The Blackwood Brothers are an American southern gospel quartet. Pioneers of the Christian music industry, they are 8-time Grammy Award winners in addition to winning 7 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. They are also members of the Memphi ...

, who had captured nine out of fourteen awards. They were accused of having conducted an extensive campaign to enlist new members to the GMA and to encourage members to vote for particular award nominees in the Dove Award balloting. Though no specific bylaw of the organization had been broken, the tactic created an industrywide concern over "voting irregularities and ethical ballot influence and solicitation." The GMA Board voted to nullify the entire process, thereby invalidating all the awards that had been presented at the October 8, 1971, banquet held in Nashville. Also, a committee was formed to adjust the voting process with "safeguards to prevent any future irregularities in Dove Awards balloting."

James Blackwood James Webre Blackwood (August 4, 1919 – February 3, 2002) was an American gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers. He is the only person in any field of music to have been nomi ...

issued a statement in support of the organization's decision and strongly urged all other participants in the Dove Awards to subscribe and adhere to the code of ethics to be set forth by the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

Compilation album

Canaan Records Canaan Records is a Christian record label and is a subsidiary of Word Entertainment. History The label was started in 1965, by Marvin Norcross, for the label's Southern gospel quartets. Their biggest artist to date is the Happy Goodman Fa ...

of Waco, Texas, issued a long play album of nominated recordings titled ''The Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards Nominations for the Gospel Song of 1972'' (CAS-9732-LP Stereo). Tracks on the recording are given in this table:

Award recipients

Song of the Year *"The Lighthouse"; Ron Hinson; Journey Music (BMI) Songwriter of the Year * Bill Gaither Male Vocalist of the Year *

Female Vocalist of the Year * Sue Chenault Male Group of the Year *

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 chang ...

Mixed Group of the Year *

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 (1 ...

Most Promising New Gospel Talent * London Parris and the Apostles Album of the Year *''

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

'';

; Bob MacKenzie, Heart Warming Instrumentalist * Tony Brown Backliner Notes *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

; ''Light''; Oak Ridge Boys Cover Photo or Cover Art * Bill Grine; ''Street Gospel''; Oak Ridge Boys Graphic Layout and Design * Ace Lehman; ''L-O-V-E Love''; Blackwood Brothers Television Program *''Gospel Jubilee'',

Florida Boys The Florida Boys were a male vocal quartet in Southern gospel music. The group was founded in 1946 by J. G. Whitfield. Originally named The Gospel Melody Quartet, the group was renamed in 1954. From the 1950s until 2007, the group was led by Les ...

D.J. of the Year *

J. G. Whitfield Jesse Gillis Whitfield (1915–2006), also known as J.G. or Whit, was a gospel musician, music promoter, and member of the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. Biography After serving in the Air Force, Whitfield worked in the grocery ...

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20111114195042/http://www.doveawards.com/history.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Dove Awards Of 1972 GMA Dove Awards 1972 music awards

GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

1972 in American music GMA