Gene McDonald is an American bass singer and was the bass vocalist for the

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 ...

southern gospel quartet from 1998 to 2007.

Biography

Early years

McDonald's roots in gospel music began when he traveled throughout the Midwest as a child singing with his family. At that time, Gene sang the high

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

part. He sang with his mom, dad and sister from 1968 to 1980, recording three albums together. His sister Janeene went to college and the family group stopped touring. In 1980, McDonald joined Jack Campbell and the Ambassadors where he also sang tenor. He was with the group from 1980 to 1982 and recorded one album with them. In 1982, Gene's voice started changing and he became a bass singer. He went to college in 1983 at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

and was taught by Al Skoog, one of the leading choral directors in the country. He was also taught voice by Mr. David Niederbrach and Ms. Julia Lansford and did opera under their teaching. After ASU, he attended the Ben Speer School of Music, where Ben took special interest in Gene, and later invited him to a

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. To date, the ''Gaither Homecoming'' t ...

video taping in 1994, and he then became a regular member of the Homecoming "bass" section. McDonald joined The Plainsmen Quartet in 1989 and sang with them until 1992. They recorded one album. He joined the Florida Boys Quartet in 1998 and sang bass with the quartet until 2007. The quartet recorded over ten projects with Gene as the bass singer. McDonald is still recording and singing with the Gaither Homecoming group and has done so since 1994. He has been on all with the exception of a few videos.

Recording career

In 2006, Gene released his first solo CD entitled ''In Times Like These''. In 2010, he released his second solo CD ''I Have Returned''.

Personal life

He is married to Teri McDonald, and has a son, Nathan Taft McDonald. Gene currently works for a bus company in Tennessee. He now drives the bus for

Gordon Mote Gordon James Mote (born October 25, 1970) is an American Christian country/ southern gospel singer, piano virtuoso, and worship leader. He was born blind. He has released eight studio albums. His album ''Don't Let Me Miss the Glory'' (2007) was ...

, and has also returned to the Gaither Homecoming tour as one of their bass singers.

References

Southern gospel performers Living people American male singers American basses Arkansas State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-southern-gospel-stub