The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that the Gaither Vocal Band lineup consisted of Reggie Smith,

Wes Hampton Wesley Adam Hampton (born December 8, 1977) is a Christian music singer. He is a tenor for The Gaither Vocal Band. Hampton sang first tenor for the group from 2005 to 2009, then when it went from a quartet to a quintet, he became the second te ...

, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles, and Bill Gaither. Although the group started out recording contemporary Christian music in the 1980s, it became known for southern gospel after the popularity of the

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 ...

videos. The lineup of the band changes often, with artists leaving to work on solo careers, and new and old ones coming to replace them. Besides Bill Gaither, singers with the longest tenure in the band include Guy Penrod (1995–2008),

Mark Lowry Mark Alan Lowry (born June 24, 1958) is an American singer, comedian, minister and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing the song " Mary, Did You Know?" and being a member of the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988 to 2001, and 2009 to 2013, al ...

(1988–2002, 2009–13), Michael English (1985–94, 2009–13), David Phelps (1997–2005, 2009–17) and

(2005–present). The band has released 29 albums (not including compilations), at least 19 of which have charted. The band has also released 10 DVDs, which feature many other Christian artists as well. The Gaither Vocal Band has been honored with two

Grammys 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 pres ...

and 17

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 ...

History

Beginnings

The Gaither Vocal Band is named after gospel legend and leader Bill Gaither. It was the successor-group of the

Bill Gaither Trio The Bill Gaither Trio, originally simply The Gaither Trio, was an American gospel music group, last consisting of Bill, his wife Gloria Gaither, and Michael English. History By 1957, The Gaither Trio—consisting of siblings Bill, Danny, and Ma ...

. By the 1980s, Bill Gaither, along with wife

Gloria Gaither Gloria Gaither (born March 4, 1942) is a Christian singer-songwriter, author, speaker, editor, and academic. She is married to Bill Gaither and together they have written more than 700 songs. She performed, traveled and recorded with the Bill Ga ...

, were both very successful

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

s. For example, their song, "He Touched Me" was covered by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, after which he even named his album '' He Touched Me''. Presley won a Grammy for the album. Bill Gaither felt that his trio had reached its peak in the mid-1980s, but his desire to make another gospel hit kept the trio going. The original Vocal Band (called the ''New'' Gaither Vocal Band) was formed spontaneously, backstage of a Gaither Trio concert. It consisted of Bill Gaither and

Gary McSpadden Gary McSpadden (January 26, 1943 – April 15, 2020) was an American pastor, singer, songwriter, record producer, television host and motivational speaker. He had musical roots in quartet music and Southern gospel with The Statesmen, The Oak R ...

of the trio, along with two of the trio's backup singers, Steve Green and Lee Young. The quartet sang "Your First Day in Heaven" on stage that night. Their debut album, the self-titled ''The New Gaither Vocal Band'', debuted in 1981. According to the liner notes of the CD compilation ''The Best of the GVB'', the term "vocal band" was used instead of "quartet" because it did not limit Gaither in terms of sound or number of group members. According to Steve Green on the Gaither Vocal Band Reunion video, he came up with the name and convinced Gaither to use it because he, at the time, did not want to be associated with "quartet music". Lee Young left the group in 1982, and Jon Mohr was hired as the new bass singer. They then recorded the album ''Passin' The Faith Along''. Later, tenor Steve Green left and

Larnelle Harris Larnelle Steward Harris (born July 6, 1947) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. During his 40-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 11 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the ...

was hired. This group cut the ''New Point Of View'' album before Mohr left.

Widespread popularity

Michael English was hired as the new lead singer, so McSpadden was moved down to baritone, and Gaither dropped to the lowest part. At this point the group dropped the "new" part of their name. Although the previous album (''New Point of View'') had been more contemporary than its predecessors, the album with this version of the group (''One X 1'') took it even further. After this album, Larnelle left and was replaced by Lemuel Miller. The group did not record an album with Lemuel before he too left. He was replaced by Imperials alumnus, Jim Murray. This line up cut one album (''Wings'') before Gary McSpadden left to start his solo career.

was convinced to replace him. Along with a great voice, Lowry added comedy to the mix. Their Gospel roots project ''Homecoming'' in 1991 caused most Southern Gospel fans to welcome the Vocal Band with open arms. Jim Murray left and was replaced by Terry Franklin. The album ''Southern Classics'' was released in 1993 with the hit "I Bowed On My Knees". (This song was co-writers by Jeremy Ward) Later Michael English left. He was replaced by Buddy Mullins. Mullins was only a temporary fill-in, but he was included on the album ''Testify''. Terry Franklin soon left and was replaced by yet another Imperials alumnus,

Jonathan Pierce Jonathan Pierce Hildreth, better known as Jonathan Pierce (November 15, 1967—May 9, 2020), was an American CCM, gospel singer from Odessa, Texas and an interior designer in Nashville. Pierce used his first and middle name while omitting his ...

(formerly known as Jonathan Hildreth, his first and last name—then changed to his first and middle name). Strengthened by the popularity of the ''Homecoming'' video series, the Vocal Band added Guy Penrod at lead. After Pierce's departure, Gaither hired David Phelps at tenor. After Lowry's departure, Imperials alumnus

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, contempor ...

sang baritone for a couple of years. Marshall Hall was his replacement.

succeeded Phelps in 2005. The group has had three number one songs on the '' Singing News'' chart. "Yes, I Know" held the top position from July to October 1997, as did "I Will Go On" in November 2006. "Greatly Blessed" was their third number one single. The group has routinely performed classic Southern Gospel songs including many written by Bill and Gloria Gaither like "He Touched Me", "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary", and "Sinner Saved By Grace."

Reunion

In July 2008, the vocal band recorded a reunion DVD at the Gaither Studios — ''The Gaither Vocal Band Reunion, Volumes 1 and 2''. Except for

, Terry Franklin, and Lemuel Miller, the former and present members appeared and performed. The two CDs debuted in the top two positions on ''Billboard''s Contemporary Christian Album chart, marking the Gaither Vocal Band's first No. 1 on the Christian Album chart. The DVDs of the same title debuted in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on the Music Video charts as well. It also garnered a

Grammy Award 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 pr ...

for Best Southern, Country, Bluegrass Gospel Album.

The quintet

In January 2009, Marshall Hall and Guy Penrod left. Gaither brought back some former members: Michael English as lead vocal, Mark Lowry as baritone and David Phelps as tenor. The first album by this five-member version was '' Reunited'', released in September 2009. It was also the first album of the vocal band ever to feature only songs written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. A live album called ''Better Day'' was released in January 2010. In August 2010, they released the long-awaited album called ''Greatly Blessed'', followed by ''I Am A Promise'', a children's album, released in August 2011. Their most recent album was ''Pure & Simple'', released in September 2012. In October 2013, it was announced that Mark Lowry and Michael English would be leaving the group to devote more time to their solo careers. English's departure was immediate whereas Lowry stayed on until they could find another baritone to replace him. Their last album as members, ''Hymns'', was released in March 2014 and was nominated for a

the following December. After their departure, several guests filled-in until two new members could be found. In January 2014, it was announced that Adam Crabb (of

The Crabb Family The Crabb Family is a southern gospel group originally from Beaver Dam, Kentucky. They have had sixteen No. 1 songs on the national radio charts.American Christian musical groups Grammy Award winners Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from Indiana Southern gospel performers