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Janet Paschal Begins 2nd Season on Joy FM

March 8th, 2010

Janet Paschal Begins 2nd Season Hosting Joy FM Radio Program
“Walking The Good Road” radio series for those affected by cancer

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Photo: Janet Paschal (far left) with JoyRide hosts Melody Vaughn, Candi Chandler and Daniel Britt pose for a photo while taping new episodes of the popular Walking The Good Road radio program, now in its second season.

In 2009, Janet Paschal began hosting a weekly radio program, entitled Walking The Good Road. The program kicked off in March of 2009, and began airing each Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time on JOY FM’s 7-state network of radio. Hosted by Janet and featuring JOY FM’s Morning JoyRide Team – Daniel Britt, Candi Chandler and Melody Vaughn – the program has featured insightful interviews with Paschal and many of her friends in the Christian music community who have been impacted by cancer in one way or another (whether by personal experience or having experienced it alongside a loved one). Additionally, many of the nation’s top medical professionals have offered insight and informative wisdom to those battling the disease.

“It has been a thrill for us to be a part of this cancer awareness campaign with Janet,” states JOY FM’s Daniel Britt. “Janet has an incredible story, and it’s one that stretches beyond the Christian music community. Through this series we have had the opportunity to create community for those who are going through treatment or who may have stories, like Janet, of personal triumph. We’ve received many letters and calls from listeners of the program who have been inspired and encouraged by the personal testimonies of those who have been featured on this series.”

The Walking The Good Road radio series will now begin its second season and will feature insightful interviews with representatives from many of the nation’s premier cancer organizations, including  Eloise Caggiano, Program Director of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer; Jeff Ross, National Spokesperson for Relay For Life; and Stephanie Glance, President of the Board of Directors for the Kay Yow Foundation.

“When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer,” Paschal explains, “it was so important for me to gain as much information as possible. I searched wherever possible to learn more information and receive encouragement from those who were going through the same battle or had experienced triumph over that battle. I know how important it was for me to know that there were people praying for me, and I’m so thankful that through the radio series we have been able to encourage those who desperately need to know they are not alone in their walk. We’ve heard so many testimonies from people who have been impacted by this series, and we are grateful to the many individuals who have been a part of the series and offered encouragement and insightful information to our listeners.” 

A complete list of JOY FM stations which air Walking The Good Road may be obtained at www.joyfm.org. Interviews can also be heard in their entirety at www.janetpaschal.com.

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Michael English Recovering From Surgery – Update 3/5/10

March 5th, 2010

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We know that there are lots of praying people out there, so please keep Michael English in your prayers during his recovery from a March 4th surgery to repair disc damage in his upper back. We received word at approximately 4:30 p.m. on March 4 that the surgery, which lasted two-and-a-half hours, was successful and Michael was in recovery and doing well.

Bill Gaither is making plans for guest artists to sing with the Gaither Vocal Band until Michael is able to resume his singing schedule…“We will sure miss Michael out on the road during the next few weeks,” Bill adds, “But we are glad he is taking care of this back issue so he can feel better and get back to singing with us again very soon!”

Update: On Friday morning, Marcie English sent us this photo of Michael and his doctor, Dr. McComb!

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Michael and Dr. McComb

Charlotte Ritchie: The Song that Got Her Through…

March 4th, 2010

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Listen to Charlotte Ritchie sing the song that has become her ‘life song’ during this season of life. Who knows, it might become yours, too!
Click to listen “My Father’s Angels.”

Mark Lowry has often said from the Homecoming stage, that the only difference between artists and audience members is… the artists have a microphone. Everyone struggles. And being an artist, or being in ministry, or holding any kind of leadership role in no way makes a person immune from dark seasons when hope seems gone.

Charlotte Ritchie’s beautiful smile and pure, angelic voice certainly might not give any outward signs of the deep waters she has walked through in recent years; but here she talks about one song that kept infusing her soul with hope when she literally felt too overwhelmed to breathe. Now Charlotte shares her story of hope and the song she feels has saved her life in many ways…

When Landon was about 2 ½ years old, he started having night terrors. It all started [in late 2005] with bad dreams, then progressed to complete panic. He would wake up sweating and screaming… scared to death. It was horrible.

Greg and I started teaching him Bible verses dealing with fear. He loves music, so I taught him a song Bill and Gloria wrote with Dony McGuire (which I learned when I was a little girl), ‘My Father’s Angels’ *. We thought it might be a song he could sing whenever he was afraid. It really helped! The song seemed to settle him down whenever he felt afraid.

The following year, 2006, from start to finish was the most difficult year of our lives. On January 13th of that year, a close family friend died very unexpectedly during a routine surgery. The doctors gave her the wrong medicine and she was gone, just like that.

There was a moment during her funeral that is forever frozen in my memory. I remember looking over at her daughters on the front row, watching them grieve… I was overwhelmed and crying as I thought to myself, ‘What in the world would I do if I was in their shoes and that was my mother? I don’t think I could handle it…’

Within four weeks of that horrifying moment, I was in their shoes. My mother passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Her sudden death came on the heels of Greg’s best friend, Doug Riley, losing his life in a sudden accident at age 35. Then just weeks later, it was Anthony Burger. He passed away while we were with him on the Homecoming Caribbean Cruise.

This was the darkest, most fearful time of my life. I started worrying about everything… every time Greg left the house or I got an ache or pain I would panic and think, ‘What if we’re next?’ I felt like I was being completely smothered by fear. Throughout this time I had to get up on-stage and sing, but I felt like I needed to put on a mask and pretend that everything was okay when, in reality, I felt like the air was being sucked out of me.

I think sometimes we’re ‘allowed’ a certain amount of time for grief. I didn’t feel like it would be okay to fall apart 6 or 8 months later. I’m sure I put that [expectation] on myself, but I just wanted the world to stop for a minute so I could get my breath.

One day I was at home and struggling with all this when I heard singing coming from Landon’s room. He was three years old at the time, and as I moved closer to his room I could hear his little voice singing… ‘They’re all above me… beneath me… before me… they’re all around me. My Father’s Angels all protect me everywhere…’ Hearing his voice sing those words, knowing the terror he had experienced just a few months earlier… wow. He has no idea how he helped me that day. I started bawling because in that moment I knew I was not walking through this dark place by myself. From that day forward, I started feeling more and more hope. I knew that I would make it through this.

Later, when I started working on my next CD, “Bridges Over Blue,” and I asked Gloria for some songs, she sent me a CD and, of all the songs she could have sent, “My Fathers Angels” was one of them. I knew right away that I had to record it and share it with other people who might be dealing with fear.

Since the CD has been completed, I have sung “My Father’s Angels” in my solo concerts and so many people have responded as I did to this song. One guy in particular stands out in my mind. We sang in his church one week and he got a copy of the CD. A week later he lost his mom suddenly. He told us that someone went through her purse after she passed away and found a little angel. They gave it to him, then when he went out and got into his car to go home the CD in the car was playing “My Fathers Angels”. He played it over and over again and it really comforted him that day.

It was just a choice I made – to record that song. Years ago, Bill and Gloria made a choice to write a simple, cute little song, probably not having any idea how powerfully it would be used. But a song like “My Father’s Angels” is like this secret weapon that has a way of creeping in and becoming very important to our faith.

“My Fathers Angels” will go to radio in March 2010 as a single and it is our prayer that this simple message of hope keeps reaching the lives of hurting people and reminds them that we are most certainly not alone… even on our darkest days.

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“My Father’s Angels’ – lyric by Gloria Gaither, music by Bill Gaither & Dony McGuire


Click here to purchase “Charlotte Ritchie: Bridges Over Blue.”

Gaither.com TV featuring… Gaither Vocal Band: Reunited

March 3rd, 2010

This live musical event celebrates the beginning of a new era for the Gaither Vocal Band, who recently reunited former members with current members to create an unprecedented all-star line-up of voices. Filmed before an enthusiastic live audience at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, this historic night of music is the first-ever DVD recording of the brand new Gaither Vocal Band, featuring: Bill Gaither, Michael English, Wes Hampton, Mark Lowry and David Phelps…plus an incredible guest performance by The Isaacs.

Gaither.com TV specials feature a portion of the full-length DVD and are available on Gaither.com TV for a limited time. To own the full-length DVD and the accompanying CD of GVB: Reunited click here to go to our online store.

Also, for Gaither.com members only… a second television special is available for viewing!  Premium members can enjoy Turn Your Radio On from now through next Wednesday!

Members, log in and watch Turn Your Radio On here!

Click here to order your copy of Turn Your Radio On.

Nominated for Visionary Awards

March 2nd, 2010

Nominees were recently announced for The Christian Music Hall of Fame Visionary Awards in 17 categories encompassing a variety of Gospel Music genres, including Southern, Country, Rock, Hip Hop and Inspirational. Congratulations to all the Homecoming artists who are on the list of this year’s nominees, including:


David Phelps – Male Entertainer Of The Year

Janet Paschal – Female Entertainer of the Year

Chonda Pierce – Comedian of the Year

Mark Lowry  -  Comedian of the Year

Guy Penrod – Christian Country Male Vocalist of the Year

Larnelle Harris – Inspirational Male Vocalist of the Year

Ivan Parker – Inspirational Male Vocalist of the Year

Janet Paschal – Inspirational Female Vocalist of the Year

Ivan Parker – Southern Gospel Male Vocalist of the Year

Jason Crabb – Southern Gospel Male Vocalist of the Year

Michael English – Southern Gospel Male Vocalist of the Year

David Phelps – Southern Gospel Male Vocalist of the Year

Cynthia Clawson – Southern Gospel Female Vocalist of the Year

Janet Paschal – Southern Gospel Female Vocalist of the Year

Lynda Randle – Southern Gospel Female Vocalist of the Year

Sheri Easter – Southern Gospel Female Vocalist of the Year

GVB – Southern Gospel Group Of the Year

Lynda Randle – Gospel Performer of the Year

Jessy Dixon – Gospel Performer of the Year

A complete list of Visionary Award nominees is available at www.hallmuseum.com You can go to the website to vote for your favorite artist in each category. Awards will be announced and presented on November 6th. The location for the award ceremony has not yet been announced.

A Window Into the Daily Life of the Hampton Home

March 1st, 2010

In this fun little home-spun video, the GVB’s Wes Hampton introduces his boys to us (including their newest addition, now six weeks old). He also offers the secrets to a new chocolate cream cheese ganache frosting he created for six-year-old Barrett’s birthday cupcakes on Wednesday, February 24. We thought you might enjoy this little window into Wes and Andrea’s life and a unique peek into two things Wes enjoys when he isn’t singing… his family and creating culinary masterpieces!

*This video was recorded via the internet using Skype, just for fun and exclusively for Gaither.com. So it’s not exactly “high resolution” or “television quality” but we think you’ll love it anyway!

Gospel Music of The Statler Brothers

February 25th, 2010

Bill Gaither recently sat down on-camera with The Statler Brothers to talk about their wonderful award-winning history and their deep roots in gospel music. Those who are familiar with the Statlers know that they got their start singing in church and grew to become one of the most award-winning groups in country music history. Yet gospel always remained a big part of this group’s DNA. In fact, they are one of the few groups to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

The footage captured on that winter day in Nashville was truly priceless… filled with stories, laughter, a few misty eyes here and there, and little-known details about these men and the strong friendship they have forged with one another over the years. This footage will be blended with lots of photos and music, including gospel favorites from the Statler Brothers’ 7-year-long television show as well as other memorable musical moments.

The final result of their time together was SO good, in fact, Bill has decided that cutting any of the interviews down for the DVD isn’t an option. So they’re making two DVDs!

Watch for these wonderful, heart-warming DVDs entitled, The Gospel Music of the Statler Brothers (Volumes 1 & 2), to release on May 18!

Below is a photo taken on the day of the video shoot! Stay tuned to Gaither.com as this release date nears and we will have more details and features (plus the opportunity to get your copy early)!

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Dove Award Nominations Announced

February 18th, 2010

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2010 Dove Award Nominations – More Congratulations!

Since the initial February 18 announcement of the 2010 Dove Award nominations, we have compiled a more complete list of not only artists on Gaither Music Group’s label but also our sister company, Spring Hill Music Group. We are truly thrilled for ALL our friends and colleagues whose talent is being recognized by the Gospel Music Association this year. It truly is not about competition, but about all giving our best efforts to making music that is both inspired and inspiring!

Blessings to all this year’s nominees, and special thanks to the following…

Song Of The Year:   “Born To Climb” (Artist: Jeff & Sheri Easter)

Song Of The Year:   “Somebody Like Me” (Artist: Jason Crabb)

Male Vocalist of the Year:  Michael English

Male Vocalist of the Year:  Jason Crabb

Group of the Year:  Gaither Vocal Band

Artist of the Year:  Jason Crabb

Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: “Because He Lives” (Artist: Gaither Vocal Band on Gaither Vocal Band Reunited)

Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year: “Born To Climb” (Artist: Jeff & Sheri Easter on Expecting Good Things)

Country Recorded Song of the Year: “Somebody Like Me” (Artist: Jason Crabb on self-titled CD, Jason Crabb)

Country Recorded Song of the Year: “Thank God For Kids” (Artist: Ernie Haase & Signature Sound on Every Light That Shines At Christmas)

 Southern Gospel Album of the Year:  Gaither Vocal Band Reunited (Artist: Gaither Vocal Band)

Bluegrass Album of the Year:  The Isaacs….Naturally (Artist: The Isaacs)

Country Album of the Year:  Jason Crabb (Artist: Jason Crabb)

Christmas Album of the Year:  Every Light That Shines At Christmas (Artist: Ernie Haase & Signature Sound)

Long Form Music Video of the Year:  A Gospel Journey (Artist: The Oak Ridge Boys)

The 2010 Dove Award ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 21 at The Grand Ole Opry House, and will be hosted by Natalie Grant and MercyMe front man, Bart Millard. The Gospel Music Channel will televise the Dove Award ceremony on Sunday, April 25 from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. EST.

For the full list of nominees announced Thursday, go here.

Jeff & Sheri…Still in Love After 25 Years

February 11th, 2010

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While you read about this amazing couple, click below to listen to “I Don’t Wanna Cry” from their new CD, Expecting Good Things.
I Don’t Wanna Cry

One of gospel music’s most endearing and enduring couples, Jeff and Sheri Easter, gave Gaither.com a unique look at their relationship and shared what they believe has kept their marriage strong for nearly a quarter of a century! Enjoy this Gaither.com exclusive where they discuss: the journey with breast cancer from Jeff’s point of view, the things that have caused the most arguments, their pet peeves, and the reasons they both are still blissfully happy after all these years.

Their Journey, Breast Cancer from Jeff’s Point of View
The body goes through a great deal of trauma when dealing with breast cancer as Sheri did, but often marriages take on insurmountable stress as well. Here’s what Jeff says about enduring the journey alongside Sheri…

“When I married Sheri, we were buddies. Many marriages don’t make it – and it was a stressful time, especially for her. But when marriages don’t make it, I think it might be about what they’re in love with versus who they’re in love with. Over the years Sheri and I have built buses together, we’ve built houses together, so we looked at the cancer as another project that we did together.

“The only thing that really got to me was the chemo. The weekend Sheri had her surgery, she wanted me to go up and do our concert date. It was hard but she insisted that I go on and do it without her. So on the way up to that concert, I heard from the doctor that her lymph nodes had cancer. I got the call before Sheri did. Knowing my wife would have to have chemo – the thought of having poison pumped into her body – tore me up. Gordon [Mote] called right then while I was crying… he just listened while I bawled like a baby.

“So I went to chemo with her every time. Sometimes it took up to three hours. She only had a couple meltdowns, but I don’t think I did anything any other husband wouldn’t have done. “

Do They Fight?
Sure, but not too often. Jeff says when they first got married (25 years ago this June 18th) there were some adjustments. Sheri agrees. What they fought about most probably comes as no surprise – money!

Sheri says: “I am a Business major and I’ve always managed the money and Jeff has managed our group. He always wanted the best sound, but when Jeff wanted to purchase new equipment or something for the group, I used to be the one who had to say, ‘Is it a want or a need?’ And many times we had different definitions of ‘need’. But Jeff loves technology, so when online banking started to become available he became much more interested in going online to see where our money was going. We are learning that the more we are both involved in the family finances, the less we tend to argue about money.”

Another issue they’ve been known to argue about on occasion… raising their kids.
Sheri says: “You take two people who were raised up very differently – education, recreational activities, etc. – and every now and then they’ll disagree. Not often, but there have been times.”

Pet peeves… every couple has them. So what are Jeff and Sheri’s pet peeves?
Sheri says: “The worst thing I can say about Jeff Easter is that he is on the phone all the time. He is a very social person. So he is always on the phone… and I’m always trying to avoid the phone.”

Jeff says: “Sheri will not stop in the middle of a sentence. If you want to interject anything while she is speaking, you’ve got to wait until the end… and you better hope you’ll remember what you were going to say.”

But those are small things, they agree. Their recommendation is to “Magnify the good things…” And to remember that, “No weapon formed against you will prosper…”

What is their secret to lasting happiness together?
Sheri says: “Bottom line is… we’re committed. We are not looking for opportunities to divorce. It’s not that it’s easier for us, but we do have a lot in common. Almost every area of our life is shared. When a husband is going one direction and his wife is going another, it’s hard. But Jeff and I end up spending ALL of our time together. In fact, the longest we have ever been apart was about 72 hours.“

Jeff says: “Communication is the number one thing with me. So with Sheri and me, there’s nothing hidden. It all goes back to our song…. ‘You’re My Best Friend’. A lot of our friends have a guys night or a girls night, but I’d rather include Sheri than to be with a bunch of guys.” He adds, “We’re very open. If Sheri asks something, I’ll respond truthfully. If she asks me to do something and I don’t want to do that right now…I’ll tell her.”

Jeff’s concluding statement perfectly sums up this couple’s philosophy on making a marriage happy and long-lasting…

“The secret to our marriage is that there are no secrets.”

Jeff and Sheri’s new CD, Expecting Good Things was recorded during the most difficult days of her breast cancer journey and, as a result, turned out to be their most personal and meaningful recording to date. Order Expecting Good Things here.

Gaither Vocal Band Photo Shoot

February 9th, 2010

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You may have already heard a few rumblings about the Gaither Vocal Band working on a new project. They have been creating and recording and mixing for months now… and the guys are very excited about what they’ve been working on! Though the project’s title is yet to be determined, the release date has been set! Look for a brand new studio recording from the Gaither Vocal Band scheduled to release in stores on August 10, 2010!

Of course, with this big release coming up later in 2010, the time came on Monday, February 8, to get new photos taken for the CD cover (and other various uses). Jarrett Gaza in Nashville was the photographer for this particular shoot and he didn’t mind our Gaither.com camera grabbing a few shots of the photo shoot in progress. The day seemed to turn out wonderfully and we think you’ll love the photos when the official shots come in.

Enjoy a few preliminary behind-the-scenes photos that offer a brief glimpse into their photo shoot experience. Visit Gaither.com Media!

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