It's More Than the Music by Bill Gaither

McSpadden knew the song well…he had already recorded it in the mid 60s, as the baritone singer for Jake Hess & The Imperials.

So drawing from his love of the four part male group, he decided to recruit the three other men to sing an old song called “Your First Day In Heaven”, a quartet staple that has been sang and/or recorded by most every Southern Gospel quartet that has ever stepped on stage. As he states on the album Live Across America, he first heard the harmonious sounds of a Southern Gospel quartet when he was in the sixth grade, and he has also named the Statesmen and Blackwood Brothers as two of his favorite groups of all time. It is no mystery that Bill Gaither is a lifelong fan of Southern Gospel quartet singing. Prior to the shows that the new live album were to be recorded at, Bill pulled BGT lead singer Gary McSpadden aside, along with Steve Green and Lee Young, who were the tenor and bass for the trio’s ensemble of backup singers, to try a song as a quartet.

In 1980, still at the peak of their career, the Gaithers and Word records decided it was time for the Bill Gaither Trio to record the group’s fourth live album. The dates for the recording were set, and so to add a little variety to the mix, Bill decided to try something different on the album. Known predominantly for their amazing songwriting achievements (The King Is Coming, Because He Lives, He Touched Me, the list goes on and on), Bill and Gloria were icons during the early days of CCM, and they had earned every bit of respect that they got. It’s been a good run, that’s for sure, because Bill Gaither and those artists associated with him are now the toast of an entire musical genre.īut what is so unfortunate is that many, many years ago, the Gaithers were one of the cornerstones of the Contemporary Christian industry, and were single handedly responsible for helping some of the biggest names in CCM get started, from Sandi Patti, to Steve Green, to even WhiteHeart. Bill Gaither has made a substantial amount of money promoting video tapes, DVDs, CDs, and concerts that feature a large number of Southern Gospel’s biggest names, both older and younger. For the past 25 years, the Gaithers have been a cornerstone of the Southern Gospel market, and SG fans seemingly cannot get enough of the Homecoming artists. When the name Gaither is mentioned to a Christian music fan, most of them will instantly think about the long running Homecoming series of videos, or the successful tours of the same name. The Cornerstone of The CCM Music Industry:Guess Who?.by Philip Mayabb

It's More Than the Music by Bill Gaither