Such an appearance on primetime national television was the type of exposure gospel groups had only dreamed of at this point. In 1970, CBS Evening News devoted a seven-minute segment to the Inspirations. The members of the quartet dedicated themselves to singing gospel music together, whenever and wherever they possibly could, and the quartet hit the road full-time. Les Beasley began featuring the Inspirations on the Gospel Singing Jubilee, and eventually the group became regulars on the show. An appearance at one of Whitfield's sings in Atlanta, GA, proved that the Inspirations were set to take the gospel music world by storm. They soon caught the attention of J G Whitfield and Les Beasley. Evangelists Ralph Sexton and Maze Jackson gave them early exposure through their television and radio programs. Many of their early albums have become collector’s items, particularly Just As Long As Eternity Rolls, as only a few hundred copies of the album were pressed, after which a warehouse fire destroyed the master tapes for the album.Ĭombining the gospel harmonies of the Jordanaires and Original Oak Ridge Quartet with the old timey styles of famous Grand Ole Opry© quartet, the Old Hickory Singers, the Inspirations formed a sound that was all their own, and immediately caused gospel music fans to sit up and take notice. A few months later, the group recorded their very first album for the Mark V label, entitled Our Pioneer Heritage. When Dean Robinson bowed out in 1966, the quartet hired young 14-year-old bass singer Troy Burns. The group began accepting concert dates at churches and functions in the western North Carolina and North Georgia areas, and soon created a loyal local following. With this lineup, the Inspirations Quartet was born. Around 1964, he began bringing some of his students to the basement of his house, and they would gather around the piano and sing gospel songs into the wee hours of the morning.Īmong the regular attendees at his home singings were 15-year-old tenor Archie Watkins 15-year-old lead singer Ronnie Hutchins 19-year-old baritone Jack Laws and local bass singer Dean Robinson. He was the original pianist for the Kingsmen Quartet, and had also played for a regional group called The Silvertones. Martin Cook was a high school chemistry and physics teacher at Swain County High School in Bryson City, NC, who loved to sing and play gospel songs.

But when Jake Hess was once asked what probably changed gospel music the most during this period, he responded with, 'It changed when those boys from Bryson City came along.' The Inspirations not only launched a phenomenon in gospel music that is still making history almost 50 years later, but they set a unique standard of presentation and character that remains today. The Happy Goodmans and Kingsmen emerged from recent obscurity and joined the elite among full-time gospel groups.

Longtime names such as the Harmoneers, Sunshine Boys, and Homeland Harmony entered into either full-fledged or semi-retirement, and new groups such as the Cathedrals, Imperials, Downings, and Dixie Echoes were formed. Television brought gospel music before new audiences, with programs such as the Gospel Singing Caravan, Bob Poole's Gospel Favorites, Singing Time In Dixie, and the Gospel Singing Jubilee.

Gospel music saw much change during the decade of the 1960s.

Inspiration park