Bill Gaither has been described as many things: pioneering singer and songwriter. Small-town teacher. Mentor to generations of musicians.
Another description is just as apt: the Energizer Bunny.
Just like that fuzzy icon known for going and going and going, there seems no stopping Gaither, who at 69 shows no signs of slowing down his locomotive-force artistic career and musical empire. Gaither and his namesake Homecoming Tour are again on a nationwide trek, stopping at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim tonight.
That the musician can be touring arenas after more than 40 years in the business is a testament to his popularity - and a far cry from who he was in what now seems another life: a high school teacher at his alma mater in Alexandria, Ind., population 6,028.
Gaither went on to much bigger things after forming the first incarnation of the Gaither Vocal Band in 1963 with his wife, Gloria, and two siblings. He became a household name a few years after that when he wrote "He Touched Me," recorded by Elvis Presley, among many others. In all he has penned more than 500 songs, recorded some 40 albums, had a top-ranked TV show, and launched a video series that sells through the roof and was the inspiration for the Homecoming Tours.
"These (tours) have been an outgrowth of a video that became a series," Gaither said. "We did the video back in '91. For the last 13-14 years it's become a Homecoming series."
Gaither says the tours bring a lot of the old with the new, and that they're called a "homecoming" for a reason: "It's coming home to the roots music we grew up with, singing around the parlor. It's quite a job sometimes to do that in an arena, making it a theater in the round. It's not quite as cozy as a parlor in the living room, but we try.
"Some of the songs that made this popular came out of the '40s," Gaither explained from his headquarters in Alexandria. "As the series went on, the music didn't stop at the '40s; a lot of it is brand new."
Gaither says the reason the tours are so popular is simple: It's familiar music and has mass appeal.
"The gospel quartets have been doing this since the '50s," Gaither said. "A lot of people who are from the Midwest moved out (to the West Coast) and it's their music of choice. The music is also across the board, (with) a broad base."
But music isn't the only thing that goes on at a Gaither Homecoming. Though the songs are the element that weave together the four-hour events, it's the variety and comedy that keep the crowds coming back, says show promoter Paul Emery, who runs Emery Entertainment.
"When you say it's a Southern gospel show, a lot of folks think, 'What is that? Is it preaching?' It's not that at all. It's music and comedy, wrapped around the gospel message, of course, but it's as entertaining as any show you'd see at that arena."
Emery likens the Homecoming Tour to "Hee Haw" for Christians. "Some of the comedy is downright hysterical," Emery says, adding that sometimes it's hard to keep Gaither from going and going: "If I didn't have union restrictions to contend with, he would go on past the midnight hour and into the morning and keep on singing and singing 'cause he loves it."
One of the biggest treats of the show is when all the performers - who can number in the dozens - line up on stage and sing together.
The show is so popular that many follow it as it tours.
"It's sort of like the Grateful Dead," Emery says. "People will follow this show from city to city because they never know what they're gonna get. But with his fans, it's more like the Grateful Living."
Those Grateful Living will get another treat later this month in the form of a solo record. For the first time in his career, Gaither has made a record as the sole vocalist.
"I've never fancied myself as a soloist, but I'm a pretty good communicator," Gaither says, remarking that he did the record "as a lark," but EMI took it seriously.
"I loved it," Gaither says of making the record, set for release Oct. 25. "Being who you are is cool and hip, no matter if you're 69 and acting 30. I had a chance to just be myself, and to say, 'Boys, I want you to follow me.' It was fun; it was creating on the spot. It gave me a chance to do something like I've always wanted to do it."
But don't expect Gaither to part ways with his quartet or cease the Homecoming Tours for a solo career. In fact, the notion of him stopping at all may sound absurd.
"When I quit having fun, I'm gonna quit and play with my grandkids," he says.