Southern gospel is Gaither's favorite
05:20 PM CDT on Friday, September 17, 2004

By ROBIN GALIANO RUSSELL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Bill Gaither says coming back to the Dallas area is special because he first began listening to Southern gospel music on radio station KRLD when it broadcast groups like the Stamps Quartet in the late 1940s.

Mr. Gaither and his wife, Gloria, have gone on to become perhaps the most prolific recording artists and composers in the Christian music industry. But his passion for Southern gospel music has never left him.

Mr. Gaither and members of the Gaither Vocal Band will be in Hurst to sign copies of their new project, a two-CD set, The Best of the Gaither Vocal Band. Next is the October release of Mr. Gaither's autobiography, It's More Than the Music (Warner, $19.95).

Over its 23-year history, the band has performed a blend of Southern gospel, country and adult contemporary. Mr. Gaither has selected songs from 18 albums, including "I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary," "He Touched Me," and "The King is Coming."

Southern gospel music is still his favorite, he said in a telephone interview, because it creates "instant community."

"It's the kind of music you still gather around the piano and sing," Mr. Gaither said.

Some of the songs the Gaithers have written are now included in many church hymnals as standards, including "Because He Lives" and "There's Something About That Name."

"When we got in the Methodist and Baptist hymnals, I said, 'Man, we've arrived!' Only dead folks are in the hymnals," he said, with a hearty chuckle.

He's also promoted young talent. Sandi Patty, Steve Green and Carman are among the singers who got their start with the Gaithers.

Writing songs that will outlast him, however, is pretty close to the top of the list of his accomplishments.

"Hopefully, when we're gone, a few of our songs will stick to the wall. That's a pretty good feeling," he said.

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Robin Galiano Russell is a Dallas freelance writer. Her e-mail address is rrscribe@excite.com.

DETAILS: The Gaither Vocal Band will sign copies of its new release, The Best of the Gaither Vocal Band, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the LifeWay Christian Store, 924 N.E. Loop 820, near Northeast Mall in Hurst. Call 817-590-4341.