What's wrong with Southern Gospel?

After a very busy couple of weeks that included a trip out of town, then out of town company, then taking my son to the hotel for his Air Force induction, I finally get time to sit down and write.
Our trip was to a convention featuring many different artists. It was pretty good and we enjoyed visiting people and meeting new ones. However, I noticed a few things about some of the groups that greatly disturbed me.

Right off the bat a very popular trio got up and sang. They were actually very good but they used so many stacks in their background vocals that it made it sound like a choir. While the average SG listener could care less, it bothers me to hear tracks that are stacked to the point it sounds fake. If you want to be a choir-be in one or get one for your events. The second group that got up on stage also used stacks. The problem here was two-fold. First of all they used stacked tracks from the original national group. How do I know? I have seen the original group perform the same song plus the vocals on the solos did not compare with the stacked chorus. If you do not have the vocal ability to compare with the stacks, get rid of the stacks. It is just too obvious. This group did not have the vocal ability to cover the song they were doing, period. They weren't bad, but they weren't up to the national group's level. Plain and simply, know your abilities and your limits.
Another thing I noticed from the performances. Imitation. Several groups that are fairly popular regionally and on the edge of national recognition are imitating Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. They need to stop for several reasons. The most obvious one is that they are EHSSQ. I don't care what anyone says, Ernie's group is unique in one sense but very traditional in the other. They have their own schtick and no one can do it like they do. While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, these other groups are not doing Signature Sound or themselves any favors. They are not impressive when they don't have their own identity. Plain and simply, if you are going to sing in SG be who you are, not who someone else is. And if you insist on imitating, be on the same vocal ability level as the original. Since I am not naming names, I will just say that one group in particular (who have a large following) cannot keep up vocally with EHSSQ or even other groups on their own level. I was definitely not impressed.

The third thing that I had a hard time with is the song tag. SEVERAL groups would finish their "get 'em out of their chairs dancing" songs then start that tag at the end. Did it further the message? NO Was it unique or special? NO All it did was feed the ego of the singers on stage and get an emotion driven response that had nothing to do with worship. One tag is fine, but FIVE? Yes, one group did five.

Another thing. When you are given a time limit, stick to it. That is just professional courtesy. One group in particular did a 4 1/2 minute song, another 3 minute song, and then a 5 minute song. What was the time limit they were supposed to fit into? 8 minutes. When they finished their second song they actually looked at the audience and said they had another five minutes. What they had was 30 seconds. The audience was made up of mainly other artists, with a few fans in their as well. The lack of respect for the other artists shows when groups like this blatantly flaunt the rules of a well-run event. There was only one group asked to go over their time and that was because they closed the event and did the invitation. That is appropriate, the other group was not.

Overall, this particular convention was well put together, fast paced and very enjoyable. My observations here are not criticisms of the organization or the convention. They are the things I noticed with individual groups. The things that pastors and fans complain about.

It is time to start RESPECTING Southern Gospel and working with the ones who we are to be ministering to. Until that happens, we are not going to draw more people, we are going to lose them. When people hear good SG for the first time, they are drawn to the message of the music and the quality of the music. If what they see and hear is either mediocre, phony, or done to feed the egos of the performers, they won't stick around very long.

We need to get with it.