by Tim Walter .
, Copyright ;9; JSI Syndicate Features
' - 4-1. K'y
Recording Industry
Embraces Gospel Music
v, . V ' .';'... ......
Previously, almost all gospel music was sold in religious
bookstores without much marketing. Now the big record
companies are getting involved.
Gospel music is virtually the only thing "new" in the retail
record store, hence its appeal to a public lacking viable
choices. Gospel, after all, is fun and uplifting, even if it isn't
everyone's "cup of tea. With a tremendous jump in sales
through the additional outlets, gospel labels have money
they've never had before to record new, experimental acts and
promote them. Churches are bursting with would-be "stars".
Of all the great frontiers, the Gold Rush, Alaska, space, the
entertainment ' business remains a constant as the en
trepreneurial dream.
Few other industries have offered, decade after decade, the
opportunity to start without a dime (and sometimes without
talent) and end up a millionaire. Presuming, of course, that
fame and fortune bring happiness.
The same greed is there, typical of any frontier story peopl
ed with cattle rustlers, pennyante hustlers, daring (and
dashing) train robbers, respectable citizens trying to make a
living and honest-to-goodness eccentrics.
Times are tougher in 1982 with record sales down. Accor
ding to a recent survey by Warner Brothers, almost $3 billion
worth of, music is taped at home illegally by consumers. They
blame the sale of blank recording tape for some of the decline
in business. .
Others might point to the lack of new records. In 1982, new
product releases are off over 20 from last year, continuing a
three-year trend. Understandably, record companies are shy
about backing new artists with promotional dollars (some
might sell records, but many will not).
Perhaps new technologies are having an impact, although
no one can chart that yet. Are consumers waiting for the dust
to settle on new creations like digital recordings, laser discs,
compact digital discs, miniature cassettes, satellite program-1
ming revolutions, etc.? .
It all boils down to one thing: the market is scared. When
an industry gets scared, it gets conservative. The only music
to be funded and released is going to be tried-and-true,
sounds-like-last-year pedestrian blah.
Enter the gospel explosion.
From time to time, this column explores the gospel artists
and two are worth examining in the above context.
Richie Furay is not only a stunning gospel lyricist and com
poser, his sincere countryrock style is crisp, clear and easy to,
follow without failing to be uptempo. "My Lord and My
God" is perhaps the best from his new Myrrh "Seasons of
Change" album.
Furay was one of the founders of Buffalo Springfield in
1964, moving from that innovative group to form Poco with
Jim Messina (later of Loggins & Messina). Poco ushered in,
almost single-handedly, the highly successful fusion of coun
try and rock sounds that later launched such groups as the
Eagles.
"It was a period," Furay told me, "when music began to
control my life. Nothing was more important than getting my
next hit." Now he has a greater vision. "I don't want to be
just a Christian entertainer," he explains, "I want to say
something to those who haven't heard." ,
Coming at gospel from another direction is evangelist 5 .
Richard "Mr. Clean" White. His fifth album for Savoy, a
powerful Pentecostal rap disc, covers such family favorites as
"Just An Old Story" with the National Mass Choir of the
Highway Churches of Christ. White takes his message
seriously and he works everywhere, even prisons. "I've been
on the road 23 years, since I was 15," he admits. "People
have been nice to me everywhere, I give because they do. They
give what they can, even when times are hard." Part of the
fun of listening to White is a grandfather voice that almost
sounds as if he's gargling underwater. The warmth and
sincerity make the record, despite Savoy's sloppy engineering
on the choir mikes.
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