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By Tim Gardner
The Inspirations' Martin Cook received the pinnacle honor solely recognizing his
piano-playing exploits during this year's Grand Ole Gospel Reunion in Greenville, South
Carolina. |
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Organized in 1996, the Southern Gospel Piano Roll of Honor is equivalent to a Southern
Gospel pianists Hall of Fame. Inductees are selected by a committee that currently
includes a cross-section of legendary pianists and other noted contributors to the gospel
music profession--Henry Slaughter, Jack Clark, Earl Brewer, Livingston (Livy) Freeman,
Charles Key, Tim Gardner, Roy Pauley, Charlie Waller and Lou Hildreth. Inductees are
announced each year at the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion. They are chosen on various criteria
such as over-all piano-playing ability and contributions to Southern Gospel Music. They
are also selected for a particular decade. Martin was honored for the decade of the 1970s;
Marsh for the 1980s; Speer for the 1950s; and Crook for the 1960s. The Piano Roll of Honor
currently has 36 members, including this year's inductees. Martin is one of the all-time longevity leaders among Southern Gospel pianists and his piano-playing style is one of the profession's most recognized and distinctive. He became the first pianist for the Kingsmen Quartet in 1957, serving two tenures with that renowned group. He also played piano for the Silvertones, a regional quartet from North Carolina, before he formed the Inspirations in 1964, helping mold that group into one of gospel music's all-time elite as its manager, pianist and emcee for the past 41 years. A recipient of many awards and accolades associated with gospel music, Martin was also inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2003. He is married to the former Ora Blanche Shuler. Their union produced three children, daughter, Marcia, and two sons, Myron and Michael. Myron has played the upright bass for the Inspirations for more than twenty years. Martin has one grandchild, Caleb Spencer Cook, one-month old son of Myron and Jennifer Cook. Marsh is a longtime gospel piano instructor and music teacher as well as pianist for the Kennedy Family of Arkansas. Speer was pianist many years for the Speer Family and is music director for the Bill Gaither Homecoming Tapings and Reunion Concerts. Crook is a former pianist for the Happy Goodman Family, Segos and Tennesseans as well as a veteran recording studio producer and record label owner. Slaughter and Waller served as co-masters of ceremonies for the 2005 Piano Roll of Honor program, which besides the induction ceremony, included performances by several of Southern Gospel Music's most noted pianists. "I'm deeply honored with induction into the Southern Gospel Piano Roll of Honor," Martin said. "I'm as proud of this accomplishment as any I've ever had bestowed upon me. I praise God for giving me the ability to play a piano and I'm happy to be an inductee alongside so many pianists, each great in his or her own way." |
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