FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
The idea for this page has been running through my mind for a couple of years, but the time just never seemed right to add it. As our close friends already know, the Inspirations hold definite ideas on how we should conduct ourselves, how we should present our music, and how we can best carry on the work that God has given us to do. Also, we have never been afraid to take politically incorrect stands on hot-button issues.

In the past few months, and definitely in the last few weeks, (since the 2003 National Quartet Convention) we have received an unusual number of letters, emails, and phone calls from young people who desire to make Southern Gospel Music their life's work, and they have been asking how The Inspirations ever got this far! LOL

    We may never know the real answer ourselves, but I strongly believe that we can point to the fact that we had great mentors, wise teachers and preacher friends; and best of all, we had families and hometown friends who never failed to gently remind us when they felt we were perhaps losing some of the focus that had first brought us to the attention of the SGM industry and audiences. We thank God for those wonderful people, like Les Beasley and J G Whitfield; Revs. Ralph Sexton, Sr. and Maze Jackson; and all the true heroes of the faith who had the courage to keep us in line. I pray that we never forget their advice.

    To you, the regular members of our All Nite Singing Family, and especially, you, who may be in our midst for the first visit, we extend an invitation to you to come back and enjoy Gospel Singing with us each month. Please tell your friends and bring them along.

OUR PURPOSE

To express ourselves with music, in singing, playing instruments, blending our voices together in harmony melody and rhythm - FELLOWSHIP. To sing the praise of our Lord; renew our faith by singing and listening to the gospel in song.

SIX INGREDIENTS (of our productions)
Gospel and Spiritual Singing

No. 1. That enough gospel in song may be rendered in any one All-Nite Singing; that any one who has not accepted the "faith" may learn enough about the plan of salvation to have a desire to consult an interpreter of religious faith, a minister of the gospel in the church of his choice.

We do not advertise that we do preaching, but our prayer and purpose is that we may be helpful as gospel singers in starting men and women, boys and girls to thinking about the higher meaning in life. Our prayer is that God may use us in serving Him through the gospel in song as a channel of blessing. The nearest to preaching of the gospel in our All Nite sings is "Sermon in Song." Our All Nite Sings are not revival meetings not evangelistic meetings nor church worship service but rather:

CHRISTIAN ENTERTAINMENT

No. 2. Many people have told us that our monthly gospel sings are their primary entertainment. They feel that it is the one source and place of entertainment they can carry their entire family and not feel condemned.

ENTHUSIASM

No. 3. Our singers come on the stage with an enthusiastic spirit, and there is no problem of a group ever short-changing, so to speak; their audience in not taking the maximum time allotted. More often, the singers over-run their time, and though, it sometimes upsets schedule, it still seems commendable.

HUMOR

No. 4. Some people have said that the singers, at least some of them, feel that they have short-changed their audience if they do not supply a little humor in their presentation. This humor is important in our production. However, with some of the singers, this can be very easily overdone. And we feel sometimes it is overdone. It surely is a fact, that a little humor (between songs) is good - A VERY LITTLE. No one would want even their pastor in their church to be morbid. It seems the most effective sermon by any minister carries with it at least one or two stories of humor if only in an illustrative form to get a point across.

INSPIRATION

No. 5. Surely Gospel Singing to everyone is inspiring.

SINCERITY

No. 6. Whatever we do in life, we should be sincere, but more, especially, in singing gospel songs.

LET US CONSIDER

Those of us who listen to gospel singing, that the gospel singers are human beings, just the same as the listeners and are prone to err. Would to God that all Gospel Singers were God's best Christians! Does not the pastor of his church feel the same, "Would to God that all the members of my church were God's best Christians," so: Some say that many of our Gospel Singers lean stronger towards humor and entertainment! So therefore, they are prone to overdo this.

CONSIDER

Let us seek the happy medium and not the radical. God forbid that any part of our production, by any of the singers’ presentations, ever be offensive. Then, our purpose to the higher meaning in life and 'Peace on earth, good will" should be defeated. Some have said that some of our Gospel Singers lean towards sometimes preaching long and perhaps loud. (Understand, no one, surely, would criticize the preaching of the gospel, at any time or at any place and certainly, not the writer of this article, but again, preaching is not advertised.) We advertise gospel and spiritual singing, and if the people hear preaching rather than gospel singing, perhaps they have a right to say' "We come to hear gospel singing, and we think we shall go to church to hear our preaching." In an "All-Nite Singing" we expect to hear singing. When we go to church, we expect to hear preaching and some real good singing of hymns, but not usually, the "Camp Meeting, rhythmical, spiritual type of singing that we expect to hear in the All-Nite singing.

One of our greatest gospel singing personalities is Brother Hovie Lister, manager of Statesmen, dynamic Emcee, pianist and sometimes called the "Country Boy Preacher." Once on the stage in Birmingham, Alabama, at one of the monthly "sings," Bro. Hovie got to feeling real good and almost preached. He did give out loud with an "on fire testimonial" and many of the people asked him to preach then and there, but he told them to come to the little Mt. Zion Baptist Church that he pastors near Marietta, Ga., and he would preach. I took him up on it and paid a visit to Mt. Zion. Bro. Hovie preached and we feel that his sermon was comparable to some of our greatest interpreters of religious faith. Bro, Hovie preached in Birmingham at Jones Memorial Baptist Church. I attended services there later. The pastor, Rev. Ben Daniels, makes one feel that Peter Marshall is still preaching on this earth. So, our prayer is that the gospel singers will find the happy medium and progress with sincerity at all times never giving way to antics, feeling that the people have to be overly entertained. Nor, that any would try and take the preacher's position away by any measures of radicalism, in order to create emotionalism. Just, plain, good gospel singing alone stirs our deepest emotions. However, dear friends, if anything in our entire production and presentations do not please you in every respect, remember, it is our aim to please and ever RAISE THE STANDARDS OF THAT WHICH WE REPRESENT!

The great statesman, A. Lincoln, once said, "You can fool some of the people half of the time, half of the people all of the time, but, you can't fool all the people all of the time."

May we paraphrase this, and say, you are fortunate indeed, if you can please all the people HALF of the' time, half the people all the time and NO ONE can ever please all the people all the time.

By recent national survey, 2300 radio stations are programming Gospel Music daily!

IT IS A FACT over five million people are filling the nations largest auditoriums, stadiums, etc., to hear Gospel Singing annually.

Is it necessary to ask ourselves the question "Is Gospel Singing growing?"

REMEMBER, A Gospel Singing America is a Peaceful America. Ask yourself an important question. WHAT MAKES AMERICA GREAT? Could you not be justified in saying that only the good in America makes it great, and if the good in America be taken away, then would not the greatness of America also be taken away?

One man said that he searched diligently for what made America great, and that he found it in the churches of our land. Is not, "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and all of thy mind" and St. John 13:34, "a new commandment, I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have Loved you, that ye love one another."

INSPIRATIONS' WALLY FOWLER TRIVIA NOT IN OUR BOOK
When we were kids just starting out --probably in 1966 or 1967-- Wally was kind enough to invite us to appear on his nationally syndicated television show, The Wally Fowler Show, which was filmed in Nashville, Tennessee. In those days, long before the advent of satellite uplinks and current communications technology, programs like the Gospel Singing Jubilee, the Gospel Singing Caravan, Singing Time In Dixie, the Porter Wagoner Show, and all the other syndicated shows of the time, were filmed in blocks of shows. Each show was filmed in multiple song segments so local television stations could insert their commercials. The idea was to film as many shows as possible in one or two days.

    That meant long, tiring days and nights of filming segments; and if anyone messed up, or there was a glitch in the production control room, the cameras had to be reset, and the filming for that segment had to be repeated. Of course, we never goofed (yeah right! LOL) but goofs occasionally happened, so you can imagine that tensions might creep in, especially late in the night.

    On one such occasion, the segment had been restarted several times, (no, we were not the ones that goofed that time) and even Wally was beginning to tire. Henry Slaughter was the session leader, and he and his musicians always played for Wally, Lois Jane Neal, and the other regular soloists on the show. (MORE TRIVIA: Mr. Slaughter was, and still is, one of the most revered professionals ever in our business. Along with my hero, the incomparable Mr. Jake Hess, he was a founding member of the Imperials, but I digress.)

    Tensions were becoming evident in the studio, so we just stayed on the sidelines, out of camera range, watching . . . and learning. (Come to think of it, that's still a good idea!)

    At that point, Mr. Slaughter taught us all an invaluable lesson.
    He didn't say a word . . . just sat back down at the grand piano and began to softly play the opening melody of "Down By The Riverside." The melody is very recognizable, as well as highly infectious; and in a singer's brain, we think lyrics, so what we started thinking was "Gonna lay down my sword and shield . . ."