On Friday, July 11, 2003, eight (8) gospel quartet groups from South Carolina were assembled to record a video.  The video recording was the brainchild of Ms. Blanche Goodson. Ms. Goodson is a national recognized radio announcer.  She is also the executive producer and host of Quartet Live, a weekly television broadcast featuring gospel quartet groups and singers from around the country.  And, she is the founder and CEO of the Annual South Carolina Gospel Quartet Awards Banquet.

The recording took place at Temple of Praise, Columbia, South Carolina.  Groups taking part in this historic recording were Rev. Matthew Mickens and The New Highway Travelers, The Six Voices of Zion, The Gospel All-Stars, Antioch, The National Juniors, The Brewsteraires, The Singing Angels of Sumter, and The Zionaires.  Each group recorded for 15 minutes. Two (2) songs from each group (except The Zionaires) are on the video.  Although, The Zionaires recorded for 15 minutes, during post production eight (8) minutes did not make it on the video.  So, there is only one song by The Zionaires. 

One of the interesting aspect to this recording is that the groups represent those that on any give weekend are keeping gospel quartet music alive by participating in "local" gospel music concerts.  These are the type of groups that have a loyal following, have a limited repertoire, and yet can be found on any given weekend spreading the Good News in song in their local community.   

The emcee for the program was Elder Troy Jackson of Brothers and Sisters of Willacoochee, Georgia and Sister Blanche Goodson.  There is a powerful 10 minutes ending to the video that includes the legendary Bill Pinkney of The Gospel Drifters singing �The Lord Will Fix It.�  During the singing of this song, the members of the 8 groups became a mass choir.  The lead singer for each group shared lead duties, along with Mr. Pinkney and Elder Jackson.

The video was finally released on May 2005.  The production on this project is great.  The sanctuary where the recording took place was a great venue for the recording.  The stage was definitely large enough for all of the members of the various groups and the musicians.  By the way, The Gospel Drifters' musicians were the primary musician for the recording. 

The live recording was not well attended.  However, the audience, though few in numbers, was certainly an integral part of the recording.  And the groups did not disappoint those in attendance.

The quality of the sound is outstanding.  There are no variations at all in the recording level of the songs.  The lighting is also outstanding. As a result of good lighting, there are great camera shots.  There are many close-ups of the members of the group.  Unfortunately, there are no interviews on this video.

If you like good hard hitting gospel quartet music than this video is a must for your collection.  If you want a significant piece of gospel quartet history in your collection than you must add this video.  For many of the groups on this video this is there first time on video and it may very well be their last time.  So, this video is a must.  It will soon be a collector's item.

This is another video that is priceless.  We give this video an 8.5 out of 10.  Click on the picture above to view a clip from the video.***  To order your copy of the DVD click HERE.