Singing Christians

The Singing Christians were a Southern gospel music band. They released five albums on the Canaan Records label and charted in the Southern gospel radio markets.

Singing Christians
Genres	Southern gospel
Years active	1973 (1973)–1979 (1979)
Labels	Canaan
Associated acts	Mercy River Boys, Wayne Christian, Wally Fowler, Stamps Quartet, Blackwood Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys, Florida Boys, Wendy Bagwell, Jimmie Davis, Happy Goodman Family, Emory Atkins, Danny Hollis, Paradise (musical group)
Past members	Emory Atkins, bass guitar 1976-79 Kevin Bailey, electric guitar 1977-79 Calvin Christian, tenor vocals 1973-77 James Christian, lead vocals and violin 1973-78 Wayne Christian, lead vocals 1973-79 Gary Goss, piano 1975-79 Danny Hollis, acoustic guitar and vocals 1977-79 Bill Horton, steel guitar 1975-76 Frank Horton, baritone vocals 1973-77 John Mays, bass guitar, 1975-1976 Rusty Oxford, bass vocals 1975-79 Johnny Pope 1975-76 Ronny Ricks, drums 1977-1979 Galen Sawyer, drums 1973-75 Danny B. Smith, tenor vocals 1977-79

Wayne Christian[1] led the band, performing at concert venues and ’All night gospel singings’ across the deep south and the southwestern United States.[2] In 1975, the group became a regular headliner on the Wally Fowler Show. The band hosted their own music festival in East Texas, featuring many Southern gospel quartets, drawing thousands of Christian music fans each year. The Singing Christians became the first group to perform and headline on the Kerrville Gospel Jubilee.[3][4]

Several former Singing Christians members impacted the music industry beyond the scope of the group. Wayne Christian served as president of the Gospel Music Association. Starting in 1997, Christian served 16 consecutive years representing District 9 in the Texas House Of Representatives. Gary Goss went on to travel with Governor Jimmie Davis. In 1986, Goss became the music and tour director for Country music singer Johnny Rodriguez.[5] John Mays played bass guitar for the Speer Family after leaving the Singing Christians. He later served as head of Benson Records and Canaan Records. Emory Atkins became a record producer, singer-songwriter, and audio-recording engineer in Nashville, Tennessee.[6]

After the band ended their career as The Singing Christians in 1979, the remaining eight members rebranded themselves as a Christian country music group, changing their name to the Mercy River Boys.[1]

In 2015, Wayne Christian, Emory Atkins, Danny Hollis, Ronny Ricks, Gary Goss, and all the band members of the Singing Christians and Mercy River Boys were inducted into the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame.[7][4] [8]

Discography

Year	Album	Label
1973	I’d Rather Live in the Sunshine (The Singing Christians)
1974	When I Begin to Live My Life (The Singing Christians)	Canaan Records[9]
1975	Good Times are Coming (The Singing Christians)	Canaan Records
1976	The Promise (The Singing Christians)	Canaan Records[10]
1977	Something For Everyone (Singing Christians)	Canaan Records[11]
1978	Refresh Our Spirit (Singing Christians)	Canaan Records[12]

References

1. "Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inducts The Singing Christians/Mercy River Boys". Shelby County Today. November 25, 2015.
2. "Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame, 3810 Cavalier Dr, Garland, TX (2020)". www.gluseum.com.
3. http://happenstance-music.com/images/KFF-programs/1978-5.jpg
4. "The Singing Christians". www.uniqware.com.
5. "Music Man Shares Career History". https://www.ktre.com. External link in |website= (help)
6. "Southern Gospel History | M / MercyRiverBoys". sghistory.com.
7. https://www.dddnews.com/story/2244995.html
8. https://www.easttexaspress.com/faith/singing-christiansmercy-river-boys-tx-gospel-music-hall-fame
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nNplCyLwc&feature=share
10. "Canaan Records". Discogs.
11. "The Singing Christians - Something For Everyone". Discogs.
12. "Gospel Music Association top ten songs of 1980, Calm this storm for me, Refreshing". www.copyrightencyclopedia.com.