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.
Wayne Christian led the band, performing at concert venues and ’All night gospel singings’ across the deep south and the southwestern United States. 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.
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. John Mays played bass guitar for the
Speer Family
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn ( ...
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.
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
The Mercy River Boys were an American Christian country music band who performed from 1979 to 1985. They were nominated for a Grammy Award for their first album, ''Breakout'' (Canaan Records, 1979). The album was also a finalist for the Gospel Mu ...
.
In 2015, Wayne Christian, Emory Atkins,
Danny Hollis
Danny Hollis is a Christian country music singer-songwriter who was a finalist for a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award in 1980 as a member of the Mercy River Boys. He has toured across the United States for over fifty years, performing as a member of ...
, 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.
Discography
References
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Southern gospel performers
Musical groups from Texas
Singers from Texas
Shelby County, Texas
American Christian musical groups
Musical groups established in 1973
Musical groups disestablished in 1979
1973 establishments in Texas
1979 disestablishments in Texas
Music of Texas