Look for the new McKameys release in November of this year.

Photo L to R: Co-producer Roger Fortner, musicians David Johnson and Tony Creasman, Sheryl Farris, engineer Scott Barnett, Eli Fortner, Peg Bean, Connie Fortner, Ruben Bean, co-producer Jeff Collins

96.3 WGOG AWARDS FIRST EAGLE AWARD TO SONGWRITER
The first Eagle Award to be given  annually by 96.3 WGOG for the Southern gospel music Artist of the Year was presented Saturday at the station’s 50th Anniversary Gospel Music Concert held at the Walhalla Civic Auditorium.

Sandy Stephens Knight, a Walhalla native who has garnered international and national awards for her twenty-five years of songwriting and singing in the family group The Roy Knight Singers based in Six Mile, was named recipient of the Eagle.

A near-capacity audience was on hand as the award was presented by Wayne Morton, 96.3 WGOG’s operations manager and host of The Golden Corner Gospel program heard Sunday mornings. Auditorium director Ray Burroughs and former announcer and on-air program host for WSNW in Seneca – our sister station – Freeman Martin assisted in the presentation.

As the station’s 50th anniversary observance continues, 96.3 WGOG will welcome the internationally-known bluegrass group Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver to the Walhalla Civic Auditorium August 21, 2009.

At Walhalla Civic Auditorium in the “golden corner” of up-state South Carolina pictured L-R are: Wayne Morton of 96.3 WGOG, Roy Knight, Sandy Knight, Freeman Martin, and Ray Burroughs of the Walhalla Civic Auditorium.
(Photo by Rickey Herring)

It’s called “I Want My Stage To Be An Altar” and was written by Nick Akin and beautifully performed by his father David, Nick, and his brothers Eli and Dave. The family group simply goes by The Akins.

That’s all I’ll say right now, other than please be listening! “I Want My Stage To Be An Altar” is coming to a radio station near you next month.

The powerful composition will stir your spirit every time you hear it, and it could become the clarion call that leads many to a renewed commitment for Christ.

Sincerely,

Jim Stover / Crossroads Radio

Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll share some things about this artist all of us at Crossroads have come to love. Number one, we appreciate the fact Mitch is a first-class gentleman who loves the Lord with all his heart, mind and soul. That’s what frees him up to love his family, his friends, and all the people he sings for. Mitch’s deep-seeded faith flows forth like a refreshing stream, both in his speech and his actions. That strong Christian faith is what causes Mitch to to get up and go, to get out and do!

The current year is shaping up to be Mitchel Jon’s best and busiest since going solo in mid-2007. The thrust of his schedule has been what God impressed upon him to call the Something Visible tour. Pastors, music ministers and youth leaders in many places have adopted Mitch’s song as a call to action theme among their members, especially the young people. Something Visible gives hands-on practical examples of what it means to follow Christ and defines what being a Christian is all about.

Place a call to your local station and request Something Visible, you’ll see what the buzz is about! And, for the full impact of this soulful singer’s ministry focus, check out his Pourin’ Rain project!

You’ll find it right here on our website! You won’t even have to leave the house.

After all, it might be pourin’ rain!

From spring to early winter, you’ll find the popular group inside the perimeters of Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. But when Christmas is over and the park is closed, they hit the road to sing in churches from the Mason-Dixon to the Mississippi. Over the years, I’ve been to several of these singing services and that’s just what they are. You always get a little laughter, a lot of ministry (via their excellent song selections) and they end the evening with an invitation to come to Christ for those who haven’t yet said yes to the Master’s call

Chart-topping radio hits like “That’s Why I Love To Call His Name,” “Forever Changed,” “I Know I’m Going There,” “What We Needed,” “Jesus Made a Believer Out Of Me” and their current single “I Want You To Know” keep the temporal wheels turning, but it’s the seed sowing that really keeps the Kingdom Heirs going and doing.

They know it’s what matters most. They know it’s a forever thing.

to talk about a new single for the group. The beautiful ballad “It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are” struck me as a song and a message our deejay friends and their listeners would gravitate to. I shared those feelings with Brenda and she exclaimed, “We were hoping you’d pick that!” then told me they’d just sung it on a TV program and nearly eighty people called the station asking how to get it. Fast forward.

Praise God, “It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are” went on to become this sweet family’s first Top 40! And they deserve it. Ministry is their main motive.

To be honest except for the quick listen last year, I hadn’t really heard (perhaps digested is a better term) New Desire’s music until it was time to pick the follow-up single to “It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are.”

Getting to the point, if you haven’t discovered New Desire and their anointed talent for yourself, please check them out. These folks are tremendous singers and Brenda Robinson is an excellent songwriter!

I’ll leave you with this. We shipped their new single, “I Met the Man” on February 25th and a day or so later I received an email from Don Elrod at WGTJ in Gainesville, GA saying, “This is the best song we’ve ever gotten from the group” and that it was the station’s Top Pick for the month!

Southern Gospel fans, I’d say something’s burning!

Janet Paschal

Her angelic voice and matching countenance have made Janet Paschal a perennial favorite since pre-Reagan White House years. When you look at the lady, that’s hard to believe!  God has been faithful and Janet has remained true, and even through the valley of  life-threatening illness, Janet Paschal never lost her song or reason for singing.

And now, praise God, those dark days are done, the storm clouds have rolled away and the Son is shining brighter than ever in her life and career! Janet’s new book and CD, both fittingly titled with the word Treasure are undeniable proof there’s life after loss, joy after sadness. The secret how and why,  which is really no secret at all, are joyfully proclaimed in the album’s hit debut single “Hide Me Sweet Rock of Ages“ and its eleven other tracks.

Discover this Treasure that’s exquisitely, uniquely Janet Paschal soon!

And deejays, thank you for supporting the single so staunchly!

When the promotion of the single, “Help Is On the Way” was completed and that fine song was happily perched at # 1, it was time for us to select another single. I remember sitting in my office listening to the project and when “Eternity Has Two” came up, it was as though a hand reached down out of that boom-box and grabbed me! The power of the lyric and message against the simple, yet perfectly matched melody resonated deep inside my heart. I believed it would do that with many others as well. So did Mickey Gamble, and of course, the man who handpicked the song for the album, Mr. Doyle Lawson. Seven months later, we’re all thrilled that it did indeed become a big follow-up hit to DL & Q’s first Singing News # 1 song, “Help Is On the Way!”

Early on, I called songwriter Dee Gaskin to tell her how much I liked her song and asked, “Dee, what inspired you to write “Eternity Has Two?” She said she’d seen the phrase “Life has many choices, eternity has two” on a church sign, and that lately most of the songs she’d been writing were songs of invitation. “We need to get people in” was the phrase I recall her saying, or words to that effect.

And Dee is so right. That’s really what matters most, and what our labors in the Gospel music field should all be about.

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