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The National Quartet Convention (NQC) is an annual gathering of Southern Gospel quartets and musicians. It is held at the Leconte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States.
The first National Quartet Convention was held in 1957. [1] J. D. Sumner, Cecil Blackwood and James Blackwood of The Blackwood Brothers were the founders of the famous National Quartet Convention formerly held in Memphis, Tennessee. The National Quartet Convention featured all the major gospel groups at a three-day event at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. After the first couple of years, the NQC was moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1959 and Atlanta, Georgia in 1960. It returned to Memphis in 1961 and was drawing annual crowds of 20,000 by the mid-1960s. Sumner bought the convention in 1971 and moved it to Nashville, Tennessee in 1972, where it remained until 1993. After 1993, it was moved to a new home, Louisville, Kentucky. In 2014 the convention moved to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which is the home of the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.
Over the years, the National Quartet Convention grew from three days of concerts to a six-day multi-purpose event. A main attraction is the exhibit hall with approximately 500 booths where artists, record labels, CD duplication plants, media entities, booking agents, Christian bookstores, and other industry related organizations display their products and offer their services. The week is largely attended by the older generation but lately due to the popularity of groups such as the Booth Brothers, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Legacy Five, The Collingsworth Family and the Gaither Vocal Band, the fans are becoming younger. Fans meet their favorite artists in the exhibit area.
A concert is held each evening in the Leconte Center at Pigeon Forge, typically approaches sellout numbers for the concerts. These concerts years past ran for approximately six hours but in 2009 they have shortened the evening to five hours, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and feature non-stop music from the major Southern Gospel artists spaced at 10-20 minute intervals. The Singing News used to present the Fan Award on the Thursday night of the week but it was changed to Saturday night in 2009. Afternoons are devoted to showcases, some for new talent and others for conceptual events. For example, a couple of popular showcases have been Mike Speck's "Choral Music Extravaganza." and "Glorious Piano Extravaganza" featuring the best in southern gospel music piano players. These are usually the highlights of the afternoons. There is a talent competition during the week as well.
In addition to the events for the fans, industry members routinely schedule meetings and even recording sessions to coincide with the convention. Groups needing to replace a member make new contacts at NQC and sometimes conduct auditions during the week. Various business deals are made or renegotiated. Hoping to gain exposure, up and coming artists schedule showcases at nearby hotels. Record labels court radio and media by feeding them meals, taking them on riverboat cruises and facilitating access for interviews with the artists.
In the late 1990s, the convention added three additional events designed to take the Southern Gospel convention experience to regions distant from Louisville. These new events were the Great Western Convention in Fresno, California; the Canadian Quartet Convention in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada; and the Central Canada Gospel Quartet Convention in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Within a few years, though, they had sold or abandoned those events in favor of focusing on the main event in Louisville.
1999: Glen Payne made his final public performance via telephone from his hospital room at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. He performed "I Won't Have to Cross Jordan Alone" at the request of George Younce, his singing partner from The Cathedral Quartet. Glen died one month later.
2005: Lauren Talley, Jason Crabb, and several other young Southern Gospel vocalists joined to record an album called "The Torch". "The Race", a song from the album, was voted #1 on some local charts in late 2005.
2007: Ivan Parker became the first soloist to take the Convention stage in 25 years.
2013: Tracy Stuffle of The Perrys joined his wife Libbi Perry-Stuffle on stage via FaceTime on her iPhone. Tracey had been unable to attend in person following a stroke suffered January 21, 2013. In a pre-recorded video message he stated he planned to attend the 2014 NQC in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
2013: Brazilian Christian group Quarteto Gileade, based in Rio Verde, Goiás, sang Handel's Hallelujah Chorus in Portuguese, becoming the first non-American group to perform at the main stage of the NQC. Many foreign groups have attended the convention over the years, some also sang in the showcase afternoons, but none had made it to the main stage until then. In the following year, they performed again at the main stage, singing Gold City's "I Get Down" in English with some verses in Portuguese, being joined after by Gold City themselves.
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership comprises a network of artists, industry leaders, retail stores, radio stations, concert promoters and local churches involved with the wider Christian music industry.
The Southern Gospel Music Association (SGMA) is a non-profit corporation formed as an association of southern gospel music singers, songwriters, fans, and industry workers. Membership is acquired and maintained through payment of annual dues. The SGMA was formed in 1994, and states that its primary goal is "to preserve, protect and promote Southern Gospel Music, its history and heritage".
Jake Hess was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. Sometimes known as "quartet music" for its traditional "four men and a piano" set up, southern gospel has evolved over the years into a popular form of music across the United States and overseas, especially among baby boomers and those living in the Southern United States. Like other forms of music, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of southern gospel varies according to the cultural and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
The Blackwood Brothers are an American southern gospel quartet. Pioneers of the Christian music industry, they are 8-time Grammy Award winners in addition to winning 7 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. They are also members of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.
John Daniel Sumner was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and music promoter noted for his bass voice, and his innovation in the Christian and Gospel music fields. Sumner sang in five quartets and was a member of the Blackwood Brothers during their 1950s heyday. Aside from his incredibly low bass voice, Sumner's business acumen helped promote Southern Gospel and move it into the mainstream of American culture and music during the 1950s and 1960s.
James Webre Blackwood was an American gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers. He is the only person in any field of music to have been nominated for a Grammy Award for 28 consecutive years. He received 31 nominations and won nine Grammy Awards.
The Imperials are an American Christian music group that has been active for over 55 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There have been many changes for the band in membership and musical styles over the years. They would go on to win four Grammys, 15 Dove Awards and be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
The Statesmen Quartet were an American southern gospel quartet founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered the most successful and influential gospel quartet of the 1950s and 1960s and had a wide influence on artists during that time from the gospel, country, pop, and rock and roll genre. Along with hits spanning many decades, The Statesmen Quartet had many notable successes including being the first Gospel group to receive endorsement deals. Additionally, they made television commercials, appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, and were signed to RCA Victor before launching their own record label, Skylite Records, with The Blackwood Brothers.
The 3rd Annual GMA Dove Awards moved to Nashville, TN was held October 9, 1971, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium after two years in Memphis. As a result of the voting irregularities controversy, most awards were nullified.
Guy Penrod is a gospel music singer. He is known for his work as the lead singer of the Gaither Vocal Band, a position he held from 1995 to 2009.
Elvis: The Concert is a concert tour started in 1997 that features audio and video recordings of Elvis Presley, accompanied live by his 1970s backup band.
Charles Franklin Hodge, better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland.
The Perrys are a Southern gospel quartet based in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Glen Weldon Payne was a Southern gospel artist who served for 55 years and was known for being the lead vocalist for The Cathedral Quartet.
Bill Dykes is an American gospel music singer.
Steve French was an American baritone who was the emcee and owner of the Kingdom Heirs. Born in Mascot, Tennessee, French claimed in concert performances to have founded the group with his brother Kreis in 1981. Nevertheless, the historical record shows that the Kingdom Heirs were founded in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1971. Both Steve and Kreis French first forayed into musical performance in their church. Steve traveled with regional groups the Crystal River Boys and the King's Servants prior to joining the Kingdom Heirs in 1982.
The Dixie Melody Boys were an American Southern Gospel quartet from Kinston, North Carolina formed in 1961 and retired in 2023. The group was known for giving many young Southern Gospel and Christian artists their start in the gospel music industry and their innovation in the Christian music field.
Bryan Hutson is a gospel musician who has performed with The New Generation, The Heartland Quartet, The Blackwood Quartet, and The Kingsmen Quartet.
Conley "London" Parris was an American southern gospel bass singer, famous for his associations with The Rebels quartet and The Blackwood Brothers and hit songs such as "Heaven Came Down". He was inducted into the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame in 2004.