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.
Dollywood is a theme park jointly owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. It is located in the Knoxville-Smoky Mountains metroplex in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season – mid-March to the Christmas holidays – Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee.
The Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance was awarded from 1962 to 1986. During this time the award had several name changes:
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".
Canaan Records is a Christian record label and is a subsidiary of Word Entertainment.
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the Southeastern United States whose 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 culture 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.
William James Gaither is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio and the Gaither Vocal Band (GVB). In the 1990s, his career gained a resurgence, as popularity grew for the Gaither Homecoming series.
George Wilson Younce was an American bass singer, known for performing with Southern gospel quartets, especially The Cathedrals.
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.
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.
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 '50s and '60s.
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 total nominations and won 9 Grammy Awards.
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.
Dottie Rambo was an American gospel singer and songwriter. She was a Grammy and multiple Dove Award-winning artist. Along with husband Buck and daughter Reba, she formed the award-winning southern Gospel group, The Rambos. She wrote more than 2,500 songs, including her most notable, "He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need", "We Shall Behold Him", and "I Go To the Rock".
Vestal Goodman was a singer who performed in the Southern gospel genre for more than half a century. She is known both as a solo performer and as a member of the Happy Goodman Family—which originated with her husband and his brothers and sisters—one of the pioneering groups in southern gospel music.
Gaither Homecoming is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. To date, the Gaither Homecoming title is applied to more than 60 videos, dozens of music recordings, and an annual concert tour that drew more than half a million fans in 2004.
Chasing Rainbows is a museum based on the country music singer Dolly Parton. It is located in the Dollywood theme park, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States.
Charles F. "Rusty" Goodman was an American singer/songwriter in the Southern Gospel Music industry. He was a prolific composer whose many songs included "Standing in the Presence of the King", "Leavin' On My Mind", "Home", "John the Revelator", "Touch the Hand of the Lord", "Had it Not Been" "I Believe He's Coming Back" "Look for Me" and "Who Am I?" His songs have been covered by many of the top artists in the music industry including Elvis Presley, The Imperials, J. D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, The Speers, The Happy Goodman Family, Michael English and Gaither Vocal Band.
Conley "London" Parris was an American southern gospel bass singer, famous for his associations with The Blackwood Brothers and hit songs such as "Heaven Came Down". He was inducted into the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame in 2004.
LaBreeska Hemphill was an American Southern gospel performer. She was a member of The Happy Goodman Family and The Hemphills. With her husband and children, she won eight GMA Dove Awards and three BMI Awards, and she was inducted into the Dollywood Gospel Hall of Fame and the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame.
