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The Hoppers | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Hopper Brothers and Connie (until 1981) |
| Origin | North Carolina |
| Genres | Southern Gospel, Contemporary Christian |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Members | Claude Hopper (baritone) Connie Hopper (alto) Dean Hopper (lead) Kim Hopper (soprano) Mike Hopper (bass) Karlye Hopper (vocal) |
| Past members | see below |
| Website | thehoppers |
The Hoppers (until 1981: Hopper Brothers and Connie) are a multi award-winning Southern Gospel group from North Carolina. They have performed together for several decades and have achieved significant popularity due to widening the playing field in Southern Gospel by incorporating Pop, country, and Rock music into their work.
Contents
- Group accolades
- Members
- Line-ups
- Hopper Brothers 2.0 Members
- Line-ups 2
- Discography
- References
- External links
The Hoppers are a family ensemble which first began performing together in 1957. They appeared at the inauguration ceremony for Ronald Reagan in 1981. They won awards for Mixed Vocal Group from the Southern Gospel Music Association in 1982 and 1983.
Kim Greene of The Greenes joined the group in 1989 after marrying vocalist and former drummer Dean Hopper the year before. Their first major hit at Christian radio was "Here I Am", in 1990; they would score many further hits, including "Grace Will Always Be Greater”," "Mention My Name”, ”Blame It On Love”, “The Ride”, "Hope”," "I’ve Come Too Far”, “He Didn’t Just Carry the Cross", "That's Him," and "Yes I Am" and their biggest hit to date "Jerusalem" for which they recorded a live video in 2005 from the city itself. In the 2010s the Hoppers had two mega hits "Yahweh" and "Something's Happening". The Hoppers continue strong in the 2020s with the same line up for the past 30+ years.
Mike Hopper married Denice in 1996, who became the group's pianist. In 1998, their version of "Shoutin' Time" became another one of their biggest hits, and the group performed with Bill and Gloria Gaither. They won several further Southern Gospel Music Awards in following years. In addition member Connie Hopper won the career Marvin Norcross Award in 1998. They also performed on the album Tribute To Dottie Rambo , which was a nominee for "Special Event Album of the Year" at the Dove Awards of 1999.
The group has appeared on the Gaither Homecoming tour frequently, and Claude and Dean Hopper are members of the board of directors of the North Carolina Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Mike Hopper has appeared on the television program Touched by an Angel .
In 2007, the Hoppers signed to the shortly revived Canaan Record Label. Their release, "The Ride", was originally recorded independently, then re-released on the Canaan label. January 2009 brought the first recording under the Canaan umbrella titled, "North America, Live!". With distribution under the Spring Hill Music Group label, the Hoppers have released "Something's Happening" in August 2010.
Kim Hopper has released two solo projects, "Imagine" under the Spring Hill Label, and most recently (August 2008) "I Just Wanted You To Know" with Canaan Records.
