On April 17, 1987, the Kingsmen returned to Jackson, Mississippi to finally record the live album that was originally intended to be recorded a year earlier. If you recall, “Stand Up at Opryland USA” was supposed to be recorded in Jackson, but technical issues halted that from becoming a reality. The Kingsmen vowed to return to Jackson and record a live album, and true to their word, they returned and got the job done! The Kingsmen loved Jackson, and Jackson truly loved them back! Every group/artist has “their” town or geographical area where they are extremely popular…and the Kingsmen owned Jackson, Mississippi, and their crowd showed up in full force that night (as they did a year prior for “Stand Up)! An unsung hero responsible in part for the crowd is Jeff Steele (yes, THAT Jeff Steele), who was a popular radio DJ at WJXN in Jackson at the time. In the days and weeks leading up to the event, Jeff worked feverishly to bring an enthusiastic crowd to the event. In fact, if you watch the Jackson version of “Stand Up” on You Tube, that is Jeff Steele who was sitting in the audience and corrected Jim Hamill with the year they originally recorded “Look for Me at Jesus’ Feet”!

“Mississippi Live” was the third live album the Kingsmen had released in as many years. In fact, by this time, they had even considered only recording live albums, because their live albums were always such a success. Jackson was ready for this night, and as on so many live albums in the past, the audience made their presence known on this recording. The Kingsmen and band are totally in their element on this recording, as they are singing to a packed house filled with excited Kingsmen fans. Combining the audience along with the energy and excitement of the Kingsmen, they recorded another exciting and historic live album!

Produced by Eldridge Fox and Jim Hamill, there are no additional musicians being credited outside of the Kingsmen band, as it appears they are providing all the music, so my assumption is that any extra overdubs were done by the Kingsmen band in the studio. The Kingsmen also recorded a live video this same night as well. Their next 2 live recordings, the Kingsmen opted not to record a live video simultaneously, because they felt it took away from the overall live spontaneity of recording a live album. Mention must also be given for the cover shot for the album, taken at Gary and Carol McSpadden’s house, which provided the perfect southern backdrop for a Mississippi live recording.

Roy Brookshire, who was the promotor for the event, introduced the Kingsmen to the stage, and after his brief intro, they kick things off with the traditional quartet feel of “Inside the Gate”, which was written by Mark Jones and published by Land of the Sky Publishing. Featuring step out lines by Ray on the chorus, the song features Hamill on the second verse and it fits him like a glove. This was an excellent opening song and is one of my favorites from this album.

After Hamill talks for a couple of minutes, Garry gives a commanding performance on the Squire Parsons classic, “Look for me at Jesus Feet”, which remains one of his favorite songs that he sang while with the group. Ever since the Kingsmen recorded the song on their 1973 album, “Big & Live”, just about every tenor that has passed through the Kingsmen has sung this song, but this particular performance ranks as my all-time favorite. Hamill actually called the song during the failed live recording attempt the previous year, and I’m so glad they captured it for this live recording as Garry gave the performance of a lifetime on this song. As they deviate from the original version, Hamill shows ‘em how it’s done as he picks up the lead on the last half of the final chorus, and the band kicks it into high gear behind them, giving the song a power ending like no other…and the crowd just eats it up! As Garry comes back around for the encore, you can tell he’s slightly overwhelmed with the song, and you definitely feel the spirit and emotion in the song, as it all comes together to create one of the most powerful moments found on a Kingsmen live album. As I already mentioned, it’s my all-time favorite performance of this classic song, and my favorite song on this recording.

Picking up the tempo, we come to the enjoyable, “We Will Sing”, which was written by Jeff Gibson. With Hamill taking the melody, the song features step out lines by everyone in the group and it’s a great straight ahead quartet number that was totally “in the pocket”, before Hamill takes a moment to set up the highly entertaining, “Satisfied”, a song written by the legendary Martha Carson, which the Kingsmen recorded on their 1979 album, “From Out of the Past”. Updating an old routine that the Kingsmen used when they staged the song back in the day, Garry, Ed, and Arthur are dubbed Diana Ross & the Supreme’s, as they provide the “ladies part” behind Hamill. It’s a hoot and a highlight of the recording, and the crowd eats it up!

As we come to the next song, Hamill shares that Ray wanted a song he could “get down” on, and he totally “gets down” on the Squire Parsons penned, “Holiness Fire”. This was such a fun song to listen to, further highlighted by Gary Dillard’s stellar playing on the dobro. Squire, being heavily influenced by such black gospel groups as the Harmonizing Four Quartet, took the spirit of those amazing negro spirituals and infused that into this wonderful song, which was a little different for the Kingsmen, and Ray does an outstanding job. It’s an absolute gem of a song and a highlight of the recording.

Hamill then takes a moment to introduce Anthony Burger and has him play a potpourri of styles including classical, jazz, country, pop, and gospel on the classic hymn, “When We All Get to Heaven”. Showing off Anthony’s versatility as a piano player, it’s such a unique and unusual piece, and it ranks as one of my favorite instrumentals by Anthony. A few months after “Mississippi Live” came out, Anthony released his third instrumental album, “Expressions of my Heart”, which was one of the very first recordings made at the new Hear Here Recording Studios in Asheville, NC. I think this album was likely the most true to who Anthony was an artist, featuring a variety of musical styles and was an outstanding piece of artistry.

Eldridge Fox steps up next as he sings the country feel of, “Tell Everyone You Know”. Written by Jerry Salley along with future Country Music star Aaron Tippin (who wouldn’t make his mark on the Country Music scene until the 1990’s), the song was the second single from the album, peaking at #18 in September and October 1988. Interestingly, another song was chosen for Foxie to sing for this album, but he heard this song the day before they recorded this album, and he loved the song so much, they decided to drop the other song and they quickly learned this new one for the album. This is also one of the very few singles that features Foxie, and was the first single since 1977’s, “Is That the Old Ship of Zion” (which features him on the second verse), to feature him.

As Hamill sets up the next song, he borrows a moving illustration that Evangelist Maze Jackson used to share about a solider on the battlefield during World War II whose mama would pray for him every day at 4:30, before Ed steps up to sing the Ronny Hinson penned, “When Mama Prayed”. With Arthur joining Ed, Garry, and Ray on the song, this was a huge hit for the Kingsmen, peaking at the #3 position for 3 months in a row in March, April, and May of 1988. The song became Ed’s signature song, and as Ed gives an emotional and heartfelt testimony, he turns around and delivers an equally emotionally charged encore, before the tempo picks up for the enjoyable tune, “He’s Coming”. The song was an excellent segue between 2 emotionally charged tunes and though very short, it’s really a great song. Written by Chris Campbell and published through Land of the Sky Publishing, Chris’ dad, Jack Campbell, penned many songs over the years that were recorded by the Kingsmen, as well as the Rambos, Florida Boys, Cathedrals, Inspirations, and others. Chris followed in his dad’s footsteps and became an outstanding songwriter, and the Kingsmen would go on to record a few more of Chris’ tunes in the forthcoming years. In fact, some people may remember Chris as vocalist with the McGruders during their later years, who also co-wrote Priscilla McGruder’s signature song, “From Heaven’s Point of View” with Charles Isbell.

As Hamill sets up the Squire Parsons penned classic, “He’s Still Living” (which the Kingsmen originally recorded on their 1974 album, “1686 Pounds of Gospel”), he channels his inner “preacher man” and shucks the corn for a couple minutes, before Arthur turns in one of the most dynamic performances ever put on record. In addition to Arthur’s amazing performance, when they come to the final tag in the song, they slow the tempo down as Garry sings, “He said if He should go away, He’d come again one glorious day…”, and then Arthur comes back in with “He’ll do exactly what He said…for He’s still living”, and the place just explodes! It’s a powerfully emotional delivery and is truly the crowing jewel of the album, before the Kingsmen tear into a few choruses of their mega hit, “Stand Up”, as an exciting grand finale.

Each of the three live albums released between 1985 and 1987 had the exact same personnel, but they were each very different and they each had distinct personalities. “Better in Person” was very laid back and slower paced, “Stand Up” was very entertaining and upbeat, and involved the listener in various aspects, but “Mississippi Live” really had a similar feel to some of their earlier live albums. Of those three live albums, I would have to say that “Mississippi Live” is my personal favorite. I love the overall feel of the album and feel it best represented that classic Kingsmen feel, perfectly combining both entertainment and spiritual elements, culminating into an exciting and classic live album!

Though the Cathedrals were enjoying a huge surge in popularity, Gold City was hitting their stride during this time as well, and I typically refer the Kingsmen, Cathedrals and Gold City as the “Big 3”, since they were pretty much the dominating male quartets during the 80’s and 90’s. During the 1987 Singing News Fan Awards, the Kingsmen won “Favorite Band”, Anthony took home “Favorite Musician” and they also walked away with “Video of the Year” for their “Stand Up at Opryland USA” live video, which was recorded the previous year.

Though the Kingsmen seriously toyed with the idea of only recording live albums, this would be end of a string of very successful live albums, as the following year they would return to the studio to record their first studio album since 1984! Though the Kingsmen were “seaworthy” in the studio, they understood the task at hand and knew it was a big task returning to the studio after 3 live albums, but it was a much-anticipated recording, and we’ll talk through all of it in our next article…so stick around!

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