Before 1970 came to a close, the Inspirations went through additional changes with their line-up. After being gone for almost a year, Ronnie Hutchins returned to the group, and original members, Troy Burns, along with Jack Laws, briefly exited the group as well. According to the book written by Bob Terrell about the Inspirations titled, “What a Wonderful Time”, Troy left in July 1970, and Jack departed a few months later in September. Subsequently, after Jack’s departure, Ronnie returned to his original position singing lead, thus moving Eddie Dietz, who was a versatile singer in his own right, down to the baritone slot that was vacated by Jack. Eddie had an amazing range and depending on the song, Eddie and Ronnie (and later Troy when he took over singing lead) would switch parts within a song and Eddie would take the melody and Ronnie/Troy would take the baritone part. With Troy’s departure in July 1970, Martin called on Marlin Shubert to sing the bass, whom the Inspirations first heard singing with his sisters in their family group back in March 1970. Marlin gave the Inspirations a unique depth to their sound and was an excellent fit with the group. This vocal iteration of the Inspirations with Archie, Ronnie, Eddie and Marlin, was an exciting version of the Inspirations, and though it was rather short lived (approximately 2 years), it was an extremely memorable era for the group.

With these member changes in place, the Inspirations immediately began work on a new album, and before the year was out, they released the exciting album, “Keep Your Eyes on Jesus”. With this latest recording, you definitely hear a step up in the overall production quality, and it appears that efforts were made to update the overall sound of the Inspirations, while also remaining true to who they were. With Ronnie back in the group, the Inspirations vocal blend was very similar to their original sound, and I always felt that “Keep Your Eyes on Jesus” was a fantastic sounding album overall.

The album kicks off with the invigorating tune, “I’ll Be Moving Away”, which was written by William B. Clement. This was the perfect lead off song for the album and really showcased the new version of the Inspirations perfectly. I love the piano work in the song, and it remains one of my favorite Inspirations tunes.

With a bit of an acoustic feel, the Inspirations render their own rendition of the classic tune, “I Know”. Interestingly, the song was originally written as a country ballad called, “Sweeter Than the Flowers”, which was originally recorded and was a hit by Moon Mulligan in 1948. Then around 1970, LaVerne Tripp (who was the lead singer for the Blue Ridge Quartet at the time) wrote gospel lyrics to the tune. Both the Blue Ridge Quartet and the Oak Ridge Boys recorded the song, and both groups are credited with taking this song to #1 in the Singing News chart for 10 months, from February through November 1971. The song instantly became a Southern Gospel standard, and it fit the Inspirations’ messaging and style perfectly.

Slowing the tempo down, Eddie steps up as he is featured on the Neil Enloe penned classic, “The Joy of Knowing Jesus”. This was a huge song for the Couriers, as well as the Oak Ridge Boys, during the early 70’s, and the Inspirations do a good job making the song their own, before they showcase their newest bass singer, with the quartet classic, “Hide Me, Rock of Ages”, which they originally recorded on their third album, “Just As Long As Eternity Rolls” back in 1966. Featuring an excellent performance by Marlin, the song became an Inspirations “staple”, and they would record the song 2 more times over the next several years, in 1993 and again in 2010. Even today, the song continues to be a concert favorite with the current group, as the song frequently makes it to their set list, much to the audience’s delight.

The Inspirations realized with the song, “I’ll Be in the Rapture” from their last album, that they had struck gold with songs written by Ila Knight, and they included 2 of her newest compositions on this latest album, and both songs were very different from each other. The convention feel of “Open Up the Gates”, which features step out lines by Marlin, was a perfect tune for the Inspirations, before the tempo slows down slightly for the haunting melody of the song simply titled, “Mother”, which feature both Ronnie and Archie. Over the years, I never really paid much attention to the song “Mother”, until the Inspirations re-recorded a very moving version of it on their 2021 recording, “What a Wonderful Time-Live”. Their performance of the song on that recording made me sit up and take notice, as it’s truly a wonderful piece of ear candy. After hearing the song on their 2021 recording, I had to go back and re-listen to the original cut from this album, and I could not believe that for years I had overlooked what a true gem of a song it really was!

With a nice guitar track and lilting piano highlights, Archie takes the lead on the title song, “Keep Your Eyes on Jesus”. This song was written and originally recorded by the Louvin Brothers in 1963, and the Rambos recorded it a couple of years later, on their 1965 album, “Cross Country Concert”, back when they were known as the Gospel Echoes. The Inspirations’ rendition of the song is my favorite version, as I felt they captured the essence of the song perfectly. This was a popular song for the group, climbing all the way to #9 in the Singing News chart for July 1971, and was a song I listened to incessantly as a kid, remaining one of my all-time favorite Inspirations’ tunes. The cinema of the mind can be a wonderful thing sometimes…I remember back when I was a kid, I could sing as high as Archie and I would sing right along on this song, holding my little microphone, with my back arched as far back as I could go, just like I’d seen Archie do on the Gospel Singing Jubilee!

On the same album the Inspirations dug up “Hide Me, Rock of Ages”, the group re-recorded the title song from that album, “Just As Long As Eternity Rolls”, and this updated version is my personal favorite rendition of the song. It’s really neat comparing their first version with this latest rendition, as 4 years had passed since they originally recorded it. Ronnie and Archie were part of that original performance, and over time, they had grown and matured as singers, and I always felt this version perfectly captured that growth, and I consider this song to be the crowning jewel of the recording.

The folk feel of “Tell it Again” (aka-“Gypsy Boy”) is one of my all-time favorite Ronnie features, and was something very different for the Inspirations. One of the Inspirations’ early influences was Smitty Gatlin and the Oak Ridge Boys, and this was a song the Oaks recorded a few years earlier on their 1966 album, “Solid Gospel Sound”, and featured Smitty. The song is a strikingly beautiful, yet rather sad and intriguing ballad, telling the story of a young gypsy boy who lay dying, but upon hearing the gospel for the first time, he finds Jesus (as an aside, in keeping up with the times, the Inspirations changed the wording in the song from “gypsy” to “hippie”). Legend has it that the song was inspired by a true story and was put pen to paper by Mary B. Slade around 1876, then a short time later was set to music by Rigdon M. McIntosh, and later published in the Broadman Hymnal. As a kid, and even to this day, I am deeply drawn to the story in the song, and Ronnie did a fabulous job interpreting the lyric of this ballad.

Slowing down slightly, we come to the Vep Ellis penned classic, “I Know My Savior is There”, which once again highlights the outstanding bass vocals of Marlin Shubert. With its slight blues undertones, the song was a popular quartet tune having already been recorded by such groups as the Stamps Quartet, Chuck Wagon Gang, Harmoneers and Oak Ridge Boys, and the song is a delightful inclusion for this album.

Picking up the tempo, we come to one of the most unique songs on this album titled, “I Can Almost Hear Trumpets”, which actually includes live trumpets, which is something you don’t hear on a typical Inspirations’ recording, as they never used strings or brass in their music (save their 1986 Christmas album, “Going Home for Christmas”). Nevertheless, the trumpets work exceptionally well on this song, and it’s remained one of my favorites from this album.

Closing out the album is the classic, “Heaven Will Surely Be Worth it All”, which features Eddie. The Speer Family recorded the song in 1955 on their very first long play album, “The Speer Family Album”, and was a Speer Family sugar-stick during the 50’s and 60’s. The song was identified with Dad Speer more than anyone else in Southern Gospel Music, and Eddie does a great job with his interpretation of the song, giving the album a nice, warm conclusion.

During the 60’s and into the earliest part of the 70’s, the Inspirations did a lot of meetings with Evangelist Ralph Sexton, and in 1970, they recorded a unique album together titled, “Through the Gates”. The album was not recorded during a church service or revival meeting, but rather in a recording studio, where the Inspirations recorded their songs, and then Ralph Sexton integrated his sermon, “Through the Gates”, between their songs, which were mostly hymns of the church. This album will likely cost a pretty penny today, as it is the rarest of all the albums by the Inspirations, because there were very few made, as they likely only sold the album for a short time. In fact, I am still looking to obtain a copy of this album myself, as it is the only recording by the Inspirations that I do not have in my collection. As a side note, the next rarest album by the Inspirations is their 1966 album, “Just as Long as Eternity Rolls”, as only 500 copies of the album were pressed before the master was destroyed in a warehouse fire.

In addition to their on-going exposure from the Gospel Singing Jubilee television program, the Inspirations were a feature story on “CBS Evening News with Roger Mudd”, as they aired a 6-minute segment highlighting the music of the Inspirations on December 19, 1970! The news team spent an entire weekend with the Inspirations, following along with them on a concert tour throughout the deep south, catching them in action on stage, as well as interview snippets from their tour bus. I don’t usually post links in my articles, but this unique news story is available to watch on You Tube, and you can check it out via the following link…(https://youtu.be/T0pBEm0zTg0?si=zhdtQrSDW7P31psx). This news story really put the Inspirations “center stage” and introduced their music (and our genre) to millions of people across the nation, further escalating the overwhelming popularity of the Inspirations. Their wave of success was continuing to build, and they were gaining momentum with each performance and each album they released. The Inspirations were on the cusp of becoming the #1 gospel quartet, and by the end of the following year, they would sign a record deal with Canaan Records that would help solidify that success!

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