Riding a newfound wave of success with “Jesus is Coming Soon”, the Inspirations released an outstanding follow-up album in 1969 with, “The Next Step You Take”. Things had become so busy for the group, that Martin Cook, who at this point was a Professor of Science at Camp Laboratory School in Cullowhee, NC, had decided to leave that position in May 1969, so he could focus all his efforts on the Inspirations, thus launching the group on the road full-time. This latest album, “The Next Step You Take”, would be their first release as a full-time traveling gospel quartet, and you can hear the transition in their overall sound and quality of their music, as they worked to put out music that was on par with most national releases during this era.

No credit is given as to who played for this album, though it is assumed that the regular players from their previous albums provided the music for this latest release. The back cover credits Martin Cook as producer, but also lists Otis Forrest as music director, and I was able to confirm this was the first album he plays the piano on for the Inspirations. You definitely hear Otis’ unique style of playing as he used the low end of the keyboard a lot, giving each song a little extra depth to its sound, dressing up each song with a slight dramatic flair. Otis played for the Blue Ridge Quartet between 1967 and 1968, after which he dove into studio work producing, arranging, orchestrating and playing for such artists as the Blue Ridge Quartet, Blackwood Brothers, Walt Mills, Pfeifers, Florida Boys, Speers, Perfect Heart, Triumphant Quartet and many others.

“The Next Step You Take” offers a cool cover shot of the group that was taken at the top of Clingmans Dome, which sits along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. It is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as the highest point in Tennessee. Also, a neat sidenote about the cover, the footprints on the album’s front cover was taken from a magazine article that was written about a class Martin taught.

The album kicks off with the title song, “The Next Step You Take”, which was written by Jack Campbell (known for writing other great songs such as “Oh What a Happy Day”, “March Around the Throne One Time for Me” and “I Know a Man Who Can”). The Inspirations sang on a few concerts with Jack Campbell and his group, the Ambassadors, and the Inspirations would go on to record several of his songs through the years. This particular song is one of my all-time favorite Inspirations tunes, and I loved the precision of Ronnie’s singing on this song, especially as his voice cuts through the silence, as he starts off acapella…”Why worry about tomorrow…”. That striking beginning just jumps out at you off the record, and it’s a song that has remained a big part of my life’s soundtrack. Just out of the blue, this song comes to my mind often…in the car, around the house…I’ll just break out singing, “Why worry about tomorrow…”! It’s truly a tremendous song of faith, and I’m so glad I have this song tucked in my spirit whenever I need it! I was thrilled when the Freemans recorded an excellent version of the song on their 1999 recording, “Memory Lane Scrapbook”. In fact, the Inspirations would eventually re-record the song as well, nearly 20 years later, on their 1987 album, “It’s Still the Blood”.

With a bit of a bluesy feel, the guys jump into the highly enjoyable, “My Lord’s Been a Walking”, which was recorded by the Statesmen about 10 years earlier on their 1958 album, “The Statesmen Quartet Sings with Hovie Lister”. The song was written by Luther Presley in 1947 (the Inspirations recorded a lot of songs written by this legendary songwriter), and was a popular tune for the Chestnut Grove Quartet, which could be where the Inspirations first heard it, as the Inspirations version more closely followed the arrangement by the Chestnut Grove Quartet, despite their acapella performance. The Inspirations also likely heard the song sung in many of the mountain churches in the area, as the song was a popular tune throughout the mountains during the 50’s and 60’s, and I am so glad the Inspirations picked this song up and made it their own, as it’s one of my all-time favorite Inspirations songs. Additionally, much like “Jesus is Coming Soon”, as the Inspirations began staging this song, they sped up the tempo and when they got down to “He whispers when the waves roll high..”, they would slow it down when they got to the “roll high” part and hold that high note, and it was quartet excitement at its finest, and was a huge concert favorite for the Inspirations during the late 60’s and early 70’s. In fact, the Inspirations brought this song back on their 2007 recording, “Things Are Different Now”.

Slowing the tempo down, Archie delivers a heartfelt performance on the Rusty Goodman penned classic, “Had it Not Been”, before the guys churn out an amazing performance of the classic tune, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, which is an arrangement they borrowed from the Harmonizing Four, who recorded it back in 1959. Archie’s high falsetto singing, the guy’s high harmony behind Archie, and Troy’s deep, soulful bass tones (along with the wailing dobro in the background) make this song a spectacular piece of ear candy, and it’s one of my all-time favorite renditions of this classic hymn.

With a mandolin faintly playing in the background, the tempo slows down as Archie sings the Albert E. Brumley penned classic, “If We Never Meet Again”. This was my initial introduction to this song, and I remember as a kid being captivated by the song, as well as another seldom heard Albert E. Brumley tune entitled, “To Jesus I’m Now Resigning”, which was first published around 1947. Featuring some fun acoustic guitar work, this invigorating tune was the type of song they excelled at. I love the convention feel of this song as it finishes out the first half of the album on a happy note.

With the tinkling of the ivories, Ronnie kicks off the second side with his self-penned tune, “Plain Ol’ Country Folk”. Appropriately featuring a bit of a country gospel feel, this was a little different for the Inspirations, and Ronnie tackles the song flawlessly. In fact, Ronnie ended up re-recording the song after he joined the LeFevres, on their 1973 album, “Happiness is Gospel”.

Slowing the tempo down, we come to the Dottie Rambo penned, “As Long As You Walk With Me”, which has both Archie and Ronnie trading off the melody throughout the song. I have been enamored with this song since I first heard the Rambos version from their 1968 album, “An Evening with the Singing Rambos”, which remains the standard performance of this stunning tune for me. For some reason though, I never quite connected with the Inspirations version until years later, which is probably due to being such a huge fan of the Rambos and their mesmerizing rendition of the song. The current group has staged the song a few times and they have done an amazing job with the song.

The country gospel feel of “I’ve Been Born Again” picks the pace back up a bit, and features Jack on the verses (his only feature on this album) and Archie on the chorus. This was a song written by LaVerne Tripp and was a popular tune for the Blue Ridge Quartet, who recorded the song in 1969 on their album, “…And That’s Enough” (even charting for the Blue Ridge Quartet for a few months in 1970), before we come to another country gospel sounding tune entitled, “The Rugged Cross of Calvary”, a song that over the years, has become one of my favorites from this album.

Troy takes center stage once more with the classic hymn, “Lead Me Gently Home, Father”, written by Will Thompson and published in 1879. This was a popular bass feature back in the day, especially for Armond Morales of the Imperials and Brock Speer of the Speer Family, who recorded very sweet and smooth renditions of the song. For this recording, the Inspirations dug deep within and churned out a unique performance with a strong black gospel feel, before Ronnie closes out the recording with “Tell Mother I’ll Be There”, which was written by Charles M. Fillmore in 1898. The Inspirations recorded quite a few “mama songs” over the years (and even some “daddy songs”) and this was one of their earliest ones they had recorded.

“The Next Step You Take” is Troy’s favorite album that he was a part of with the Inspirations, and coincidently, this would be the last album by the “original” group (I say “original” because the first 2 years of their existence, there were multiple people who filled the various vocal spots within the Inspirations), as Ronnie Hutchins became the first individual to leave the group in August 1969, when he decided to move to California. His departure came just as this album was being released, but Ronnie would return to the Inspirations within a year’s time, just as things were really starting to pick up for the group!

For whatever reason, outside of a few songs, I didn’t listen to this album as much as some of the others when I was growing up, and mostly only listened to the first side, and I hardly ever listened to side two. Over time though, I have embraced this entire album, and I love the overall feel of the recording, as it has a very warm feel overall. With the Inspirations’ mounting success, there was a concentration on ramping up the overall production aspects along with song selection, vocal/music arrangements, etc., producing a better album than before, but the Inspirations always remained consistent and true to who they were. “The Next Step You Take” really showed the potential these young men had, and this album was their best work to date, proving they were ready for that “next step”! As the 60’s transitioned into the 70’s, more changes were on the horizon, but despite the changes that were occurring, the Inspirations’ popularity continued to explode, and within 3 years’ time, they would become the #1 gospel group in the country!

Please check out my music page on Facebook for more content related to Southern Gospel Music including more discography reviews on other groups, we well as other thoughts and discussions related to Southern Gospel Music.  Please like and follow my page at https://www.facebook.com/James-Music-Page-102612571620560.