To the best of my memory, “A Night of Inspiration” was the very first album by the Inspirations that I heard outside of those first 13 albums by the Inspirations that I grew up listening to. In fact, this is probably the first album that was ever bought for me after my “great discovery” of my dad’s record collection when I was about 6 or 7 years old. If memory serves me right, my mom and dad bought this for me in the late 70’s, because they knew I was such a fan of the Inspirations. I have absolutely adored this album from day one, and “A Night of Inspiration” ranks as my all-time favorite album by the Inspirations, and is one of my all-time favorite recordings, period!

“A Night of Inspiration” was recorded on the first night of a 2-night event in Warner Robins, Georgia in April 1976, and was released in the fall of that year (“12th Anniversary Live” was recorded on the second night, but it was released first). This album and its title, “A Night of Inspiration”, is a hat tip to their on-going concert series, by the same name, that the Inspirations had begun several months prior, and the album gives the listener a little taste of what such an event would be like. This live album definitely whets my appetite and makes me wish I had been able to take in one of these events…sigh…if only there was a live video of this night!

I’ve always loved the action-packed cover shot and it’s one of my all-time favorite live album covers, but the shot was not taken from either of the Warner Robins concerts that April weekend, but it was actually taken at a concert in Union City, Tennessee. As much as I love the shot, I always thought it was an interesting choice for a cover shot because it’s not the normal way you would typically see the Inspirations performing, as it clearly shows Troy Burns is singing bass! In my conversation with Lucas Vaught about the cover, it’s determined that the group is probably hitting the final notes of “Jesus is Coming Soon”, which was a song that would have had Mike and Troy swapping parts with Mike singing lead, and Troy singing bass. Nonetheless, it’s an exciting action shot, encompassing all the excitement that can be found during “A Night of Inspiration”!

Before we get into the crux of the album, I have to give a shout out to the Inspirations band…the singing is exciting and perfectly executed, but the music on this album by Martin, Jack and especially Roger and Dale, is impressively perfect and just absolutely splendid in every possible way! The creative licks and fills by Roger and Dale are just delightful and along with every other aspect of the recording, make this album a truly wonderful listening experience!

After Marvin Norcross’ brief introduction, the Inspirations hit the stage with an exciting one-two punch, as they sing their back-to-back #1 songs, “Touring that City” and “When I Wake Up (to Sleep No More)”. There aren’t two better songs to kick off “A Night of Inspiration”, than with these two classic tunes, and the Inspirations deliver the goods flawlessly, much to the delight of the audience.

Martin then takes a few moments to welcome everyone and extends his appreciation for those in attendance, as well as giving thanks to the Lord for allowing the Inspirations to continue on, before introducing the guys in the group (along with Troy’s younger brother, CD Burns, who assisted with playing Rhythm Guitar). Once Martin is done, the guys turn in a fantastic performance on the song, “The First Million Years”. A little different from the studio version on their 1975 album, “I’m Taking a Flight”, which had Archie singing the second verse, for this live performance, they lowered the key a half step and Troy delivers both verses and does a fantastic job giving the second verse a powerful delivery, and the audience obviously approves as they burst into spontaneous applause. This live performance is the first version of the song I heard as a kid, and comparing it with the studio version, the live performance from this album is my favorite, hands down! Special mention must be given to Roger and Dale for their amazing musicianship, as the electric and steel guitar work on the song is outstanding.

Next, the guys churn out one of my all-time favorite live performances with the Cleavant Derricks penned classic, “When God Dips His Pen of Love”. Here the tempo is a little faster than their original studio version from their 1975 album, “Golden Street Parade”, and Mike really proves what a fantastic rhythm bass singer he truly was, as he spits those words out on the chorus better than any rapper ever could, and absolutely nails those low notes. The crowd demands an encore, and the Inspirations don’t disappoint as they deliver the goods with an exciting encore. Though I have listened to this performance hundreds of times over the last 45 years or so, I still get absorbed by the overall excitement and musicality of the song.

As the applause fades out, the guys step up to the microphone as they give an outstanding acapella performance on the classic hymn, “Amazing Grace”, which finishes out the first side. This is the 3rd time the Inspirations had recorded this song, but it’s their first time recording it acapella. Archie, very reverently, sings the first verse, then the guys gather around providing “ooo’s” on the following verse, before they all join in on the final verse. With the sound bouncing off the walls of that auditorium, it’s truly a breathtakingly stunning performance. I have a very deep emotional connection to this particular performance of the song, as my dad adored this particular live performance, and often said that this was how the song should be sung. When my dad passed away July 27, 2008, because he loved this performance so much, I had it played for him at his funeral.

Kicking off the second side, Martin introduces the Dottie Rambo penned, “Tears Will Never Stain the Streets of That City”, and the Smoky Mountain Trio (Archie, Troy & Eddie) do an outstanding job on the song. This particular version was my introduction to the song as a kid, as it would be a few years before I would become acquainted with the Rambos version of the song. It’s an outstanding performance by the guys, and my favorite version after the Rambos.

Picking up the tempo, Archie gets wound up on an exciting performance on the song, “More to Go to Heaven For”, and immediately jumps into a great encore, before Martin pauses a second as he introduces a new song written by Squire Parsons entitled, “These Are They”, which features Archie as well. Squire brought this to the Inspirations to record, and the song ended up being a single release from this recording, peaking at #10 in the April 1977 Singing News chart. This has remained one of my favorite songs by the Inspirations, and I love every aspect of the song from the singing, the steel and electric guitar playing in tangent with one another, the message, double encores…it all comes together creating a wonderful and exciting moment on this live album. The Kingsmen eventually recorded the song on a 3-album set in late 1978, and the Greenes recorded an outstanding rendition of this song several years later, on their 1999 recording, “Wonderful Story”.

As Martin takes a moment to reset the energy level and slow things down a bit, he brings Jack Laws centerstage, as he steps up to the mic to sing the classic song of thanksgiving called, “Thanks for Loving Me”. Written by George Younce and George Amon Webster, the song was originally recorded by the Cathedrals on their 1974 album, “Our Statue of Liberty”, and this performance by the Inspirations remains one of my favorite Jack features.

The album concludes with another one of the most exciting and exhilarating performances caught on tape, as the Inspirations tear into their hit song, “Jesus is Mine” (which coincidently, was the current #1 song in the nation when they recorded this album in April 1976!). Picking up the tempo a bit from the original version on their 1975 album, “I’m Taking a Flight”, it’s one of my all-time favorite live performances. Hearing Martin tickling those ivories, the crowd going wild, Archie jumping in with an encore with no musical vamp, Martin shouting in the background, the excited voices belting out their respective lines on the chorus, Archie’s curly que ending…it all just creates one of the most exhilarating live performances I’ve ever heard. As a kid (and even as an adult), I can’t help but listen to this song over and over again, drinking in every aspect of the song. It’s the perfect ending to a perfect live recording!

I realize the focus of “A Night of Inspiration” was to spotlight their greatest hits and popular songs the group had recorded since becoming part of the Canaan Record family, and more specifically, songs that were identified with the current vocal iteration of the group. Honestly though, they could have made this a double live album, as so many wonderful songs could have been included such as “Stepping on the Clouds”, “The First Look”, “Golden Street Parade”, “Hallelujah, What a Morning”, “Revival Days”, etc. Also, part of me wishes they had dug back into their pre-Canaan days and included songs like “Jesus is Coming Soon”, “What a Wonderful Time”, “I’ll Be in the Rapture”, “On the Sunny Banks”, “Joshua”, etc. Also, maybe they could have even included one of their Harmonizing Four spirituals where they had Troy singing bass, but I digress…

“A Night of Inspiration” has gone on to become one of the most iconic and exciting live albums of our genre. The album is truly a classic, and all of the Inspirations were on their “A” game, as they created the most perfect live album! The overall musicality and excitement of the whole album was superbly organic. Not saying there is anything wrong with using gimmicks to elicit crowd responses (even preachers use them), but what you experience on this album isn’t a lot of hype, but rather the excitement and enthusiasm is generated from the genuine enjoyment of the music and all it had to offer. The Inspirations simply show up with their music and their voices, then generate their own excitement by simply singing and playing their songs…and it was pure magic!

Capping off a successful 12th anniversary year, 1976 also brought a bunch of additional awards to display on the Inspirations’ mantle, as the group came away with 5 more Singing News Fan Awards that year…snagging “Song of the Year” honors for “Jesus is Mine”, as well as “Favorite Group”. Individually speaking, Archie won “Favorite Male Singer”, Mike nabbed “Favorite Bass” and Martin came away with “Favorite Musician”. It was a stellar year for the Inspirations, and they weren’t done yet, as the group would find themselves back in the studio recording a brand-new album before years’ end. This album would be a little different than their previous studio albums had been, and it would be one of the most “Inspirations” sounding recording in their entire discography, as it would truly be a group effort, and would be the perfect capstone for their celebratory year!

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.