With this latest article, we’ve come to the half-way point with my series on the Inspirations, as “The Inspirations…Have Something to Sing About”, lands about midway through the pile of recordings we are going through in this series…I can’t believe we are halfway through! Released in 1979, “The Inspirations…Have Something to Sing About” (along with “Looking for You”) was given to me back when I was in 3rd grade in late 1980/early 1981, by a friend that my mom worked with. Don’t ask me how I remember stuff like this, when I can’t even remember my own name half the time! Anyway, my mom had told her how much I loved gospel music and was a fan of the Inspirations, so she gave these recordings to me to enjoy, and I’ve been enjoying them ever since!

Once again, produced by Marvin Norcross and recorded at Mark V in Greenville, South Carolina, “…Something to Sing About” offers some unique vocal iterations for the group, as Jack steps in to provide the baritone part on various songs, and there are also some other vocal iterations apart from the normal line-up of Archie, Troy, Eddie and Mike, which really sets this recording apart from their previous albums. Given the success of their “Night of Inspiration” concert series, these subtle changes with the vocal line-up gave the Inspirations some variety in their programs, instead of the same 4 guys singing the entire night. Plus, this goes back to their plan at the very beginning, as in their earliest days while practicing in Martin’s basement, the Inspirations would work on arrangements with each person taking turns singing the lead, to see what vocal blend sounded best, and that appears to be what they did for this album. With 6 versatile singers in the group, it was very easy to swap out parts and singers, creating unique vocal blends and iterations of the group, depending on the song, arrangement and what sound they were looking for.

One of the most iconic pictures of the Inspirations is gracing the cover of this album, featuring one of the coolest (literally!) shots of any group. The color pallet used for the album’s artwork and the color coordination of the suits against the cold, snowy background, could not have been any more perfect either. The group photo was shot along the road leading up to Newfound Gap, near their home in Bryson City. Also, if you notice Troy’s suit pants are a slight shade off from everyone else, there’s an interesting story there…it seems that the dry cleaners lost Troy’s suit pants, and he had to go to Belk’s Department Store to find a pair of pants that matched the color as closely as possible! Though it is only half a shade off, you can’t miss it when you’re looking at the cover picture!

In perfect fashion, the album kicks off with the Kyla Rowland penned, “A Wedding Invitation”. The Inspirations were one of the very first groups to record Kyla’s songs, and the story goes that Kyla had gone to Nashville to make a few demos of her songs about a year or so earlier. Donnie Sumner (nephew to JD Sumner) was producing the demos and upon hearing her songs, told her to come back the next day and he would take her to meet some people. On the following day, Donnie introduced her to the people at Canaanland Music Publishing, and they agreed to publish her songs, and the Inspirations became one of the first groups to record her songs. Featuring Archie, along with Jack singing the baritone part instead of Eddie, the song was a huge hit for the Inspirations, topping out at #2 in December 1979, spending almost 2 years in the Top 40, with nearly an entire year during that time sitting in the Top 10! I vividly remember watching the Inspirations sing this song on the Gospel Singing Jubilee back in the late 70’s, and absolutely loved the song and it’s unique messaging, “You’re invited to a wedding that will be held soon, we are the bride, Christ is the groom, with a crown to wear, and a long white robe, we’ll walk down the aisle, made of pure gold…what is your answer, how will you respond, the Groom is asking the Bride to come, and the supper will be in Heaven our new home above, here’s a wedding invitation He’s sending with love!”

Featuring Dale on the dobro and Roger on the acoustic guitar, giving the song a bit of an Appalachian feel, Eddie and the Smoky Mountain Trio (Eddie, Troy & Archie) sing, “When the Flowers of God Shall Bloom”. Written by Rev. Ernest Martin and published by Inspirations Quartet Music, the song had a very similar feel to “Rose Among the Thorns”, but the Singing Cookes recorded a very different version of the song the previous year on their 1978 album, “My God Knows What I Need”, and it’s really neat listening and contrasting the two very different versions. Personally, I think I like the Singing Cookes driving version over the Inspirations’, more subtle approach to the song.

Next, we come to the convention feel of the medium tempo, “The Angels of God Will Watch Over Me”. Featuring Troy on the verses, with he and Archie trading lead lines on the chorus, the song was written by Sanford Massengale (the same gentleman who wrote, “I’m Bound for that City”), and the song is a highlight of the album.

Starting off slow before shifting into a quicker tempo, the guys churn out an outstanding rendition of the Cleavant Derricks classic, “Just a Little Talk with Jesus”, which I’m sure they had a lot of fun with singing live back in the day. To the best of my recollection, this was the first version of the song I recall hearing as a kid and it’s one of my favorites. Another song utilizing Jack on the baritone, Mike does a great job with the song, before we come to the bouncy, campmeeting feel of the song, “It’s Homecoming Day”. Written by Ila Knight, the song features Archie on the second verse, with step-out lines by both Archie and Mike on the chorus.

The campmeeting feel continues as the first side concludes with the upbeat, “He’s the One That’s Called Jesus”, which was written by Paul Craven (his first of 3 songs on this album) and published by Tuckaseigee Publishing. The song features Roger Fortner, along with Eddie singing tenor, Jack on baritone and Mike on bass. Roger does an excellent job on the song, and it was a perfect fit for him.

The Kyla Rowland classic, “He Will Roll You Over the Tide”, which features Archie, kicks off the second side. This was a deeply personal song for Kyla, as she wrote it out of despair over the wayward journey her brother Ron was taking. The unique title and initial idea for the song was taken from a dear family friend who used that phrase all the time as a declaration of faith. So, as Kyla’s own declaration of faith that her brother would come back to the Lord, this song was born. Thankfully, 3 years after Kyla penned the words to this song, Ron came back to Christ! The Singing Cookes were the first to record the song in 1977, and the song was their first chart song, cresting at #11 in September 1979. I never heard the Singing Cookes version of the song until August 1983, when I saw them live for the first time, but I remember the Inspirations singing this on the Gospel Singing Jubilee numerous times, and their version was the first version of the song I remember ever hearing, and it remains my favorite version of the song, after the Rowlands rendition from the early 90’s.

With a fun electric guitar track played by Roger, the tempo picks up as Troy takes the lead on the song, “Free Indeed”. This song was a hugely popular tune for a group called the Telestials, charting as high as #4 for the young group in January 1979. The Inspirations’ version kicks the tempo up a couple notches from the original version by the Telestials, and I really like what the Inspirations did with the song, making it a highlight of the album, as is another up-tempo number, “Lord, Lead Me Home”, which is another Paul Craven penned tune. This convention-style song shows off Eddie’s range as he takes the tenor lead on the song, with Troy, Jack and Mike backing him up. The song was a popular tune for the Mississippi based group, the Bibletones, during the mid to late 80’s. The Dixie Echoes also recorded the song several years later, on their 2002 recording, “Press On”, and they also enjoyed charting success with the song as well.

One of my personal favorites from this album is the acoustic feel of the spiritual, “It Rained”, which was written by Roy Maples. The song was given very similar treatment as the song, “Ten Men Came”, from their last album, and it also has a fun Swanee River Boys feel to it. The song features Troy singing the bass and features some really cool guitar work by both Roger and Dale, before Archie takes the lead on yet another Paul Craven song entitled, “No Longer a Drifter”, which has a tinge of bluegrass to it.

The album wraps up as Jack and Archie share lead duties on another bluegrass flavored tune, “Unspeakable Love”, which was written by John Sanders and published by the Inspirations. With Eddie and Troy handling the baritone and bass vocals, the song is almost a throw-back to the early 1970 version of the Inspirations, as heard on their album, “The Night Before Easter”. For some reason, I have always been drawn to this song (even as a kid), and I think it would be an excellent acoustic tune for the group today to bring back, as I feel that Lucas and Isaac could deliver the goods with the song.

While I have always loved this album, and there are some really great songs found on here, I have constantly struggled with the songs and arrangements, as many of the songs have very similar tempos and styles. Additionally, while this album does offer some unique vocal iterations of the group, I don’t feel that it offered as much musical variety as some of their previous albums did, especially “Looking for You”. Nonetheless, “The Inspirations…Have Something to Sing About” is a really great album, and it is truly an iconic piece of their amazing legacy, if not for anything else, but for its iconic cover shot in the cold, snowy mountains of North Carolina!

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