As I stated in my last article, this particular era of the Inspirations was a bit of a transitional period, brought on by changes within the group and within the music industry. Additionally, with the sudden passing of Canaan Records’ head, Marvin Norcross in June 1980, things at Canaan Records seemed to be a bit unsteady as well. During this time, the Inspirations released a couple of live albums on their private label, Inspirations Records, that were recorded on Sunday evening, June 29, 1980, during their annual Singing in the Smokies event in Bryson City, North Carolina. This annual event was the perfect place to capture the Inspirations in their natural habitat, singing to “their” people who traveled all over the world to enjoy good gospel music in the cool of the North Carolina mountains. During the 70’s, the Inspirations had begun building and expanding their annual Singing in the Smokies on the property of what would eventually become known as, “Inspirations Park”. Every year, thousands of people from all over the world would flock to Bryson City, and the Inspirations enjoyed massive crowds during the late 70’s, 80’s and into the 90’s for this annual event, even expanding it to include Spring and Fall sessions.

With Eddie’s departure from the group in late 1979, Jack stepped up into the baritone position, leaving Roger and Dale to play double duty, swapping out guitars and playing bass as needed. Eventually, the group hired Lynden Childers to play bass and sing on specialty numbers in late Spring 1980 (and he plays bass on both live albums), but his tenure was short lived, and when he left, Roger and Dale went back to multi-tasking in their respective roles, before they both eventually left in late 1981. The neat thing about these 2 live albums, is we get a glimpse into how the Inspirations sounded live during a very brief iteration of the group. Though recorded on the same night, both albums have very distinct personalities, and rather than post 2 separate articles, I decided to cover both albums in one article. I bought the first album when I saw the Inspirations during the mid-80’s when they would make their annual appearance at Fellowship Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. Though I eventually became familiar with “Second Helpin’”, (they used to play songs from the album on the local country station here in town), I would not add the album to my personal collection until sometime in the mid to late 90’s.

The first album, “Singing in the Smokies…Live”, was recorded during the first half of their program, and released in September 1980 (3 months after “Sing Me a Gospel Song” was released). The album features a lot of slower tempo songs, and moves at a more leisurely pace than most live albums typically do. The album almost appears to pay homage to their mountain heritage and the old-time way of singing and worship, as several of the songs have roots in the region and were songs that were sung in many of the churches found in the hills and hollers of the area. Remote recording was provided by Mark V Studios, and since the sound was bouncing off the mountains surrounding Inspirations Park, the engineer (Larry Good) decided there was no need for any extra reverb in the mix. Also worth mentioning, Roger Fortner’s sister-in-law, Marian Fortner, handled the cover design for both live albums as well. Marian worked many years for the Inspirations, working in the office as well as handling their publishing.

With no intro or fanfare, “Singing in the Smokies…Live”, kicks off with Mike Holcomb’s booming bass voice kicking off the James Vaughan classic, “It Won’t Be Long”, and it’s a fantastic and lively start to the album. The Inspirations eventually re-recorded the song several years later, on their 2012 recording, “It’s in the Savior’s Hands”. It’s neat comparing the 2 versions, and to hear how Mike’s voice has thickened over the years. Additionally, the Speers recorded an exciting rendition of this tune on their 1974 album, “God Gave the Song”.

After Martin welcomes the people, he effectively sets up the next song, “Where We’ll Never Grow Old”, which features one of my all-time favorite performances by Jack Laws. With Roger on the keyboard playing lightly in the background, it’s a very delicate, yet dynamic performance, with some pretty singing as Archie lays down the high tenor harmony, and it’s a highlight of the album, before Troy steps up to sing the sentimental, “I Like the Songs That Mama Sang the Best”. Written by Dennis Bradley (writer of “It’ll Be Alright With Me”) and published by the Inspirations, with its nostalgic sentiment and steel guitar highlights, the song was definitely a crowd favorite that night and one of the Inspirations best loved “mama” songs. The Singing Cookes, who are known for belting out great “mama” songs, recorded an outstanding rendition of this song a few years later, on their 1985 album, “We’ve Got to Move Out”, and the song fit Hubert Cooke like a glove!

With a nice steel guitar intro, Archie takes the lead on the Elmer Johnson penned, “The Light on the River”, which rounds out the first side. Archie heard the song by a blind group from North Carolina called the Blind Davis Trio, and was extremely touched by their performance of the song. The song is a perfect match for the Inspirations’ style, and closes out the first half of the recording with a strong campmeeting feel.

The second side kicks off with the Stamps-Baxter convention classic, “He Will Set Your Fields on Fire”. Written by H.M. Ballew, the song features an excellent performance by Mike, as well as some outstanding guitar work by Roger, before Troy is featured once again on the emotionally tinged, “Your Tears Are Touching God”, which was one of Troy’s favorite songs to sing while with the Inspirations. Written by Newt Kelly and published by the Inspirations, the guys were in the studio recording the album, “Sing Me a Gospel Song” just a few months prior to this live album, and Kelly visited them in the studio and brought them the song to hear. The guys fell in love with it, and they started singing the song in their concerts almost immediately. The song was met with tremendous response from the crowd, resulting in two encores that night! In fact, the song appeared in the Singing News chart for a few months during late summer/early fall 1981, but never broke into the Top 20.

As Martin brings the energy level down a bit, he has Archie come forward to sing one of my personal favorite songs sung by Archie called, “Victory Was Won at Calvary”, which was written by Horace Mauldin (who also wrote “Swing Wide the Gates” that the Inspirations recorded on their 1972 album, “Old Time Singin’”). With Roger playing strings again on the keyboard, the band eventually stops playing and they finish the song acapella, with the audience joining in on a couple of choruses, creating a very special moment forever preserved in the grooves of this album. Several years later, the Greenes recorded a beautiful rendition of the song on their 1997 recording, “The Road Home”, which features one of my favorite performances by Melina Parks.

As Martin extends his appreciation to the crowd, the album concludes as the Inspirations come together to sing the classic hymn, “Amazing Grace”, making this the fourth time they had recorded the song. As they perform the song acapella, with the voices bouncing off the surrounding mountains, it’s truly a beautiful moment to wrap up the album.

“Second Helpin’”, which was recorded during the second half of that evening’s concert and released in June 1981, has a very different vibe than the first album, as it has a more relaxed and fun feel to it. The album begins in an unusual fashion, as each man introduces themselves before Martin kicks off the intro to the classic, “Jesus is Coming Soon”, and then without giving the crowd a chance to respond, he immediately goes into a new song called, “The Church of the Living God”, which was written by Harold Lane. The song was a popular tune for the Speers during the early 80’s, charting into the Top 20 during early 1981. The song sounds tailor made for the Inspirations, and it’s a highlight of the album.

Next, as Martin playfully introduces “The Cherokee Indian Quartet”, Mike and Troy switch parts, with Mike singing lead and Troy singing the bass on the fun Squire Parsons penned, “You Better Know For Sure”. The Inspirations always had fun switching parts around, and those times they moved Troy to bass were always highlights of their concerts and recordings. With Roger on flat top guitar and Dale on the dobro, and the feel of an old Swanee River Boys tune, the song is a highlight of the recording.

Next, Archie churns out the Kyla Rowland penned, “Something Happened on the Mountain”, which they had recorded on their “Sing Me a Gospel Song” album, before the first side concludes with the Inspirations’ classic, “Rose Among the Thorns”.

The second side kicks off with one of my all-time favorite Inspirations’ songs, “Living on Higher Ground”, before Archie takes a few minutes to testify, after which Martin has Archie sing the classic, “I Want to Stroll Over Heaven”, which the Inspirations originally recorded about 13 years prior on their 1967 album, “What a Wonderful Time”. The local country station here in town would play this song every Sunday night, and that is where I first heard this particular version of the song, and it’s truly a highlight of the album, as the crowd is completely “locked in” to what the Inspirations were singing. As Archie comes back for an encore of the chorus, which was done acapella, the crowd seems to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, as it sounds like an old fashioned campmeeting is breaking out, as Archie then kicks off a few choruses of the Albert E. Brumley classic, “I’ll Meet You in the Morning”. The crowd is just eating it up, as it’s an emotionally and spiritually charged moment of the concert.

As Martin tries to get his bearings, Opal Hice, who was a precious friend to the Inspirations (she and her husband promoted the Inspirations in Marietta, GA for years), is overcome with emotion, and she begins to testify. Though it’s hard to hear everything she is saying, her emotions come through loud and clear, and it’s truly THE highlight of the album, before Martin has Troy sing, “He Sent Him For Me”, finishing out the album on a high note.

As I mentioned earlier, “Singing in the Smokies…Live”, was slower paced overall, and contrary to the typical Inspirations’ concert experience, Martin talks quite a bit on this album, which wasn’t the norm, as they typically liked to spend most of their time singing. “Second Helpin’” was a bit more fun and upbeat, with less talking, but it does have a very serious, spiritual impact as well, especially during most of the second side. I think “Singing in the Smokies…Live” was intended for possible national release, but for whatever reason, was never picked up by Canaan Records. I don’t think “Second Helpin’” was ever fully intended to be released initially, and was likely an after-thought, as it came out a whole year later. But I am so glad “Second Helpin’” was released, as it was a bit more spontaneous, and the Inspirations seemed to be a bit freer to be themselves.

While both albums are starkly different from one another, they reflect the many aspects of the Inspirations’ music that made them such a favorite of the people. The Inspirations were down to earth individuals, who sang songs that were relatable to their fan base, and performed in a style and manner that their people could enjoy, and both live albums showcased that perfectly!

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