In 1979, the Inspirations released 2 studio albums, and “Songs of Love” was recorded during that summer, and released the following fall. “Songs of Love” is a pretty special album to me, as this was the very first record that I ever bought with my own allowance money at the local Record Bar, sometime in early 1980 (I do know that it was before I first saw the Inspirations in concert, which was later that year). I remember being so excited to purchase my first album and I couldn’t wait to get home and listen to it!

“Songs of Love” was the Inspirations’ 15th album with Canaan Records since signing with the label in 1971 (16 if you count “Our Inspiration”, which was originally released on Mark V), and it would be their final album of the decade, and it also would be their final album for this legendary era of the Inspirations as well…but more on that later. Once again, the album was produced by the head of Canaan Records, Marvin Norcross, and it was recorded at Mark V in Greenville, South Carolina. This would be the last album Norcross would produce for the Inspirations, as he would pass away suddenly on June 18, 1980, while producing an album for Jimmie Davis at Mark V Studios.

Contrasting the very cold cover shot of their last album released earlier in the year, “Songs of Love” conveys a very warm and happy feeling. The cover shot was taken at the beautiful fountains located directly below the Courthouse (which sits up on a hill) in Sylva, North Carolina. The guys are gathered around the fountain having light conversations with one another, and the light blue suits blended in perfectly with the clear blue water and the greenery that surrounded them.

With a wonderful steel guitar intro played by Dale Jones, Archie kicks off the album as he is featured on the celebratory tune, “The First Day of My Life”. One of Kyla Rowland’s more obscure songs, this medium tempo tune is a joyful proclamation of our first day in Heaven, “…when He comes to earth again to take us to our new home, it’s resurrection morning, a coronation day, and it will be a glad reunion, a welcome and homecoming, best of all with no end in sight, it’s the first day of my life!”. I always thought it was a unique way of looking at our first day in Heaven, and it still remains one of my personal favorite Kyla Rowland penned tunes.

The tempo picks up for the highly enjoyable, “What a Wonderful Day”, which was written by close friend of the Inspirations, Paul Craven (the first of 4 Craven tunes on this album). Featuring a nice electric guitar track played by Roger Fortner, Troy takes the lead (along with a couple of step-out lines by Mike), on this fun little ditty that is one of my favorites from this album, before the tempo slows down for another Kyla Rowland penned tune entitled, “I Can Hear Every Word”. Featuring a plaintive piano intro by Martin, the song features Archie, and I remember as a kid wondering who in the world Dorcas was, that Archie sang about in the song. As I grew a little older, this song helped me learn who she was, and the miraculous resurrection brought to her through Peter in the book of Acts. Once I learned about her and that story, it made me appreciate this song so much more!

With Roger and Dale playing the flat-top guitar and dobro, respectively, the bluegrass tinged, “He’s Coming Again”, is another Paul Craven penned tune and features Eddie taking the high lead and he is backed by Jack, Troy and Mike, before this same vocal line-up tackles another Craven penned tune entitled, “I’ve Got that Old Time Religion”. Showcasing Mike’s fantastic rhythmic timing, the song is a highlight of the album, before this side concludes with another fantastic up-tempo tune entitled, “When I’ve Come to the End of My Journey”. Written by Squire Parsons and published by Inspirations Quartet Music, the song features some outstanding guitar work by Roger and has an exciting convention feel to it. Squire eventually recorded the song around 1980/1981, on a unique album called, “Pure Gospel”, as Squire Parsons & the Heraldsmen, which included his brother Virgil, along with Jim Humphries, both of whom Squire sang with in the Calvarymen prior to joining the Kingsmen in 1975.

The second side kicks off with one of Southern Gospel’s most beloved classics, “Beulah Land”, written by Squire Parsons. In fact, the Inspirations were the first to record the song, even before Squire himself! Squire was at the Inspirations’ office pitching them songs, and before he left, the song “Sweet Beulah Land” fell out of his briefcase and one of the Inspirations picked it up and read the words. He didn’t initially pitch the song to them because he didn’t think it fit the Inspirations, but they fell in love with the words. Arranged by Archie, the song was intended to be recorded as an acapella number, but if you listen closely, you hear Roger in the background faintly playing the xylophone behind the guys to help keep them on pitch. There was no intention of keeping the xylophone on the album, but it sounded so nice, they decided to keep it. Of course, the song went on to become Squire’s best-known and best-loved song, as well as one of Southern Gospel Music’s legendary classics. The Rex Nelon Singers recorded the song on their 1980 album, “Expressions of Love”, taking the song to #6 in the Singing News chart in February 1981 (Squire’s solo version topped out at #13 the same month as the Nelons), but ironically, it would be the Kingsmen’s version of the song from their 1981 live album, “Live…Naturally”, that would take home “Song of the Year” honors during the 1981 Singing News Fan Awards.

Eddie and the Smoky Mountain Trio (Eddie, Archie & Troy) tackle the up-tempo, Ila Knight penned, “I’m Expecting a King”. Ila was attending a church service, and a Cherokee Indian preacher named Clifford Hornbuckle was preaching, and during the sermon he stated, “I’ll stand at the window and look out every day because I’m expecting a King to come!” With that thought, the seed was planted, and Ila soon penned the words to the song, creating one of my personal favorite songs she has written. With a strong beat and some nice guitar embellishments, the song is a highlight of the recording, before Mike steps up as he tackles the classic, “The Family Bible”, in a rare moment as he sings the song as a solo, with no assistance from the group. With Mike Riddle, from the Primitive Quartet, playing piano on this song, while Roger subtly adds some light strings and Dale providing some beautiful slides on the steel guitar, it’s a highlight of the album and an exceptional solo performance by Mike. Inspired by his grandmother, the song was originally written by Willie Nelson back in 1957, but Nelson fell on hard times and sold the rights to the song, and it was eventually credited to Paul Buskirk, Claude Gray and Walt Breeland, in which Gray recorded the song in 1959 and subsequently charted the song in Billboard’s Hot Country Singles. It would be several years later, but Willie Nelson eventually recorded the song on his 1971 album, “Yesterday’s Wine”, and again on his 1980 gospel album called, “Family Bible”, becoming one of Willie’s most popular songs.

Troy steps up to the mic next, as he sings another Squire Parsons penned tune entitled, “You’ll Never Know”. This was a great song that fit Troy perfectly, and in fact, Squire recorded this song on one of his first solo albums, “I’ll Have a New Song”, that was released in 1980 (which is probably my favorite solo album by Squire).

Picking the tempo back up, we come to the convention feel of the highly enjoyable, “I Hear Them Singing”. Written by Frank White and published by Inspirations Quartet Music, this was one of those songs where everyone has a line here and there, and it’s one of my favorites from this album. Many may remember that the Perrys recorded an exciting rendition of this song 10 years later, on their “The Best Four You” recording, and it was a chart song for the group in 1990, peaking at #16 in October of that year. Personally, I always felt it should have at least gotten into the Top 10…but I digress…

Kicking off with the wonderful strains of the steel guitar, Archie finishes out the album as he sings the final Paul Craven penned tune entitled, “Lift Me Up, Blessed Jesus”. I have always loved this song of faith and determination, as the chorus declares, “Lift me up, Blessed Jesus, lift me up and help me stand, lead me out of this dark valley, on heavens mountain let me stand, for You have the keys to heaven, yes You hold the keys to hell, plant my feet on the mountain when I pass through death’s dark veil”, and was a great song to round out this collection of tunes.

Interestingly, Jack doesn’t have any features on this album, but he does step in and provide some nice touches here and there, filling out the vocal blend on various songs. As I mentioned at the beginning, “Songs of Love” was the first album I ever bought with my own allowance money, and I listened to this album a ton growing up. Over time though, as I became a teenager and I began listening to other groups and being influenced by my ever-expanding musical tastes, I stopped listening to this album as much as I did as a kid. I did eventually gravitate back to it, as I’ve always loved its bright, upbeat feel, and consider this to be a fantastic album, as well as one of my personal favorites by the Inspirations.

Though the Inspirations did not take home any “group” awards during the 1979 Singing News Fan Awards, Archie did win “Favorite Tenor”, and Eddie walked away with “Favorite Baritone”. “Songs of Love” marked the ending of an era for the Inspirations, as after 6 years with this iconic line-up, changes were on the horizon. With nearly 10 years under his belt as an “Inspiration”, Eddie Dietz decided it was time for him to leave the Inspirations to focus on pastoring, which he had been doing since 1976. I felt it was the end of an important and historic era for the group, but they would utilize their resources from within, moving Jack Laws to his original position with the group as baritone, and for the time being, Roger and Dale would shift bass and guitar duties around, depending on the need of the song. The next couple of years would be a time of transition for the Inspirations, as well as for gospel music in general. The music scene was changing and evolving, and it was affecting every aspect of the industry, and many groups had to find some way to change and evolve with it. Some groups evolved, and some didn’t, and the Inspirations, who were determined to remain devoted to their sound and style, remained a consistent and constant icon of traditional and conservative musical ideals, even if it meant not being the #1 group in the nation. Though the hit songs and awards weren’t coming like they once had (“Songs of Love” didn’t produce any chart songs for the group), the Inspirations retained a massive following of loyal fans, who continued to support the music of the Inspirations, and they loved the group dearly, and the Inspirations genuinely loved them back, by staying true to who they were!

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