As we enter the second half of the 90’s, the Inspirations began to experience some renewed success that began with their 1996 recording, “Thank You Lord”, mostly spurred by the hit title song. During the 1970’s, the Inspirations enjoyed enormous success with close to 40 chart songs, with 15 of those making it into the top 5 in the Singing News chart! During the 1980’s, that chart action slowed down to only about a dozen songs, with only 2 songs making it into the coveted top 5. With the first half of the 90’s behind them, the group had seen about 7 chart songs, with none of them making it into the top 5. While chart songs aren’t the only measure of a successful group, it does give an indication of how they’re doing in relation to “industry standards”. Plus, me being a “stats nerd”, I thought it’d be neat to share that bit of data with everyone!

“Thank You Lord” appears to have been recorded around February/March 1996, and was produced by Martin Cook. Their last few recordings had been done at Lifter Studios in Ashville, North Carolina, but shortly after the Inspirations recorded “Between Here and Sunset”, Richard McBrayer, who owned the studio, decided the sell it and move on to other things. Not to leave the Inspirations without a place to record, McBrayer recommended Danny Brown and Southern Sound Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is where the Inspirations would record this latest release, and they would remain there for the next few years. Once again using musicians that were all too familiar with the Inspirations style, we have Otis Forrest playing piano/organ, David Smith on bass, Mike Riddle strumming on the rhythm guitar, along with utility musician David Johnson playing steel and acoustic guitar, mandolin and fiddle. Additionally, we welcome back former Inspirations’ member, Roger Fortner who plays lead guitar for the recording, and Roger would continue lending his talents for many of the Inspirations’ recordings for the next 30 years!

The title song, “Thank You Lord”, which was written by Robert Deel, kicks things off. This song, and his song “So Much to Thank Him For” (which was a huge chart song for the Melody Trio about 20-25 years ago, and is currently enjoying a second trip in the charts with the Mylon Hayes Family) are two of Deel’s best known songs, and “Thank You Lord” flew all the way up to #2 in the Singing News chart for May 1997, and again 3 months later in August, becoming one of the Top 10 songs of 1997, as voted on by Singing News subscribers! This was the first major hit song for the Inspirations in several years, and it had been 14 years since the group had a top 5 hit, as their last one was “They’re Holding Up the Ladder”, which came out in 1982. Featuring Eddie, who had heard Deel sing the song during a revival service, Eddie loved the song and pitched it to Martin for the Inspirations to record. While not everyone in the group was completely sold on the song, Martin loved it because, as he once stated, “the song thanks the Lord for everything in the world except fried chicken!”. The song is arguably one of the best loved songs in the entire Inspirations’ arsenal of music, remaining a standard in their performance repertoire for the next 20+ years, and the current group still sings the song quite often.

Archie steps up next as he sings the Arlie Petree penned tune, “Be Looking for Me”. Having that classic Inspirations feel to it, this is the only song on this recording that is published by the Inspirations. Arlie Petree was a preacher and songwriter who has written several popular songs including, “Roll That Burden on Me”, which was a big hit for the McKameys, as well as having songs recorded by other artists such as Jimmie Davis, Betty Jean Robinson, Spencers and Greenes. He has also co-written a few major songs with his son, Larry, such as “Lazarus Come Forth” by the Bishops and “I’ll Just Start to Live When I Die”, recorded by the Paynes and Wilburns. The Inspirations recorded quite a few songs written by Arlie (4 of which are found on this recording), and eventually they would record a few songs by his son Larry as well.

Picking up the tempo, we come to the classic, “Sing Me a Song About Jesus”, which was written by “Dad” Speer and published in 1956 by Stamps-Baxter Music. The Speer Family recorded the song on their 1958 “Golden Anniversary” album, which was an album filled with classic Dad Speer tunes, celebrating his 50 years of songwriting. The Inspirations do a splendid job on the song, which feature both Archie and Mike trading off lead lines, along with some nice low notes by Mike, before Eddie steps up to sing another Arlie Petree tune entitled, “Jesus Brings A lot of Good Things to Mind”, reminding us of all the wonderful things that come along with being a child of the King.

The fun and entertaining, “When God’s Chariot Comes” is next, and it’s one of my favorite songs recorded by the Inspirations. Written by John Taylor and published by Stamps Quartet Music, the group first recorded the song on their 1966 album, “Just as Long as Eternity Rolls”. In fact, several groups recorded the song during the 60’s and early 70’s including the Blackwood Brothers, JD Sumner & the Stamps, Sego Brothers & Naomi and Lewis Family. The song pretty much laid low for almost 25 years, until the mid-90’s when both the Inspirations and Happy Goodmans breathed new life into it, as the song was not only a concert favorite for the Inspirations, but the Goodmans made a charting hit out of the song, going all the way to #7 in the Singing News chart for the Goodmans in August and September 1997. Coincidentally, the Goodmans were singing this song way back in the 1950’s, when it was the Goodman brothers and their sisters…long before they became the world-famous group most people remember! Another neat fact, Mike Holcomb eventually recorded the song again several years later, with Les Butler’s group, the Old Time Preachers Quartet, on their 2019 recording, “Long Live Old Time Religion” (which is an absolutely phenomenal recording…if you’ve never heard it, you need to!). Most recently though, the Mylon Hayes Family recorded the song on their latest release, “Sing His Praise”, that came out earlier this year, in which they used an adaptation of the Goodmans’ 1996 version. Needless to say, the song has a storied history, and I’m glad the Inspirations still stage this song from time to time, always having fun in doing so as well!

Slowing the pace down, we come to the worshipful, “He’s Worthy”, which was written by Arlie Petree along with his wife, Jeanie. Featuring Mike, Eddie and Archie on their respective verses, the song has the feel of an old hymn, and was a little different for the Inspirations, becoming a popular concert favorite. I love the dramatic flair of the song, with each verse being sung at a slower tempo than the chorus, and it’s one of my favorites from this recording.

With a wailing organ in the background, Ronnie sings the campmeeting feel of, “Jesus is Keeping Watch Over my Soul”. This was a popular song for the Ray Branham Family, who recorded a rousing performance of the song several years earlier on their 1980 “Live” album. While the Inspirations’ version doesn’t quite have the same punch as the Branhams (if I’m being honest, no one serves up a song with quite the punch as the Ray Branham Family!), Ronnie and the guys do a good job with their performance of the song, and it’s a nice inclusion for this recording.

Featuring nice fiddle and mandolin accents, the bluegrass flavored, “While the Ages Roll On” is next, and features Archie. This particular song was recorded by the Singing Cookes many years prior, on one of their early albums titled, “God is Not Dead, He’s Still Alive”, from around 1970/1971 or so. While bluegrass fare isn’t your normal Inspirations style, the guys do a good job with the song, before contrasting it with something that’s a little more up-tempo and with a very subtle jazzy feel, on the Jean Bradford penned classic, “It Will Be Worth It”, which features Mike. Featuring some really nice piano and guitar work, the Inspirations do a great job with this snappy performance of the song. I grew up loving this song, and first heard it by the Weatherford Quartet, who recorded it on their 1967 album, “Come On, Let’s Sing”. As a kid, I listened to this particular album quite a bit, and though I enjoy other group’s renditions of this song (including the Inspirations), the Weatherford’s version is my all-time favorite performance of the song.

Keeping the tempo upbeat, the recording finishes off with one final Arlie Petree penned tune entitled, “I’m Going There Someday”. Featuring Mike and Archie, the song has that classic Inspirations feel, and it’s a fitting closing tune for the recording.

I finally bought “Thank You Lord” (along with their next recording, “Old Time Religion”) about 2-3 years ago, and when listening to the recording for the first time, it was pretty much what I expected to hear. I had heard several of these songs performed live by the group over the years, so nothing really struck me as surprising with the recording. There are some outstanding songs found on “Thank You Lord”, but overall, I never found this recording to be extremely remarkable, as I didn’t really hear anything that truly made me sit up and take notice. Overall, “Thank You Lord” is a good, enjoyable listen and it’s one I will casually listen to from time to time; but honestly, I feel during this time period, the Inspirations had fallen into a “rut” musically, and I think that, despite the tremendous success they enjoyed from this recording, they had a hard time getting beyond that musical rut, which they eventually did, of course! Let me try to explain where I am coming from…most artists will go through many ebbs and flows throughout their lifetime, and though there may be some level of success in either aspect, their music can become a bit stale at various points, and the length of that time can vary from one recording to several in a row. There may not be total agreement about this amongst all fans, as there are always those who will genuinely enjoy anything their favorite artist releases (and that is perfectly fine!). Nonetheless, there are those fans who may be a bit more discriminatory about their favorite artist and the music they release, and they may have a more heightened awareness than the average fan in regard to the overall musicality of the artist. During this time, I felt the Inspirations’ music and presentation just wasn’t at the same level that I felt it could be or should be…which is why, when I finally came around to adding “Thank You Lord” to my personal collection, what I heard wasn’t a real surprise to me.

Essentially, “Thank You Lord” is not a bad recording at all, but it’s not one I would rank as one of my least favorites, nor as one of my top 10 favorites either. There are some really great songs found here, but it’s just not what I would consider to be the Inspirations’ best work. While the Inspirations released some good music throughout the remainder of the 90’s, it wouldn’t be until their 2001 release, “Pure Vintage”, that I feel the group found renewed excitement and vigor!

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