Coming off the success of their 1986 album, “Can’t Stop Now”, the Bishops continued making new music that reflected their unique brand of Southern Gospel Music with a slight bluegrass twist. Their 1987 release, “Blessed”, became their most successful recording to date, garnering their very first top 5 hit, along with another song that would go on to become a signature classic for the Bishops.

Once again, Eddie Crook is at the helm producing the recording, and unfortunately, I’ve not been able to track down production credits for this album, as I only have the cassette and it doesn’t list out that information (the vinyl for “Blessed” does exist, but tracking down a copy is nearly impossible, and even so, just like their “Can’t Stop Now” album, it may not even list those credits anyway!). Nonetheless, “Blessed” features robust music tracks and trademark vocals by the Bishops. The recording has a very similar feel to “Can’t Stop Now”, but you can still hear the steady progression of the evolution of their sound, as the guys continue to grow as singers and communicators, while also learning the tools of their trade.

With its electric guitar driven track, Kenny kicks things off with a great start, on the up-tempo, “Bless Me One More Time”, before slowing the pace down for one of my personal favorite Bishop tunes, “God’s Amazing Grace”. Written by and featuring Kenny, this rather unassuming song was the second single release from this recording, soaring all the way to #3 in the Singing News chart for 3 consecutive months in August, September and October 1988. Aside from the beautiful strains of the steel guitar and fiddle, and wonderful singing by the guys (what they do at the end is absolutely stunning), it’s a simple and beautiful song depicting the grace God showed humanity when Christ died for us…“He hung on a cross at Mount Calvary, so the world through Him might be saved, they denied him, crucified him and they placed him in a grave, there’s nothing like God’s amazing grace”. Interestingly, the Bishops originally recorded the song just a few years earlier on their very first album, “He Gave His Life”, but they gave the song a nice refresh for this album and it became one of their biggest hit songs!

With a rollicking banjo and dobro track, Mark steps up as he takes the lead on the fun, “Prophet Admiration”. The song was written by David Marshall, a well-known singer, songwriter and musician who grew up singing bluegrass gospel with his family, the Marshall Family, who originally recorded the song back in the late 1970’s. The Isaacs also recorded the song on their 2000 recording, “Stand Still”, and Mark eventually went back and picked up the song again, when he recorded it on his 2021 solo recording, “Some Distant Mountain”.

Slowing things down to a nice and easy pace, we come to the sentimental Mark Bishop penned tune entitled, “Mom and Dad”. Naturally, the song features Mark, and I love the fiddle and steel guitar work, as well as the lilting piano fills throughout the song. Several of Mark’s tunes that he has written over the years are topics that he held tightly in his heart…faith, family, friends, mom and dad, and the people that meant the most to him. Because Mark tended to write about everyday people and common things, many people related so well to his songs, and this tune was no doubt a fan favorite!

With fiddles blazing, the first side concludes with the bouncy, up-tempo number, “When We Meet to Part No More”, which features Mark. This fun tune was written by J.R. Baxter and was first published in 1956 by the Stamps Baxter Music and Printing Company. The Bishops do a superb job with their performance of the song, which they adapted from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, who recorded it on their 1986 album, “Beyond the Shadows”. Additionally, the Primitive Quartet also recorded an outstanding acapella version of the song on their 1989 recording, “By Request, Acapella”.

Starting off slow and low before a fiery fiddle intro kicks things into high gear, Mark steps up to sing his song, “Radio Preacher”, which is one of my favorites from this recording. One of Mark’s early “story songs”, this rollicking tune tells the story of finding Jesus through listening to the preacher on the radio, and the song very ably pays tribute to those countless preachers who have labored in the vineyard via the radio waves.

Featuring some nice steel guitar highlights, we come to the more straight forward Southern Gospel feel of the song, “Move to the Top of the Mountain”, which has Kenneth taking the lead. The song was written by Bill Carver of the Swanee River Boys, who originally recorded the song on their 1969 album, “I’m Building a Bridge”. The Bishops grew up with only a few records in their collection, and the Swanee River Boys was one of the groups they grew up listening to, and this song is the first of several tunes the Bishops recorded by the Swanee River Boys over the forthcoming years. Interestingly, the song was revived a little over 10 years after the Swanee River Boys recorded it, when the Florida Boys released it on their 1980 album, “Movin’ on Up”, and ultimately charting for them, peaking at #11 in the May 1981 Singing News chart. As a full circle moment, the Florida Boys were also an early influence on the Bishops, as they grew up watching them on the Gospel Singing Jubilee and listening to their records as well!

Once again, Kenneth takes the melody on the Dee Gaskin penned story song, “Storefront Mission”, which is a poignant story that could be about any one of us, and is a highlight of the recording, before Kenny steps back up to sing the classic hymn, “Victory in Jesus”. Nicely arranged with a much slower tempo than most of us are probably familiar with, but Kenny does a wonderful job interpreting the lyrics of this oft-sung hymn. Funny story…at the time I first listened to this recording, I had never heard anyone sing “Victory in Jesus” as a slow song, and as this song played, I kept waiting for them to kick it into high gear, but it never came! Nonetheless, it’s a pleasant and laid-back arrangement of the song, that is truly a highlight of the recording.

Closing out the album is an acapella performance of the old spiritual, “Blind Bartimaeus”, which became one of the Bishops most requested acapella tunes, and remained an integral part of their concert repertoire for the remainder of their career. In a unique move, this song was chosen as the first single release from this recording, and the record company took a big risk releasing an acapella tune by a relatively new group, but despite that, the song did pretty well, climbing to #23 in the Singing News chart for February 1988. Prior to this, the only other acapella song that I am aware of that was released to radio and charted was the song, “Is That the Old Ship of Zion” by the Kingsmen back about 10 years earlier, which fared extremely well in the charts for them, topping out at #6 in June 1978. The Golden Gate Quartet originally recorded the song back in the early 1940’s, and group member, Willie T. Johnson, is credited with writing the song. Famed country singer, Martha Carson even enjoyed a run with this song when she recorded it back in 1952. It’s funny listening to those classic versions, as they incorrectly sang and titled the song, “Barnabuss”, instead of the correct name, “Bartimaeus”. From what I understand, the name was likely changed to “Barnabuss” as it was phonetically easier to sing than “Bartimaeus”. Even the Bishops don’t quite say it exactly right, but they come much closer to it than most people…and I agree, phonetically speaking, it’s not the most singable word if you’re trying to pronounce it accurately. Additionally, Jonathan Wilburn recorded an outstanding arrangement of this song on his 2024 recording, “Songs from the Front Pew”, where he pretty much adapted the Golden Gate Quartet’s version of the song.

I bought “Blessed” on cassette at a local Christian bookstore back in the late 80’s, and never knew it was released on vinyl until just a few years ago. I have sought high and low for a vinyl copy of this recording, but it has eluded me ever since. Outside of their very first album (“He Gave His Life”), this is probably the hardest vinyl by the Bishops to find, but I know it exists as I have seen it for sale once, but someone outbid me on it. Hopefully someday I can get my hands on a vinyl copy, but I digress…

“Blessed” was an excellent recording and an enjoyable listen overall. I always felt both “Can’t Stop Now” and “Blessed” had a very similar feel, with both offering a steady diet of Southern Gospel, Country and Bluegrass styles, while infusing the Bishops’ own blends and sounds to each song. Kenny and Mark were coming into their own vocally as they were growing into young men, and Mark was growing as a songwriter as well, creating his own style of uniquely crafted songs. The pieces were coming together for the Bishops to become a major player in the Southern Gospel industry, as fans and industry folks alike were noticing and enjoying their unique sound and presentation. It was an exciting time of growth for the Bishops, and as the title of this recording may suggest, they were indeed extremely “Blessed”!

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