After the tremendous success of their last recording, yielding 2 exceptional hit songs, Eddie Crook signed the Bishops to his top tier label, Morningstar Records, sharing the roster with such heavy weights as the McKameys and others. While on the Harvest label, the Bishops paid up front for their recordings, hashed out their own arrangements (likely with some input from Eddie Crook), picked most of their own songs to record, etc. Now that the Bishops were signed to the Morningstar label, the record company pays for everything up front and then recoups their money through record sales. Being on the Morningstar label also opened the door for greater distribution of the Bishop’s music to retail outlets across the country, thus allowing the record company to recoup their money much more efficiently. Additionally, while the artist has some creative input, the label has much more creative control over the entire recording process including pitching and choosing song/single choices, music and vocal arrangements, producer, etc. It’s a totally different ballgame when you’re signed to a major label, but it was the next logical move for the Bishops!

With the momentum of the Bishops’ recent charting successes and subsequent signing to the Morningstar label, it was determined that a “live” album/video was in order for the Bishops. This would not be just for the Bishops, as there was also another up-and-coming group at the time…the Perrys, as they were starting to make great waves within the industry as well. Both groups had previously sung at the Fayetteville Community Church, and they were both very popular in that area of North Carolina, singing to large and exciting crowds. Plus, that area had a strong Southern Gospel radio presence, which consistently pushed the music of both groups. With those thoughts in mind, Eddie Crook felt that pairing both groups together for a live concert recording would yield a similar fan base (along with the economic perk of recording 2 separate live albums on the same night), so on May 14, 1988, both the Bishops and Perrys ascended on the Fayetteville Community Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina to record their respective live album and video. As a side note, the Perry’s live recording, “God’s Little People-Live!”, that was recorded that night, would yield one of their biggest and best loved songs entitled, “I Remember the Day”!

Naturally, the album was produced by Eddie Crook, and the band that night consisted of the current Bishops band, which included Junior Williams on guitar and banjo, Eddie Horn playing piano, Bill Marcus picking the bass, Bill Horn playing drums, along with guest guitarist, Tim Caudill assisting on rhythm guitar for this concert. Since this was back in the days before we had YouTube, Facebook Live, etc., this live album was the first time many people (like myself) would hear and see the Bishops live, as we got a taste of what a Bishops concert was like. With Kenny doing all the emcee work for the group, you hear the young, charismatic enthusiasm in his delivery, running the gamut between funny one-liners, seriousness, and what I like to call “preacher mode”!

After an enthusiastic introduction by Dave Wilcox (who was the A &R Director for ECC), the guys hit the stage with the up-tempo, “Run and Not Be Weary”, which was written by Kenny and features Mark, before Junior Williams and Tim Caudill break into some outstanding guitar work on the song, “Jesus is the Light”, which was written by David Marshall and features Junior on the lead vocal. The Isaacs also recorded this song on their first Harvest album titled, “Heartbeat”, which was released in 1988.

With the band playing some “happy” music in the background, Kenny enthusiastically introduces each member of the Bishops. As Kenny chimes off where each man was from, you can’t help but get a little amused at some of those Kentucky town names…Drip Rock, Cow Creek, Crooked Creek, Possum Run, etc. I remember getting tickled hearing it for the first time myself, and my mom just shaking her head laughing as Kenny was popping off those town names. I love the dramatic stop in the music as Kenny begins to introduce his dad, Kenneth, as his “great grandpa”! It’s one of the more memorable group introductions I’ve heard on record, and it shows what a truly captivating and creative emcee that Kenny was, before he quickly shifts the mood and introduces one of my favorite tunes from this album entitled, “An Ordinary Man”. Featuring Mark, along with some nice guitar work, the song was written by Mark and Junior Williams, and it’s a humbling tune about the love of Jesus, as the chorus says…“when I look into the mirror, the image that I see, is that of just an ordinary man, no wealth, no fame, no honor, no high class royalty, and that is why I cannot understand, how a King could come from glory and leave the splendors of His land, and come to earth to die for just an ordinary man”. Though the song was never singled to radio, it’s a highlight of the album, and one that I think could have done well for the Bishops, had it been chosen to be sent to radio. I’d actually love to hear Mark bring this song back someday! (Hint, Hint!)

As Kenny changes the atmosphere to a more serious and somber mood, he introduces the song, “New Jerusalem”, which features Kenny. Backed by the Fayetteville Community Church choir, under the direction of Wesley Pritchard (this was long before Wesley’s involvement with Bill Gaither and the Homecoming videos), this is the first song the Bishops recorded that really stretched them stylistically, as this was the first big ballad type of song they had recorded, and seemed to fall more in line with something that the Nelons or Talleys, or even Gold City would have recorded back then. Nonetheless, the Bishops and choir pulled off a fantastic performance, as it is truly a highlight of the album. The song was written by two gentlemen who were both local pastors in the Irvine, Kentucky area (and were acquaintances of the Bishops), Jimmy Bonny and Billy Schrivner, and was published through Chestnut Mound Music, a subsidiary of the Eddie Crook Company. As I had mentioned in an earlier article, ECC amassed a huge catalog of songs in their publishing companies, which housed not just Chestnut Mound Music (which was their BMI affiliate), but also Pleasant View Music (ASCAP) and Indian Forest Music (SESAC). Many new and unknown writers had their songs published through these companies, with several being recorded by ECC artists, along with artists not affiliated with ECC as well. Back during the latter half of the 80’s and throughout the 90’s, the Singing News chart was full of songs published through one of those publishing companies noted above.

Side 2 kicks off with the driving, “Welcome Home”, which was written by Lois Jean Arvin, who was the piano player (as well as the pastor’s daughter) at the Bishops’ home church at the time. Published through Chestnut Mound Music and featuring an enthusiastic performance by Kenny, this was the first single from this live album, cresting at #16 in the February 1989 Singing News chart. After the encore, Kenny jumps into “preacher mode”, before bringing the energy level down a bit before jumping into what is titled, “Front Porch Medley”. Though not an actual “medley” in the truest sense of the word, it’s a collection of songs honoring the music the Bishops grew up listening to. For the next 5 or 6 minutes, Kenny goes on to explain what life was like growing up in church in the hills of Kentucky and about the music they grew up with, before we enjoy some nice “pickin’ and a grinnin’” with Junior Williams and Tim Caudill on the guitars on a quick instrumental, before the guys jump into the acapella tune titled, “When the World’s on Fire”, which was a song recorded by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver on their 1986 album, “Beyond the Shadows”. They wrap up this part of the program with an absolutely stunning performance of the classic hymn, “Whispering Hope”, which was truly perfection personified! This was released to radio as a single (I remember playing it often back when I was a DJ), but unfortunately, it never charted for the Bishops.

Moving on to the easy feel of the medium tempo, “My Song of Praise”, Kenneth takes the lead on this song, which features some nice guitar work. This was a tune written by Kenneth’s sister, Norma Jean Martin and published through Eddie Crook’s Chestnut Mound Music, and it was an excellent segue between the “Front Porch Medley” and the rousing, climactic final song, “I’m Gonna Move”. In classic concert fashion, the Bishops close things out with an energetic performance of this song, which was written a few years earlier by Kenny. The guys first recorded the song on their 1985 album, “One Way”, becoming a popular “sugar stick” for the Bishops, and was the perfect grand finale for their first live album. As soon as they hit that first chorus, the audience let out a big yell and they were into it from the start, and the Bishops totally hit their groove with the song. As they come back for an encore, Kenny jumps into “preacher mode” again, before slowing down and taking his time on the verse and then ramping it back up for the final choruses, and the crowd is thoroughly enjoying every second of it. It was a rousing and electric performance by the Bishops, ending the album on a high note with a strong Pentecostal campmeeting feel.

“Live at Fayetteville Community Church” is the first recording I ever purchased by the Bishops, which I bought not long after it came out. I remember seeing the album at our local Christian bookstore, and I quickly snagged it! Incidentally, this would be the last vinyl released by the Bishops, as all forthcoming recordings would be released on cassette and/or CD. I knew about the live recording via the Singing News, and I remember begging my parents to take me to the concert (I wouldn’t get my driver’s license until a couple of months later), as I really wanted to see both the Bishops and the Perrys, and I wanted to see what it was like to be part of a real live recording, but it was an hour away from where we lived, and they wouldn’t take me because it wasn’t groups they were familiar with. Nonetheless, “The Bishops…Live at Fayetteville Community Church” was my introduction to the Bishops “live”, though it would be another 3 years before I would finally get to actually see them “live” and in person!

At the time of this live recording, the Bishops were still a part-time group (as the guys all had full-time jobs), but within the next year or so, the group would make the move to become full-time. Even prior to moving to full-time, the group was so busy juggling their day jobs and weekend traveling, that those in the band eventually had to step away from the group, and the band (as you hear on this recording) would be no more, and the Bishops would drop to just piano and bass guitar, with an occasional drummer on board from time to time, and eventually they would start using tracks as well. With the group downsizing a bit, the following year or two would end up being a transitional time for the Bishops, but by the same token, they were also expanding their horizons as they were becoming more popular at radio and on major concert platforms across the country. Additionally, the group’s “look” and sound would evolve as well, which would be quite evident on their next recording, as the Bishops began fully embracing a more streamlined approach to their sound and live presentation. It was a time of change for the group, and they experienced their own growing pains as they ventured further and deeper into what they felt called to do, but over the course of the next couple of years, things literally exploded for the Bishops, as they became one of the hottest groups in the country!

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