Most groups spend several years trying to get noticed before finally getting signed to their first recording contract. This was not the case for the Bishops! The Bishops became an organized singing group by early 1984, traveling around central Kentucky, and anywhere else that would have them come sing. With the encouragement of “Granny Bishop” and others, they soon went into the studio to record their first album, “He Gave His Life”, and by industry standards, it was a pretty simple recording. Almost immediately, local radio station WBFC, began playing the album and Jerry Wilson, who was the Station Manager with connections to Dave Wilcox, A&R Director at the Eddie Crook Company, told Dave about the Bishops. Wilcox initially reached out to the Bishops in the fall of 1984 and invited them down to meet him at a concert in Somerset, Kentucky, where several groups who recorded for Eddie Crook would be performing. After that initial meeting, a more formal meeting was set up a few weeks later at Eddie Crook’s office in Hendersonville, Tennessee, resulting in the Bishops signing with Harvest Records, which was a development label under the Eddie Crook Company umbrella, where artists pay to record, but they also receive mentoring from Mr. Crook, as well as the much needed exposure to Southern Gospel radio, which was a major player in an artist’s success during this time.

For some historical context, let me give a bit of a history lesson on Eddie Crook and his Harvest label…the expertise that Eddie attained that made him the giant icon he became, stemmed from his many years of playing the piano with such groups as the Tennesseans, Plainsmen Quartet, Sego Brothers & Naomi and of course, the Happy Goodman Family (even playing piano for country star, Marty Robbins). As far back as during his time with the Sego Brothers & Naomi, Eddie was playing sessions in Nashville (even playing on the Goodmans’ 1968 album, “Portrait of Excitement”). After joining the Goodmans in 1970, Eddie became their band/music director, and with Rusty Goodman as his mentor, started doing a lot of studio work at Goodman Sound Studios. By the early 70’s, Eddie developed his first label, Harvest Records, and in fact, the Happy Goodman Family Band released a wonderful instrumental album on the Harvest label in 1972 called, “100 Miles Out’a Nashville”. Some early albums released on Harvest during the 70’s that Eddie produced include releases by such artists as Voices Triumphant, Johnny Cook, Johnny Parrack, Aaron Wilburn, Kingsmen and London Parris & the Apostles. When Eddie left the Goodmans to devote more time to studio work, he created the “Eddie Crook Company” and the “Harvest” label remained under his umbrella, and he created a dynamic label devoted to the professional development of Southern Gospel artists looking to further their career in Southern Gospel Music. When the Bishops signed on to the Harvest label, they spent about 10 years (eventually signing with Eddie’s top tier label, “Morningstar Records”) under Crook’s mentorship before ultimately moving on.

After signing with Harvest Records, the Bishops began work on their first album with the label titled, “One Way”, which was released in 1985. Produced by Eddie, who also played piano for the album, Eddie surrounded himself with quality musicians including Jack Ross on bass guitar, Gene Chrisman and Eddy Anderson playing drums, Mike Johnson playing the steel guitar and dobro, Bruce Watkins on guitars and fiddle and Walt Cunningham on keyboards. Under Eddie’s guidance, the Bishops created a wonderful album that had a good quality sound, great singing, and a good flow overall. The Bishops were young and vibrant, and that youthful energy comes through in each song. Being that this was their first foray into making a professional recording, Kenny recalls the group being both extremely nervous and excited. The Bishops hadn’t been fully educated on how tracking sessions normally worked, because they thought every time one of the singers messed up, the band was supposed to stop playing and start over! They eventually figured it out, and the Bishops ultimately became true pros in the studio!

Kenny kicks off the album with the medium tempo, “Nothing Here Below”, which features some really nice steel guitar embellishments. Written by their dad, Kenneth, the song’s poignant message reminds everyone that “there’s nothing here below worth losing your soul”. It’s one of my favorite songs from this album and Kenny does a tremendous job conveying the message in the song, before the tempo gets kicked up for the acoustically driven, “Rockin’ on the Waves”. Written by AB Sebren and published in 1923 through the Vaughan Music Company, this classic tune was recorded by the Chuck Wagon Gang in 1941, and it also became a sugar stick for the early Speer Family, eventually making its way into the bluegrass circuit, as recorded by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver on their 1982 album, “Quicksilver Rides Again”. The Bishops turn in a fantastic, upbeat performance of the song, and it’s a highlight of the album.

Slowing the pace down, Mark takes the lead on one of his first compositions, “His Hands”, which he co-wrote with fellow group member, Junior Williams. Before the song is finished, Kenneth steps up to give a heartfelt and genuine recitation recounting the crucifixion of Christ, taken straight from scripture.

With nice steel guitar and banjo embellishments, the tempo gets kicked into high gear for Kenny’s driving tune, “I’m Gonna Move”. With its strong Pentecostal campmeeting feel, this became an early Bishops sugar stick, and Kenny always delivered the goods when singing this song in concert, leaving the crowd wanting more! Gold City obviously heard the potential in the song, as they recorded an outstanding version of the song on their classic live album, “Double Take”, which was released in 1986. I was familiar with Gold City’s exciting version before I ever heard the Bishops’ rendition, and I always felt the song would have been an excellent choice as a single for Gold City to follow up “When I Get Carried Away” with, but I think since the message was closely aligned with “Carried Away”, the record label opted to release another song instead. Nonetheless, it’s a fantastic song that contains all the excitement and energy that a good, exciting, up-tempo Southern Gospel song needs!

Rounding out the first side, we get our first glimpse of the Bishops’ style of acapella singing (aka-Front Porch Singing) on the classic bluegrass gospel favorite, “Jezebel”, which features Mark. Though the Bishops likely heard the song by famed bluegrass artist, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, who recorded it on their 1983 album, “Heavenly Treasures” (which is the first version I remember hearing as a kid), the song actually has roots in the black gospel field, as the Golden Gate Quartet recorded the song back in 1941. Additionally, the Sego Brothers & Naomi, along with Wally Fowler, recorded a variation of this song (with a slightly different lyric) on their 1964 album, “Valley of Decision”.

Side 2 kicks off with the song, “Oh God, I Love You”, which was written by Donna Evans, and would be the Bishops first radio single. Featuring Kenny, though the song only made it to #40 in the September 1986 Singing News, it proved the power of radio at the time, as the song introduced thousands of Southern Gospel Music fans to the music of the Bishops, and it paved the way for their continued success in the forthcoming years. The group first heard the song when they sang at Donna Evan’s home church in Means, Kentucky, when she got up and sang the song before the Bishops took the platform. They were just a few days before getting ready to record this album, and they liked the song so much, they asked if they could record it, and it became their first national release! The song ended up being published by Eddie Crook through Chestnut Mound Music, which brings up one of the unique aspects of the Eddie Crook Company…his massive accumulation of songs under his publishing! Eddie worked with a lot of songwriters (many came from the groups he was producing), publishing their songs and pushing them to his artists to record, and many writers got their first big cuts through his publishing such as Gerald Crabb, Gina Vera, Jeff Moran, Ricky Atkinson, Larry Petree, Dee and Danny Kramer, Milton Ostrander, as well as Mark and Kenny Bishop. I realize that most other major record companies had in-house publishing companies as well, but they tended to focus on the more established songwriters, but Eddie Crook, while he did sign established writers, tended to focus a lot of his energies on new and unknown writers, giving them a wonderful outlet for their music!

Up next, the invigorating, “I’m Gonna Be There”, which was written by Kenneth, features Kenneth on the verses and has Mark taking the lead on the chorus, before Kenny kicks it into high gear on the final choruses. I fell in love with this little ditty the first time I heard it, and though the message is simple, it’s one of those “happy clappy” tunes that’s very endearing to me, and it became my favorite song from this album since day one!

Keeping the tempo upbeat, the guys burst into an exciting rendition of the Dottie Rambo classic, “No Lock on My Mansion Door”, and it’s another one of my favorites from this recording. The Rambos originally recorded it twice in 1971 on their studio album, “Soul Classics”, and then again on their double “Live” album. While it’s not one of Dottie’s most cited classics, it’s one that you see pop up every now and then on someone’s recording, and it’s always a favorite of mine to hear.

Kenneth steps up once again as he takes the lead on another “Front Porch” tune entitled, “Walking in Jerusalem”. With roots as an African American spiritual, the song has become a staple in bluegrass/country gospel circles having been recorded by such artists as Bill Monroe, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs and others. The Bishops turn in an excellent performance on the song, before Mark wraps things up with another Kenneth penned tune entitled, “One Way”, as the song reminds us that “there is only one way to get to Heaven, come repent and accept Jesus Christ!”, providing a perfect bookend against the opening tune, “Nothing Here Below”.

I don’t exactly remember where or when I bought this cassette, but I think it may have been when I saw the Bishops for the first time in the summer of 1991. About a year ago, I was finally able to track down a vinyl copy of this recording, and I was thrilled to be able to add it to my collection. The first time I heard this recording, I was actually pretty surprised by how good it was! “One Way” was a very upbeat recording filled with lots of energy and great songs that are performed in the Bishops’ unique style. It’s still one that I thoroughly enjoy listening to, as I love the genuine rawness of the Bishops during this time. Of their early recordings during the 1980’s, “One Way” is my personal favorite, and it even ranks as one of my all-time favorite recordings by the Bishops as well! In my opinion, there’s just something really cool (almost magical) about hearing a group in their earliest years before they really start spreading their creative wings, as they are eventually inundated with various industry standards and their music takes on a more commercial or mainstream sound. While all that eventually does happen with the Bishops, they never strayed too far from home (musically), and they were exceptionally proud of their Kentucky roots. No matter how far right or left they moved from their center, they always maintained a certain “hominess” to their sound, and it was all part of their charm and what made so many people (like myself) fall in love with the Bishops!

Please check out my music page on Facebook for more content related to Southern Gospel Music including more discography reviews on other groups, as well as other thoughts and discussions related to Southern Gospel Music.  Please like and follow my page at https://www.facebook.com/James-Music-Page-102612571620560.