After 2 successful albums with Eddie Crook on the Morningstar label, the Greenes signed with the newly formed Riversong Records, which was part of the Benson Company. Riversong was initially created back in 1983 by Bill Traylor, who had left Benson to start his own record company. Long story short, after the Benson Company dissolved the Heartwarming label in 1985, very soon thereafter they bought into Riversong Records, thus becoming Benson’s new Southern Gospel arm. Riversong was home to some of the giants in the industry at the time (many of whom were part of the original Heartwarming label) including the Kingsmen, Cathedrals, Hemphills, Gold City Quartet, Speers and others. The Greenes had worked a lot of dates with the Kingsmen, and Kingsmen owner, Eldridge Fox, who believed in what the Greenes were doing, sought them out to join the Riversong label. The Greenes would maintain a sporadic working relationship with Riversong over the next 9-10 years, mostly as a support for distribution of their music. For the most part, the Greenes would primarily remain an independent group, maintaining creative control over their music, but Riversong had the means to a wider distribution network, and the Greenes would need to tap into that from time to time.

After settling into their new home at Riversong, work began immediately on their next album titled, “When He Sees Me”, which was produced by Eldridge Fox. Recorded at Great Circle Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, the album features a “who’s who” of Nashville musicians including Dirk Johnson, Jack Ross, Larry Paxton, Gregg Galbraith, Jerry Kroon, Gene Chrisman, Sonny Garrish, Mike Johnson, Bruce Watkins and Terry McMillan. “When He Sees Me” had a great sound overall, and Foxie brought out the best in the Greenes, fine-tuning their unique sound and creating a truly wonderful listening experience, as well as producing one of my favorite albums by the group!

Before we get into the recording itself, I want to mention the cover shot and graphics of this album, as I always loved the album’s cover. Featuring a cheerful shot of the Greenes taken by Dennis Carney, and cover graphics by Miles Fields and McConnell Graphics, I think it’s one of their best and most eye-catching covers. I will call out the fact, that although there are some variances in the color scheme and lines, it is very similar to the cool graphics from the Hemphills’ 1985 album, “Excited!”. Both have very different cover shots of each group, but the graphics are somewhat similar. In fact, Dennis Carney took both cover shots and McConnell Graphics handled the artwork for both covers! Nonetheless, I love them both and think they are two of the coolest covers from this era!

“When He Sees Me” kicks off with the heavy organ/harmonica/electric guitar driven track of, “Going on With My Jesus”, which was a killer song! Featuring a gritty and gutsy performance by Kim, the song was written by Charles Johnson (who also recorded for Tim’s Gloryland Record label at the time), and was the first single released from this album, just making it into the Top 40, stalling out at #34 in the February 1987 Singing News chart. This was one of the first songs that really showed what the Greenes could do with a driving up-tempo tune, and it was one of the first to showcase the gritty side of Kim’s vocals. The one thing I never understood was why this song didn’t fare well in the charts. I’ll admit that it was a brave song to release to Southern Gospel radio at the time, but I always thought it should have done much better than it did for the Greenes. The only thing I can think of is that Charles Johnson & the Revivers was running pretty popular with the song around this same time, and the Singing Cookes actually charted the song briefly, just prior to the Greenes releasing the song. With 3 versions of the same song out in “radioland” around the same time, it possibly could have worked against the Greenes being able to make a hit out of it. Nonetheless, it ranks as one of my favorite songs by the Greenes, and I’d love it if Kim would bring this song back with the Hoppers!

Bringing the energy level down, we come to some nice harmonies with the title song, “When He Sees Me”, which became the second single from the album, peaking at #33 in May 1987. With its warm vibe and comforting message, featuring both Tim and Kim, the song was written by Paulette White, and published through Eddie Crook’s Chestnut Mound Music. This was a song that Eddie had pitched to the Greenes prior to them leaving Morningstar, and they held on to the song, ultimately cutting it on this album. Additionally, the McKameys also recorded the song on their 1985 album, “Unique”.

With its prominent harmonica track, the tempo picks back up for the fun, energetic tune, “If You’ll Move Over”. Written by Ira (Junior) Padgett, the song features both Tony and Kim, and it became a hugely popular concert favorite for the Greenes, ultimately returning several years later, as they re-recorded it on their 1999 recording, “A Home in My Heart”. Originally titled, “I’ll Help You Carry Your Load”, the song was originally recorded by the Hoppers, on their 1974 album, “I’m Going There”. The same year the Greenes cut the song for this recording, the Primitive Quartet included it on their album, “Music From Our Mountains”.

Next, we come to the classic Statler Brothers tune, “Who Do You Think?”. I always loved the Greenes slower, more laid-back version of the song, highlighting their sweet, family harmony. Written by Harold and Don Reid, the Statler Brothers originally recorded the song on their highly acclaimed “Holy Bible” recording in 1975. Although I was familiar with the Statler Brothers growing up, I was not familiar with this song, and the Greenes’ version was my introduction to this wonderful tune. Interestingly, the Greenes discovered the song from the Primitive Quartet, who recorded it in 1980 on their album, “Who Do You Think”. The Greenes even recorded the song on a couple of forthcoming Christmas recordings they released in 1991, and another one in 1997. The McKameys also recorded the song on their 1987 “Christmas” album, following more closely to the Statler Brothers’ arrangement of it.

Rounding out the first side, the Greenes churn out an excellent rendition of the Ila Knight penned classic, “The Redeemed Are Coming Home”. First recorded by the Inspirations on their 1976 album, “On Heaven’s Bright Shore”, the Greenes version has a much quicker tempo than the Inspirations’ version, and I think of the 2 versions, I like the Greenes version over the Inspirations. In fact, this album by the Greenes was actually my introduction to this wonderful song, as I don’t recall seeing the Inspirations singing it on the Gospel Singing Jubilee growing up, nor did I get the album they recorded the song on until sometime in the early 90’s, which is likely why I have such a connection to the Greenes performance of the song.

The second side starts off with the mournful fiddle track of the emotionally tinged, “Daddy, I Miss You”. The Greenes had a niche for singing those emotional, sentimental songs, and this was one of their early forays into those types of tunes. Written by a young lady named Linda English, the song was published by Tim Greene through his Mountain Top Publishing, and it was a tune that a regional group had sung, and it always had a big impact everywhere they sang it, so the Greenes decided to record the song, becoming a popular concert favorite for them back in the day. In fact, I recall Kim singing this song when I saw them for the first time back in early Spring 1986.

Changing the mood, we come to the peppy tune, “Country Boy”, which was written by Kirk Talley, who pitched it specifically for Tony to sing. With its neat key changes on the final tag, this fun song is a highlight of the album with its electric/steel guitar and harmonica driven track, before we move to the country feel of another enjoyable tune entitled, “I Can Hardly Wait”. With its acoustic guitar driven track, along with electric/steel guitar and harmonica embellishments, I love how they don’t go full throttle on the song, but instead they take the song to showcase that classic Greenes harmony. This timeless tune was written by Ann Ballard, and it was originally recorded by the Inspirations on their 1977 album, “When I Get Home”, as well as the Florida Boys on their 1977 album, “Vintage Gospel”. Also worth mentioning is how both songs really showcase the Greenes’ uncanny ability to sound very similar to the Rambos.

One of my all-time favorite tunes by the Greenes is this delightful song of comfort that was written by Kirk Talley and Jeff Gibson entitled, “He Has Already Walked Through the Valley”. Featuring Tim, I love the part in the chorus when they sing, “walk on through…”, as it showcases the wonderful harmonies and precision of the Greenes’ singing. I always thought this was one of the best songs highlighting the Greenes’ unique knack for arranging and showcasing their harmonies, which leads perfectly into the final song for the album, “Thy Hand in Mine”, which was written by their friend, Jean Canter. With step out lines by Tim, Tony and Kim, along with some nice electric and steel guitar fills, this medium tempo tune finishes off the album very nicely with a bit of a “Rambos” feel. Many may remember the Whisnants’ outstanding arrangement of this song, when they recorded it several years later, on their 1997 recording, “Still Standing”.

I first saw the Greenes in early Spring 1986 at a church here in Durham, North Carolina, and they had pre-release (plain white covers) copies of this album for sale. The only songs I remember they sang from the new album that night were “Daddy, I Miss You” and (I think) “If You’ll Move Over”. Kim had just had major dental work done, and could barely open her mouth and sing, so they didn’t sing a lot of songs that featured her. Like an idiot (I was young and dumb), I did not buy the pre-release of “When He Sees Me” that night, but I opted to wait until the album officially came out. I did purchase “Greenehouse” and “Evergreene” that night, and I did eventually purchase “When He Sees Me” a few months later, at the Greenes homecoming in Boone in August of that year, and I immediately walked up to Tony and had him sign it. The collector in me though, wants to kick my younger self for not buying one of those pre-releases…but I was 13 years old at the time and didn’t know any better!

“When He Sees Me” was on a whole different level than any of the Greenes’ previous recordings. Not to say any of their previous albums were any better or worse, but as far as overall production, arrangements, vocals/music tracks, mix, etc., it was just on a higher level than what we had heard from the Greenes previously, and it was spectacular! This album really highlighted the true potential of the Greenes, and it uncovered some amazing things we hadn’t heard before, and I think Eldridge Fox truly brought out the best in the group! Interestingly though, this is one of but a few albums recorded by the Greenes that did not include any songs written by Tim. Although the album didn’t yield any major hit songs for the group, it did include a couple of important tunes that became standard concert favorites for the Greenes. While you definitely hear the general commercialization of the Greenes’ sound on this album, there is no denying “When He Sees Me” has that definitive “Greenes” touch, and while the their style continued to evolve over the years, the Greenes’ sound still bore the undeniable and unique elements that truly made the Greenes music so exceptional!

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